travel journals
Tuesday, August 21st, 2007When we’re away we are all going to keep a journal. The kids don’t know it yet, but I’ve managed to pick up some nice not-too-little-but-not-too-big ones to tuck in their packs and be discovered on Christmas morning. Rob hasn’t seen them either, but he has noticed the money leave the account;-) You’d think buying ten of everything would entitle you to at least a ten percent discount, but in reality, those cash registers just ring ka-ching ka-ching and the shop owners laugh all the way to the bank. Ah well, we have nice notebooks, HB 2H and 4H pencils. We even have some watercolour pencils and a few tubes of gouache (which is apparently pronounced gwaaaaaazh, and not gow-atch or go-uch-ee). Thing is, we don’t really know how to use them all.
So we got hold of a *how to become a great artist in 73 trying lessons* book and we’re working our way through it faithfully.
Lesson The First was completely do-able, even for artistically-challenged Mother (don’t think I’ve ever got over my second form art teacher writing “lacks confidence” in my school report). In a few short moments we discovered one of our good friends, Degas, had once enquired of a master how to become a great artist. He had been advised, “Draw lines, young man, draw lines”. So we joined him, drawing lines…..lines…….lines……and more lines…….accompanied by the chant spurring us on to greater future works. Aha, we were in good company!
Today’s lesson (number ten) we drew still more lines. But not just lines. Our lines had *value*. That doesn’t mean we could sell them yet! But we are one step closer to great pictures….surely. Besides, we can now do ellipses and ribbons and toasters too.
By the time we hit the road, I’m sure we’ll be able to draw a bowl of noodles or the Great Wall snaking over the mountains….we’ll be able to adapt week one’s ribbon study to get the wall looking real and we even know that if we draw the train windowframe we’re looking through nice and big and the mountains nice and small, those mountains will look like they’re far away and our picture will have *perspective*…..no doubt, you know all that already, but we don’t didn’t and now we’re one little bit more prepared.
rayres