Humble beginnings

Hello friends,

It's been two and a half exciting weeks since I started art school and here I am, entering the bloggersphere. The plan is to record my progress/experiences throughout the year, and post pictures for those of you who fancy a peek at what I'm producing (it's pretty fledgling stuff remember, so be kind critics, be kind). There have been triumphs and there have been disasters - this is a platform for both!

To set the scene: Heatherleys School of Fine Art is nestled snugly amongst the auction houses and antique shops of Lots Road, Chelsea. Recently relocated to a brand new building (great big 'modernist' windows; bold blue and white stucco walls), it maintains a genteel atmosphere. For three days a week, I toil (pah!) in its painting and drawing studios. On Tuesdays it's 'Drawing and Visual Composition' with George - a rather eccentric tutor who comes out with the kind of gems you'd expect of an artiste (yesterday, my sketch was like an 'oasis in the desert'). On Wednesdays it's 'Methods and Materials' with Ian, a class that allows for all kinds of experiment. And on Fridays it's 'Beginners Oil Painting' with Alan, a chatty Scotsman (who brings in fantastic source material). Classes are 10-4pm, and I'm really getting into the rhythm of the working day (I bought a thermas flask yesterday, to avoid wasting time/money come lunchtime - which I think says a lot about my geriatric adjustment to the place).  

Here are a few still-life paintings I've produced in the last week. I've never worked with oils before, so its a new challenge. I tend to lay the paint on too thinly at the moment - a habit I think I've picked up from doing watercolours - but that should change with time. Really enjoyed painting the pumpkins (though the room did smell of rotting veg) - such awesomely colourful, massy things. Less pleased with the fruitcake painting, which came out looking flatter and less dramatic than I'd have liked. But it's something I can have another go at in a year maybe. If only I had a photo of me in action to go alongside these. The apron I don is monstrous - it's one of those full-body jobbies, like you have when you're a kid. Bottle-green, with giant pockets. And of course I have to wear my geek glasses. Basically, I look hot in the studio.

So that's a taster of my working week. More to come very soon...