Draw, Draw and Draw! – written by Mike Lamble
To all our students
How often have I encouraged you to draw, draw, draw, as much as you can. Ask yourself how much time do you waste sitting in front of the TV watching mindless rubbish that doesn’t feed your heart soul or creativity? then find yourself at art class feeling angry and frustrated because the task you have undertaken, I quote “isn’t working for me”.
I have lost count over the years how many times i’ve heard that one as though its something outside a students control, when in fact it is an internal process of taking responsibility to practice even if its ONLY an hour a week between classes.
In spite of the long Christmas and new years break, doing an awful lot of end of year maintenance, at the art school, attending a wedding of one of my former students in New Zealand (who I adore) I knew I was in desperate need to practice. Whatever I have achieved in the past as a professional artist and illustrator counts for nothing now or in the future, if I don’t practice , I have grown to love it for its own sake NOT A CHORE ! another thing I must do, tick the box.
A word or two about the painting of Erika , the idea came to me when she came to class with her hair down which put me in mind of Durer’s self portrait (but obviously she is better looking) I haven’t painted in the style of the ” old masters” for a few years the last time being when my agent asked me to paint the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci for an advertising agency in Sydney, this will take sometime to complete between classes, as it progresses will keep posting pictures on the website.
The soul of my art is to have as much pleasure as possible in giving pleasure, art is not just a skill, the hand, head and heart all work in concert,channeling feelings which the artist has experienced, that is why I keep being draw back to painting Lambs Valley every time I go it looks so different.
” THE TRUE ARTIST WILL LET HIS WIFE STARVE, HIS CHILDREN GO BARE FOOT, HIS MOTHER DRUDGE FOR A LIVING AT SEVENTY SOONER THAN WORK AT ANYTHING OTHER THAN HIS ART” George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish, Socialist, Writer, Dramatist, and Critic.
Go to the Flickr slide site of “Mike Sketching 201301”
Go to the Flickr slide site of “Mike Painting Landscape 201301”