Drawing is Hard

What our teacher keeps telling us is that drawing is hard. And it is. There's no short cut--at least not if you want accuracy and realism. You just keep checking and making corrections. Details come at the very last, so try not to worry about them until later. It's much more important to get the big shapes correct first. Of course, this is a very slow process, not unlike how I learned to draw a few years ago with my local teacher, Peggy. She taught me to draw using a grid method. Sight size isn't that different, except that the grid you use is in your mind, and you are measuring with plumb lines.

I'm feeling better in class this week. I might be a couple steps behind some of the students in class, but I am recognizing that we are all struggling with our drawings. What we are trying to do is replicate the perfection of nature and that's pretty hard to do. The photos attached depict the initial block in and then forming the shadow shapes. My teacher told me today that my drawing was very good. Personally, I don't think it's much to look at right now, so I will have to trust her judgement.

I'm getting more used to the city. Last night I went down to Millennium Park with Mary and watched a movie at the pavilion. It was Apollo 13, which I had never seen before. Huge crowd on the lawn. Chilly. It's been chilly the last few days here. Honestly, I prefer that to the heat.

While waiting for the bus after class, I saw Tom walking. I ended up walking with him back to our street. It's better having someone to talk to.

Good Days

The last two days here in Chicago have been better. I "finished" my Bargue drawing in class, and I'm trying to get myself ready to copy a master drawing this week.

Thursday, I spent a good part of the day with my neighbor, Tom. He very kindly showed me around the neighborhood--places to buy groceries, the local park, etc. He even showed me where he went to junior college. Mayfair Junior College is now the Irish American Center, but it's a beautiful old building and Tom obviously has good memories of the place. Tom worked in an office supply company warehouse for 40 years before retiring a few years ago. He is spending retirement doing all the things he didn't have time for earlier in his life. He's an active participant at the local VA hospital events and classes. He took swimming classes for the first time. He's done ballroom dancing, and he's signed up for yoga in July. He quit smoking, joined a weight loss group and regularly meets with a dietician. Since retiring he's lost 70 lbs and walks around 10 miles a day. Tom also joined the local library's book club and invited me to the next meeting.

Friday after class, I met up with Mary, a Sketchbook Skool classmate I met on Facebook. She's awesome. I think she knows everyone in Chicago. You can't go anywhere with her and not have her bump into someone she knows. She drove around, pointing out areas of interest. We had lunch, then headed over to Evanston where we hit up the local Blick Art supplies store. After that we walked over to the lake on Northwestern U's campus to sketch. We had such a good time that we decided to catch a movie and grab dinner together.

Saturday, Mary picked me up and we headed to Chinatown to sketch and check out the plein air painters. Mary belongs to several plein air groups, so she knows a good number of the painters. Chinatown has great architecture to sketch. It seems that every building is ornamented with scroll work, or mosaic details. We sketched on the street for an hour or so. The great thing about Mary is how welcoming she is. A mother and two small children stopped to watch her paint and she had the kids sketching in her book within minutes.

We had lunch with a couple of the plein air painters there, Steve Puttrich and his wife,  Bobbie, before heading over to the Randolph Street Market. If I'd had my car with me, I would've loaded it up with mid-century modern furniture. There is a ton of it being sold there. As I said, Mary knows everyone. She stopped to talk with former neighbors before bumping into a colleague and her husband. Turns out the husband is Mike Waraksa. He's a collage artist who contributes illustrations to the NYTimes.

Now it's Sunday and I'm trying to gear myself up for class tomorrow. I'm feeling better and trying not to put so much pressure on myself. Hope I can make it the full six weeks.

Learning and Growing

One thing this trip is teaching me is how much anxiety holds me back. Critter travels all the time for work, so he's used to being alone in a big city. I'm definitely out of my comfort zone here. Yes, it would be easier to stay home and do what I'm used to doing. It's strange, because I love alone time at home. I relish peace and quiet. When traveling, though, I prefer to have someone with me. This is hard. Really, really hard. The class is hard, and being away from home is hard. I feel sick to my stomach every morning before class. 

One of the big points of the workshop is to strive to get the big shape right before moving to smaller shapes and details. We are learning to correct as we go. Although, I know this intellectually, it's not as easy in practice. I have to learn to trust my eye more and rely less on constant measuring, although one still has to measure to ensure accuracy. I feel that this is more difficult for me because I am not a natural at drawing and I wonder whether my less than stellar vision plays a role. How do you trust your eye when you know your eyesight is not ideal?

Each morning I feel like going home. I know I should relish this opportunity, but I am a creature of habit. Even though I know I'm a total beginner with this method, it's not comfortable to feel so clumsy and inept. Have any of you felt this way about a class? 

Day One at the Atelier

First, I want to thank all the wonderful people who rallied around me yesterday on the Sketchbook Skool Facebook page. I have been so anxious about this trip and taking the class that I wasn't sleeping well and was considering hightailing it home. I posted there yesterday morning (very early, because, you know, no sleep) and I received over a hundred comments full of encouragement, advice, and suggestions throughout the day. Wow! We all complain about the ills of social media, but I might have gone home yesterday without the outpouring of compassion and kindness I received from so many strangers who all want me to stay and learn what I can. 

I persevered yesterday and went out into the big city. I took the subway and the bus with no problems. I went downtown to the Bean and sat in the peaceful gardens at the Institute of Art. 

