Daddy John: Kaveh has his trains, Bowie has his music, Stephen Orange has his marine biology. Many of the Gregoropolis boys have their hobbies/interests, but Pete Dakota can't seem to find his.
Oh, he makes a good research assistant when I'm working on my genealogy projects and he did express interest in his Scottish heritage a while ago, but he hasn't found anything that 'sticks' (his words).
Until today.
Pete has decided to try his hand at painting!
Oh, he makes a good research assistant when I'm working on my genealogy projects and he did express interest in his Scottish heritage a while ago, but he hasn't found anything that 'sticks' (his words).
Until today.
Pete has decided to try his hand at painting!
Pete Dakota: I am a painter!
Pete determined he should first learn about different artists and styles before taking brush in hand. So we created a mini-gallery and did an art crawl. He started with the masters and the classics.
Pete Dakota: Daddy John, what does "pointillism" mean?
Daddy John: That piece, when viewed close-up, is actually made up many, many tiny painted dots. When you stand far away, the whole picture is revealed.
Pete: Hmmmmm....
We then moved on to more modern artists like Mark Rothko and comic book legend Jack Kirby.
Pete: Are you sure this one hasn't been hung upside down?
Then we got to Daddy John's favorite, the Ecuadorian artist Gonzalo Endara Crow and his protégé, Marcos Alquinga.
Pete: I like the bright colors and flying trains!
Daddy John: That style is called 'magical realism.'
Finally it was time to put brush to canvas. Pete got out his painting smock (thank you, Aunt Cheryl Conrad!), laid out his supplies, and set up his easel. He stared at his canvas and let out a big sigh...
Daddy John: What's wrong, buddy?
Pete: I don't know what to paint!
6 comments:
Pete this hobby lark is never easy! Sometimes you see something and think ..yes I want to do that! then something else crosses your path and your eyes turn to that...
So that when you finally settle .. well then you have to decide what to do!You have the paper.. you have the paints.. you have the brush...you have the apron... so now you just need an idea! Mmmm maybe you could paint something you really really like? good luck deciding.
that first brush stroke is the hardest!! Just dive in, make some marks, and see where it leads! you can always paint over the canvas and start again if you don't like it!! good luck!!
Dive right in sweet Pete! Paint what inspires you! Your painter’s apron, paints and easel look so nice. If you don’t like your painting, turn it upside down! Most of all, have fun! 😊 xxx
What a fantastic (and educational) post this is and SO very 'up my street' as I unfortunately know Pete's feeling of hesitation before putting that first stroke to a blank canvas.
Like them I think that it's really good to have a hobby'activity/sport and so always used to encourage my many classes of school children to collect items or enrol in after school clubs/groups or activities to make new friends and become more socially 'rounded.'
BTW. My Brood Remainers and I find your blogposts delightfully unique/individual and so interesting... whilst being such fun. Many thanks again.
Pete, the hardest thing with painting is deciding what you want to paint then the next hardest thing is trying to make it come out the way you see it in your head! So maybe just paint using the colours as inspiration for the forms and patterns that you make and see what emerges.
Oh I so know the feeling of not knowing what to paint Pete. I haven't painted in over a year now, but hoping to go back to art group this September to see if that will get me motivated again. Hitty Madge is the artist here at Rose Cottage, not sure if any of the lads here are interested yet. It is good to have a hobby and also learn about it. You've learnt about some good artists I see.
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