Sunday, April 8, 2012

public



It's been about 5 months since I did this and promised myself I'd do more of it... And it's not like I hadn't been thinking about it. But drawing & painting outside is one of the contradictions in my life. As in - I want to, I really do! The abundance of inspiration! The practise! The freedom, too!


& then there is the Fear. The Fear of Doing It. I want to say, I really don't know what it is!, because I could comfortably hide behind that ;) But I do know. It's the idea of looking stupid. The fear of people coming over to see what I'm doing, and them walking away thinking - oh my gosh, she thinks she can draw?!

But the want and the need won, this weekend :) I bought an outdoor watercolour box out of my first earnings (YAY!!), and sat down to sketch and paint on a freezing beach and in the freezing woods on Friday! Hardly anyone there, so it was a great place to start ;)


And since it was so cool - I mean, it really felt great, not to have to wait to break out the paints till we got home - I plucked up the courage to take my stuff to Artis Zoo again yesterday, and do some more public displays of creativity there :)

Of course I'm not completely comfortable with the whole thing quite yet, nor completely happy with what came out of it - but I did it, and that's what matters :) Practise. I need practise. And who knows? I might actually get some ;) Today we're  off and out again, and my paints will travel along. To bring the stuff is always the first step, courage will & does follow, slowly but for sure :)

What's your fear? What are you facing up to? I'd love to hear!

17 comments:

  1. Yvonne!, i'm so happy for you that you stepped out of your comfort zone (again!) and experienced such a wonderful creative buzz! As you know, I love drwaing and sketching outside/ in public. I have a small watercolour set that I haven't used outside yet, so that might be my next challenge.
    I know what you mean about people looking over your shoulder and perhaps thinking you're not any good at it. On the other hand, they might not have the artistic talent you have. In my experience, people's reactions are mostly positive. They realize it takes guts to get out here, and that they are having a peek into an intimate process when they look onto your sketchpad.
    Today's a beautiful sunny day, I hope you get out there again and keep the courage! Dress warmly though :)

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  2. YAY! Great for you to break through that barrier! I used to feel that way about taking photos in public but then I would never have found out how fun it is to capture the underside of trees or steam rising from hot chocolate in a cafe or flowers from a dog's perspective. People (especially creative types) like to see artists at work and while not all will be admirers, many will encourage you to keep at it. That encouragement is a gift that you might not get without the risk.

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  3. That is one of my big fears - sketching in public. I'm glad you blogged about it - maybe it will help others like me to get over it!! I also recently bought myself a "traveling" watercolor set, so who knows maybe getting out and about with it will be the next step!

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  4. Your watercolour drawings is so lovely! I still am busy trying to overcome the fears of drawing/painting inside the house! :) But the act of just doing it despite the fear is such victory! Luv your post!

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  5. YAY, you! And your paintings are glorious and spontaneous and beautiful ;-)
    I remember years ago taking a drawing class where we were REQUIRED to go down to the harbor and sit on the dock (where tons of tourists were walking by), and sketch boats. BOATS! They're so hard to draw! And we had to do it in PUBLIC. I have never felt so stupid in my whole life...and terrified. And guess what happened?! Yep. People noticed! In fact, so many people noticed and stopped to look and chat, I could hardly get anything done! What a great conversation-starter and ice-breaker! What really cracked me up is that I heard one parent whisper to their child..."Oh look, there's an ARTIST!" I remember thinking..."Who? Me? Are you KIDDING?" I also remember that my boat sketch was pretty crude, but it didn't seem to matter to people. I was surrounded in this little bubble of positivity and conviviality, and suddenly it wasn't so much about THE ART, anymore...it was about connection ;-)

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    1. This should get you goin', Yvonne ! ;-)

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    2. This is so great. Who needs a dog to meet people ! I love this account.

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  6. I love these, the seagulls in particular, including title with blue, temp, etc. Cool!
    You shouldn't care about people who might think it's rubbish (they're wrong!!) just enjoy the drawing, creating, etc. Easier said than done, perhaps, but hey - I did it! lol

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  7. Yesss! This post is awesome. I feel exactly the same way. The last time I tried drawing 'in situ' a woman came up to me to have a look (and what I was drawing was really bad, I'm not just saying that, it was really, really bad!). The woman was really lovely about my drawing but...well, she was being kind. So I haven't tried it again. But I know I should because I know it could be so great. I have a book 'The Art of Urban Sketching' about drawing on location and I just look at it longingly, imagining... Thanks for this - you've given me inspiration.

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  8. Oh, can you show a picture of your travelling watercolour set? I want to know what one looks like...maybe I need one too ;)

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    1. It has the little hard blocks of paint in it instead of little tubes. My local shop just got then in in a stack that all screw together. Only $14's for I think 4 levels with about 5 or 6 colours to each level. You can get traveling brushes too. they have a hollow handle which you pre fill with water before you leave the house. They are out of Japan and are about $6's at my friends art shop here.

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  9. I had a friend who once said to me (when I was whining about some fear) “So the hell what”? I actually took a step backward when she said it, I was so startled. But then I realized she was right! When the fear starts to creep in I just repeat those four little words and it helps! (I think it also helps to be of a certain age where I don’t really care about strangers opinions anymore!) Your sketches are wonderful! You are really coming into your own style and it’s delightfully YOU!
    PS I got the card and I LOVE it! Thank you! :)

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    1. Yes I have found that the feelings of doing are so so much nicer than the feeling of fear. Once you make the strong decision to just do it any-way for the first time. Then you just know it will feel so great and you get hooked on all the great feelings.

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  10. You have such a lovely style, Yvonne. It is totally you! Congrats on being brave, and Make More Art because we love to see it!!!

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  11. glad to hear that the want and the need won out! Good for you:)
    I love what you did, keep it up and don't worry about what other people think...you're really good! these sketches are lovely.

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  12. How did those seagulls make it all the way up to you ! I love them and all the others. You are about to have the weather for going outside to capture life with your special way of viewing. I look forward to you brightening up my winter down here.

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Thanks for letting me in on your thoughts!