Last night I had wonderful El Salvadoran food at a local Pupuseria.
If you have never had a pupusa, it's kind of like a masa pancake filled with beans, cheese, pork, etc., and served with red and green salsa. It also came with this really delicious pickled slaw. I had 2 pupusas, slaw, and passion fruit juice for just over 6 bucks! Why would I ever need to cook here?

This morning I arrived at the atelier and started class. Whew! What a lot of work. First off, Magda, our teacher, is lovely, kind, and gentle. She made me feel much more at ease. The other students are mostly in their 40s/50s, like me, with one younger girl. One woman is commuting from Milwaukee, while another guy lives a few blocks away. Two other students (a husband/wife) will come next week, as they had some sort of medical issue. Everyone was nice. I do feel like I am the least experienced in the class, but I am trying not to let that bother me. 

Today we worked on a Barge drawing. I'm working on a foot. I can see all sorts of problems with it, but I keep telling myself that's why I am taking this class--to learn to see the problems and figure out how to fix them. Hopefully, this drawing will get a little better over the course of the week. 

It's a rainy day here in Chicago, so I'm staying indoors to read over the class material in preparation for the next few days. I'll post more as the class progresses. Again, thanks to all who have been so kind to me. I'm trying to stick this one out.

Pics need WiFi to upload, so can't do so from this little apartment. I'll post drawing pics to Facebook, and try to add pics from a cafe with WiFi. 

First Day in Chicago

Well,  I made it to Chicago. I am safely installed in my little apartment and just trying to get my bearings. Honestly, I'm exhausted. Virtually no sleep last night (due to anxiety) made the drive that much more difficult. But I am here so I had better make the best of it. I do miss Critter and our doggies terribly. I am heartsick without them around, even Critter--who is rarely home anyway.

I took a long walk this afternoon down to the atelier. I'll definitely be riding the bus occasionally. It's only 2 miles, but felt much longer in the heat. Glad I brought my hiking shoes!

I discovered that I am located in the Mayfair Park area on Chicago's northwest side. I think the neighborhood is officially Albany Park, but I saw street banners proclaiming Mayfair Park, so I looked it up. It's really a great neighborhood and wonderfully diverse: Mexican, Peruvian, Korean, etc.

Some of the street corners along Lawrence Ave (one of the main drags) have small, intimate park bench seating with well-kept flowers. Very nice to soothe sore feet. I met an older,  retired gentleman on my walk. We were walking near each other for awhile and he said, "It's a great day for a walk." I agreed and added that I was thankful for the breeze, too. I went along on my way to find the atelier and on my way back, I spotted him again sitting on a bench near a bed of lovely flowers. I called out to him, asking how his walk had been. He mentioned that since retirement he got himself a pedometer and tracks his walking each day. He averages around 30,000 steps a day! Put my poor sore feet to shame. He said he had been down to Eli's Cheesecake earlier and that's quite a walk. I told him I was new around here and didn't know where that was, so he kindly gave me directions. He pulled out a flyer from the restaurant that listed summer events and showed me that there is a farmer's market every Thursday, beginning this upcoming week. I'm so excited. I'll be able to get fresh fruit on Thursday mornings, plus get my gazillion steps in  to boot.

I want to mention how nice everyone has been to me so far in this city. It is a friendly place. I parked my car a few blocks from the apartment and the man who rented the spot to me was so kind. He pointed out where I could catch the bus and the Blue Line. He made me feel much less nervous about everything. He said that this is a great city and he hopes that I enjoy my stay. So far, despite my anxiety, I am enjoying it pretty well.

I also want to say how grateful I am to the atelier student who kindly sublet his apartment to me this summer. It is lovely. Granted, I feel like I'm in college again, which isn't the greatest feeling, but I have a safe place to rest in a really charming neighborhood. I also want to thank the student's mother for contacting me with lots of info about the apartment and neighborhood, and for helping to make the place spotless. It is such a relief to have a nice and clean place to stay while I am here.

Dinner tonight was at Taqueria Morelia not far from the apartment. I had tacos al pastor and they were truly delicious. Dare I say they were better than what I can get in Detroit's Mexicantown? If they weren't better, it was a very close tie. They were served with onions and cilantro,  as well as a particularly delectable verde sauce. I'll definitely go back there for fine eats.

On my way home from dinner, I noticed a sign advertising Lobster Gram. What?!? It's kind of like a lobster warehouse. Across the street from my apartment. So, if anyone is hankering for lobster,  I guess I can hook you up.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day, so I'll be out and about a little more. I'll be sure to start taking photos and drawing so that I can add them to these updates. It is somewhat cumbersome updating via phone, so bear with me.

Studying at a traditional atelier

This blog aims to document my atelier art experience at the Ravenswood Atelier in Chicago, IL over the next 6 weeks. I am looking forward to learning from teacher, Magdalena Almy, as well as from my fellow students. I hope to increase confidence and build on my drawing and painting skills. I know there is much for me to learn and that these next several weeks will involve a lot of hard work and intense study. I also plan to attend the Urban Sketchers Chicago sketch seminar during the 2nd week in July. Finally, I am setting myself a goal of sketching every day while I am in Chicago. This trip is all about art and about me learning as much as I can. I hope you will join me on this journey.