Drawing by Jerry Spivak

Completing my journey

I loved to draw as a child, but as an adult I put that pastime aside until several years ago when the desire reappeared and refused to be ignored.

While drawing on my own, I soon realized that I needed instruction to achieve competence to my satisfaction. So with trepidation about “going back to school”, I enrolled in an introductory evening drawing course at our local art college and loved it. Unfortunately, I was the least competent student in the class. So I pushed on and tried the next level course with –naturally- the same result. After a third try, this time working with pastel rather charcoal, unsurprisingly, the results were similar, and no fault of very patient and talented instructors. By now, my frustration had turned to dismay and disappointment because I was inept at a pastime I deeply wanted to pursue on a long term basis. I gave myself one last chance by seeking help at a private art school, with even more trepidation, because I thought they were not in the habit of taking on rank beginners.

Happily, I was incorrect and with great patience on the part of my instructor, I am no longer “value-challenged”, though far from finished with art instruction, which is where the opportunity to obtain this art drawing tutorial comes into play.

I recently moved from the city with the private art school where I taking an evening class, to a city, a 90 minutes commute away, which has no evening art instruction opportunities. Therefore, while I can now draw with confidence, I am far from finished needing instruction.

I still need to improve my skills in portraiture and figure drawing and have entered this competition to obtain the drawing course in order to continue to pursue my personal artistic goals.