WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

You are lucky to have a community centre with lessons near you. With the aid of some instructional on dvds I have dabbled a bit, nothing good enough to show anyone. I am looking forward to seeing your work.

lucyjordan I agree with Supernan, you are very lucky to have classes local to you, there are so many cutbacks where I live, that it is hard to find any hobby classes of any discription. I've managed to find some great hobby books at car boot sales, but this is just not the same as watching an 'expert' teach you, besides it's nice to go to a class and meet up with new people too!

There are specialised hobby holidays that are now available but these are often quite pricey. I was thinking of enquiring at my local village hall to see if I could start up a craft morning where people could come along and share their knowledge and offer the benefit of their experience to others. A kind of 'crafty coffee morning'.

Yes i know i was very lucky. At the time the course available was run by the local authority, but after that first year, the artist decided to keep the class going, and we paid only £2 per week to him. The class ran for 2 hours and there were only 15 students, so he wasnt making that much, but he also did the courses at other places for the local authority as well, so he obviously was on a wage from them too,

This of course was in 2000-2004 since then ive worked on my own.

It was as somebody else mentioned a good way to make new friends too, but for me being a carer at the time, it was also lovely to have some special me time, where i could forget the tribulations of life, and loose myself in my painting.

I have recently joined the University of the 3rd Age, and as a result I am, with another member leading a group of amateur artists. In the main we use watercolour, and of a variety of skills, from people who have never painted before, to those who enjoy being and being creative with like minded people.

I only ever wanted to be an artist. Even as a small child, I filled scrapbooks with my dress designs and used smoothed-out sweet papers to suggest textiles. My dear father said NO to art school...for the likes of hippies [he thought] so, to please him, I became a civil servant and was bored to tears for years. When I met my present husband twenty three years ago, he persuaded me to paint a picture to auction for charity. It was a success and gave me a huge boost of confidence. I am now almost 70 and sell paintings from a local gallery and by taking on commissions of family pets. My husband and I also produce and sell greetings cards based on our own artwork. The proceeds, together with a little extra that we earn doing cleaning and gardening jobs, go into our travel-fund box, which we use to visit our lovely grandchildren [three of which show artistic promise] and live several hundred miles away.

Try this web site - loads of free advice, free demo videos and a lively community for painters in all media.
http://www.how-to-draw-and-paint.com

You are never to old to paint!!Even if there are no classes near you libraries ,(while we've still got them! but let's not get political!)have self help art books or just get out there to exhibitions and look at how others do it to get inspiration!I've always been arty and now exhibit at a local gallery and have done craft fairs and local art events and at one time had a one woman permanent exhibition at the local bakers!(I asked and I got!!Amazing!.Just get your work out there and see what happens.Also if you find you're not getting on with one medium, try another to find what suits you best.I must admit going to an Adult Ed class does inspire you, (being with other like minded people) and makes you do more e.g. prep for the next week and old uns get it cheaper so look out in your area for classes in that library!Very best of luck and keep doing it! Painting!!

Well done sloeginnie. I always wished I could draw and paint and, then when I reached retirement age and only worked part time, I joined a painting group and have since exhibited at the North East Open Studios exhibition. The only trouble is that now that I'm fully retired I have so little time to pursue my hobbies.

Thanks for that encouragement Sloeginnie....you made my day. I've ALWAYS wanted to paint (watercolour), never thought I was much good at it - but hey, who cares, I just love putting paint on paper. It's fun for me. I haven't had the nerve to show anyone. Must admit I would love to go to a class, but there's non near me. It's just such a relaxing thing to do.

Try a bit of 'googling' and you might find an artist nearby who does the occasional one-off day course. Where I live (Devon) there are quite a few of these and I went along in trepidation as a complete novice aged 60 - have never looked back.

Now branched out into acrylics and water-mixable oils, which I find much more forgiving than watercolour. I can paint over my mistakes until I get it the way I want it!

Thanks for that Mrs JamJam. I live in a village in Oxfordshire so will try googling a one day course. I'm 61 Mrs JamJam, you've inspired me to try acrylics - thanks.

Painting is so therapeutic. When I retired two years ago from working in the South I moved to Newcastle to live near my son and daughter-in-law - at their request!

I enrolled on a watercolour class and oil painting class at the local Adult Learning Centre in Gosforth. I had a marvellous teacher and learnt so much from him.

