For many, many, many years… probably more years than some of you have been on this earth, I have yearned to paint. Not fancy, hang in the Lourve paintings, but paintings that would fill my journals with water colors of my gardens, little drawings of romping animals, and ultimately, simple paintings that could accompany the many tales I love the weave. If you are so inclined, you can read about my struggles to pick up a paintbrush and pencil HERE and HERE and HERE. Truly, I had worked myself into an absolute tizzy and became too paralyzed to even begin my endeavors.

Eventually, I took the plunge and signed up for one of Elisa Burke’s on line water color classes. You can read about it HERE. As it turns out, what I really needed was a bit of discipline! Although I did learn some techniques in the class, the best part of it was the routine. It gave me direction for starting my adventure and gave me a sense of accomplishment as I completed each lesson. Plus, if you are like me and a bit shy about creating in front of other people, online classes are a wonderful way to learn new things in the privacy of your own home.

Since I took that first class, I’ve done a lot of experimenting and painting on my own. But recently, I realized I wasn’t painting as much as I did right after I took the class. So, my solution… register for another class! This time, I enrolled in one of Joanne Sharpe’s classes, Doodle Arts and Lettering. You can learn more about her class HERE.  

I am having a blast. It is a “doodle” class as opposed to a regular “water color” class, but it is giving me new inspiration, and for me, the purpose behind any class I take is to encourage me to go off on my own and try new things, and ultimately, to find techniques I enjoy.

If you have wanted to try something new but don’t know where to start, I highly recommend signing up for one of the hundreds of classes that are available online. At least for me, it was a wonderful way to get my creative juices flowing!

Below are some of the assignments from the class. I’m about half-way through and I’m enjoying learning new techniques and tips. Have you ever taken an on-line class, if so, which class did you take? What were your general thoughts on the class?

 

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