Portrait of the artist

Before late 2019 I had never painted a single thing. I had been your average scribbler and doodler in school but was encouraged to do music rather than art at the end of first year in secondary school. Apparently, I wasn’t really cut out for the art!

It was a shame as I always felt it was important to balance the heavier subjects like maths and geography with the more arty and cultural ones like music and art. Not that the exams were easier but it changed the pace of a day of learning.

Years later I would often colour something in chalk on the wall of one my kids’ bedrooms. I did Elmer the Elephant which was easy as he really is just a blob with lots of squares of different colours. I was also copying from my son’s picture book.

I would doddle and attempt to ‘colour in’ with the kids and I always found it quite satisfying. Then again I still love Lego.

It was Summer 2019 and for some reason I picked up a pack of acrylic crayons and started to draw a pear. It came out ok. Then I drew a few more things and they were okay but I decided sure I would have a go at some paint. I headed up to Art and Hobby with no idea of what to get or what I would paint with. I started with a sketch pad and some acrylic paint.

For the next few months there were quite a lot of failed blobs that were supposed to be sea scapes and landscapes. I knew better than to try portraiture – who would I be kidding?

I stuck to a restricted palette of colours and kept going. My family surprised me with a proper easel for my birthday that year. I was delighted but also daunted as this was becoming something that we were investing in. No pressure. I added to my brush collection and my paint collection. I grabbed a corner of the conservatory as that’s where the light was the best and set myself up there.

I played around with sunflower and dandelion paintings and eventually tried oil painting. Several good tops and trousers have been ruined in the process but I am now a happy ‘oil on canvas’ painter.

I was so happy to have the art to take my mind off the madness of a global pandemic. I was able to retreat to the ‘studio’ and spend an hour or two painting. Initially, I would bristle if someone made a comment about ‘oh another seascape’ or ‘oh another straight lined painting’. I wonder did Van Gogh have to put up with that?

In January of this year I decided to take some proper art lessons onSaturday mornings. I was petrified by the idea of having to show my art to complete strangers and to a really gifted artist named Reza. But from January-April it became my thing to do for myself on a Saturday morning. We started at 10am and went on until about 12.30pm. It was one on one and group work. I would get to Naas early and go to the French cafe and order a latte and a slice of the most gorgeous lemon meringue. It was bliss. Then it was over to art school.

The advice Reza gave me was to slow down, step back, pause and not to be afraid! Lessons for life too if you think about it.

I was thrilled with the first panting (below) I produced under his encouragement. I really disliked the second one I did but I was learning how to use techniques like palette knife work etc. The third and fourth were two of my best to date (bottom of the page).

After 16 lessons I decided to take a break to see what might come out when I am by myself. I re-did one or two of my old pantings and changed them fundamentally after Reza’s art and life lessons. I have even decided that I will frame one or two of the paintings.

I have been brave enough or maybe cheeky enough to send small canvas paintings to my best friend. She tells me it is displayed on the book shelf.

I would love to get enough paintings together to eventually have a modest show. I will also go back and do some more lessons in the weeks or months to come.

I wish I had been painting all these years! I really wish that.

I will try and make up for all the lost years and I will fail, but I will enjoy myself while failing along the way.

B x

Painting 3: Cottage in the bog after Kenneth Webb

Painting 4: After Monet