The more I learn the more I need to learn

Story and drawing from Helga Parker

I started painting in oil 6 years ago, but for many years have been interested in fine art. I have visited a lot of art museums (Paris, Boston, Venice, Rome, London, Edinburgh just to name a few) and need to visit them again. I had a great Professor in my undergraduate education in his Humanity course and Literature. He taught me to see works of art in a new way and not just looking at a painting.

To make a long story short, when I started taking art lessons I had the wrong teacher for what I was looking for to learn fine art. The teacher put in my head that in order to paint you don’t need drawing skills, you just trace your composition and paint away. That was very wrong as I know today after all these years. Statements of a teacher are very powerful and sometimes the wrong information gets stuck in your head.

I know because I teach psychology and continue the study brain function now for may years. This past summer I concentrated on learning how do we really see (vision) and neuroplacticity. Yes, we can train our brain.

There is a lot more I have observed how the teaching and learning of fine art here in the USA and as an academic I feel something is missing. Since I don’t care to sign up for an art degree because I don’t know who will teach me.

Signing up for the Drawing Academy course gives me the opportunity to do my own thing and I must say that after watching the 35 hours of the videos (and I loved everyone of them) I am ready do do the practice now. I love the pace of the instructions and I love the transcribed lecture of each video. Repetition is the key to learning and they are there.

I have come to the conclusion that you need a good program and a good teacher (10 %) and the other 90% is practice..practice.

Thank you Vladimir and Natalie for putting this course together.
Helga Parker

I have attached a drawing I did from a photo a long time ago just to use as a comparison to see where I will be in 6 month with my drawing skills. I did measure some proportions.

hparkerfineart.wordpress.com/