This is the official end of my fourth semester in the master’s program, and I have been challenged to grow in so many aspects. The class this semester has been difficult, but I would do it all again because I know that I’m better for it. I suppose nothing worth having ever comes easy in this life, but I know that makes the outcome all the sweeter.

So, I’ll quickly recap the areas of success and the areas of growth.

Charcoal Portraits

Prior to taking this class, I had believed that my ability to draw portraits from a photo reference would easily transfer over to this new “category” of art. However, I quickly learned that drawing from life versus drawing from a photo reference… is vastly different. It took me roughly two drawings to adjust to this method, but I eventually got the hang of it. At first, I didn’t enjoy this method, but my opinion changed once I eventually got better at it. I then realized that it wasn’t the medium or style that bothered me; rather, I didn’t enjoy being bad at something.

This was an eye-opener that I believe transcends art. Character-wise, it’s good that I observed this thought pattern so that, in the future, I stop avoiding things I’m not good at. Afterall, how do you learn to master something new unless you first give yourself permission to be bad at it? Initially, I had trouble adjusting to the spontaneous nature of the charcoal medium. I didn’t like that I couldn’t control where the remnants went… but then I later learned to use this to my advantage.

How? I simply decided to cover the entirety of the canvas with a midtone base layer of charcoal, and then I used a subtractive method to erase the highlights of my subject and an additive method to darken the shadows; thus, the work resulted in a very delicate and soft render.

Animal Gesture Sketches

Next, I drew animals from life as well. This was more challenging than the charcoal portraits, as I don’t typically draw animals. Therefore, I had to quickly observe the characteristics that made each animal unique, and then I needed to effectively illustrate those qualities. Many of their proportions were different from what I was used to doing, and I needed to adjust accordingly. All in all, this subject matter is notably my biggest area of struggle this semester. I definitely struggled the most at capturing each animal’s likeness, and I’m not happy with the style of my renders. Perhaps I should try a different medium?

Urban Sketches

Plein Air Painting

Lastly, my class entered the plein air portion of the semester. I had high expectations for myself and for what I believed the process would look like. In hindsight, I certainly romanticized the idea of plein air painting, and I thought that meant I’d automatically love doing plein air. Instead, it turned out to be quite uncomfortable for many reasons… a few of which can be correlated to the environment (bugs, wind, sunlight, rain, heat, etc.) I pictured this entire process being more cinematic… however, it turned out to be the bootlegged version of cinema.