Portrait of my Anja

Portrait by Zora, Drawing Academy student

My elementary school art teacher paid attention only to those who could already draw and paint. This hurt me; I was overlooked and felt invisible. So, I lived all these years believing that I could not draw or paint. Every time I looked at a painting I found interesting, I felt a desire to be able to create something, anything.

A few years ago, my husband brought me a cherry flower branch that was so beautiful, I immediately sat down and painted it in watercolors. I thought that such a burning desire to paint and such a beautiful subject should result in a beautiful painting. I could not have been more disappointed – it was difficult and as much as I tried, it just got worse. It was clear to me that if I wanted to create a painting that I would be satisfied with, I had to find some help.

I looked around for an art group in my local community but soon felt intimidated because I did not have any knowledge of where to begin. So, I bought myself some books and videos, looked for videos on YouTube and started educating myself. I got better and better. However, I soon discovered that I lacked the basic skill – the drawing skill – needed to create any form of art. So, I bought more books about drawing. I soon became bored with explanations that I could not really understand.

That was until I came across the Drawing Academy program. The whole world opened to me. I am still in the first-month lesson plan, going very slowly, but I already have a feeling that I’m heading in the right direction – from not being able to draw a circle or oval or straight line to this drawing of my daughter Anja, which I created during the last Christmas holidays. Not so long ago, drawing a recognizable portrait seemed like a dream.

The Drawing Academy course gave me the motivation to persist and, after completing this course, to apply for the Anatomy course.

I hope my story will encourage people similar to me to join the Drawing Academy and experience the satisfaction of progressing in what you so long to do.

I wish I had come across the Drawing Academy much earlier.

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