How to rekindle a love of art
Fiona and Fiona Fleming, a Glasgow-based artist and art educator, share their advice to get you started. Buy a sketchbook and use it as a place for experimentation and play rather than ‘finished’ work.
Online art classes have boomed
in the pandemic. Choose a tutor whose style chimes with you – you can often try free taster sessions before you sign up. I’ve loved courses run by Australian artist Laura Horn at laurahornart.com and Us-based sketchbookskool. com, says Fiona. Local art colleges and arts centres may run virtual or face-to-face classes.
Urban Sketchers
is a network of
artists who draw
outside from life. Visit urbansketchers. org for inspiration, and urbansketcherslondon.blogspot. com for details of groups.
Don’t splurge
on materials to get
started, advises Fiona Fleming: ‘Although good-quality materials nice to use, are they can initially make you too hesitant to “waste” them. So cheap pencils and pens are fine.’ Once you’re up and running, she suggests, ‘a half-decent watercolour box can last for years, so I’d say get that from an art shop.’ Have fun with materials. ‘See how the paint runs, and how many marks you can make with one brush,’ says Fiona Fleming. ‘Don’t worry about accuracy or compare your work with others’, as it can demotivate you.’ Don’t throw away your early attempts. They will help you see how you’re improving. ‘Setting the time aside for art is an act of self-care,’ says Fiona Fleming. ‘Be as respectful to your fledgling efforts as you would be to someone else’s. There’s a thing called “the gap”, which is the gulf between what we visualise and what we have the skills to create. Practice narrows that gap.’