For a long time, I've thought it would be fun to try my hand at oil painting. The biggest impediment to this is my acknowledged absence of talent for painting or drawing. I never really got into art class back in school, and my idle drawings rarely get beyond doodles. But the vibrant colors in oil paintings have continued to entice me.
Last month, I drew Foxy in various poses as she slept. The small doodles turned out fairly good, in that you can tell they're a dog and they sort of even look like Foxy. It started me thinking that maybe I could develop a talent for drawing, if I worked at it.
But starting this process is still a little daunting. We went to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston on Sunday to participate in their weekly childrens' arts and crafts event. That day, it was self-portraits with tempura paint. The girls had fun (even if they didn't do portraits), but I did not try to paint anything. I had a case of performance anxiety. I wasn't about to try to tackle a human face, and I didn't feel inspired about any particular subject. For that matter, I didn't have a feel for the paints and how to use them to produce a particular image.
So I suggested to Donna that I'd like to try painting at home. I can then experiment with the paints and brushes at my own pace. Perhaps I can take a painting class after a while. I think I'd like that.