The Grand Style

Artwork by Slater Smith

Hello,

I’m a 16 year old in high school who wants to become a Master in the art of painting and I believe that learning how to draw first is the best way of getting there and that the Drawing Academy can help me get accomplish my goal.

It wasn’t until earlier this year that I had grown a love for art. It probably was not until June that I seriously wanted to become a fine artist. My path so far has been kind of bumpy.

Before drawing, I am usually overcome by this sense of fear that what I produce won’t be to my liking. This leads to me going for days without picking up the pencil for anything but school work. Ignoring practice is not good for my hand and is my main weakness at the moment. My skills progress slowly because of that. So I usually end up reading art books instead of drawing, as if looking for something to motivate me.

It wasn’t until last week that I had found what I was looking for. I had read the lectures given by Sir Joshua Reynolds. His words had a huge impact on me. The “grand style” he talked about really resonated with me, so I went off to cultivate my taste in paintings.

Since Reynolds held Raphael is such high regards, I decided to make a copy of one of his portraits. I was nervous at first, but I think the drawing turned out fairly well and I will continue to learn more from the Masters.

I already have the first month of video lessons after writing five articles, but I have difficulty coming up with more material. It would be an honor to be one of the winners in this competition to learn more about the art of drawing.

Thanks to all who like my drawing,
Slater