Last Summer I went on an outdoor waterclour class and each week we went to a different place, parks, seaside, etc. However bad you think you are - try it - you may be surprised at what you can achieve! I met some really nice people on the courses, too.

Hi, all try the Society for All Artists , www.saa.co.uk
and the painting and drawing channel on sky digital 195
great for beginners as well as the more experienced. Great discounts on materials, too.

quite right, oldblue. I use them all the time and can't imagine why I forgot to mention them.

I have produced some paintings since retiring as it was my first love as a schoolgirl. However, have given up on art classes as teachers were always men who wanted us to paint what I call 'mens' subjects i.e. boats, seascapes, landscapes etc. I like to paint animals, plants, portraits - anything but boats and sea.

I agree, it can be difficult to find a suitable tutor, some just want their egos boosted by showing off their prowess, others insist that you copy every brush stroke they have made. Fortunately I have found some classes run by a local resident, the tutor is a successful artist (his canvasses sell for £1000+ )who likes to teach, and is an inspiration.to all of us (average age 60+).
He teaches each of us at our own level, subjects may be his idea or ours, we have had recent topics such as "At the threshold" ,"Favourite holiday image", "Abstract that represents emotion", as well as basic subjects as transparecy, perspective, etc. It has taken me many years to find a really good tutor, don't give up, you will strike lucky one day!

Like Sixtiesgirl, I find that some tutors like to imprint their style on you. I had the opposite experience to you; a female tutor who only seemed to be interested in painting flowers, still life, etc. Frankly, landscapes were not her forte. I love painting boats and the sea! Perhaps we should have swapped! It is difficult to find the right teacher - there are many professional and semi-professional teachers where I live teaching just about every style imaginable; the biggest hurdle, now that I'm retired, is the price some of them charge for lessons.

The workshop I currently attend started as a small group of likeminded beginners who got together in one another's homes. Once a month, friends who taught art would give workshops, for a small fee. As we gained confidence, and numbers, we expanded to the villge hall for all day open workshops, (lunch in the pub) . This makes the workshops relatively cheap, and you can select different tutors, according to your collective wishes. good luck!

In my experience, art courses are quite expensive. I would advise anyone considering joining one to research the tutor. Just put the name into your search engine (e.g. Google) and see what comes up.
Personnally, I like to obtain a video to assess whether or not I like the tutor's style. Failing that, try to find an online gallery of the tutor's work and see if you think their style compliments yours.

Wow lucyjordan!!
I've just taken a peek at your watercolours, they are lovely. You really have a talent for painting. I've dabbled a little, but nothing to compare with your work. You have inspired me to try again.
Well done
Love and hugs

lucyjordan and all arty Gransnetters, well done Since I was a little girl I've wanted to paint. My father objected to me going to art school and it wasn't until I picked up my husband's paint box 20 years ago [am approaching my 70th] did I rekindle the love of creativity. I have not been tutored but, thanks to my husband's encouragement, from that moment, I've produced art from my mind's eye...then I painted flowers, buildings and latterly, pet portraits. I've sold many paintings and have also produced and sold my own range of greetings cards depicting my artwork. I've posted a few examples of my work in my gallery. Haven't been able to continue though - the computer seems to be in a very funny mood!

Hi lucyjordan
Have just had a look at your paintings, they are lovely. I did an art course about 10yrs ago with an over 50's group and suprised myself by gaining a certificate at the end of 3yrs, apparently O level standard!! Sadly since then due to family commitments I haven't touched a paint brush since, except the domestic kind. However having grandchildren I took up photography, joined a club and thoroughly enjoy it. My youngest Gchild starts nursery soon and I thought maybe I could dig out my brushes but I am now to have another Gchild in October so will have to wait approx another 3 years! The old oil pastels came out recently for the 3yr old to paint with, so I guess they are not wasted. Keep up your hobby and enjoy.

I need a little help.
Tried watercolours and had a great time. Went to classes run by an excellent tutor where I found out all the stuff I hadn't known, and now the joy has gone a bit, as anything I do I am never satisfied with.
How can I re-start without being so self-critical?

I started painting with oils not long after my 50th Birthday. My hubby and I went to Hawaii and I was inspired by a class of painters there painting the landscape, some where brilliant and some not so good but they were all have a great time and really enjoying it.
We then went to San Francisco to a dear friend of mine who also started painting a number of years ago. She encouraged me to start by giving me a book on how to learn to paint. As soon as I got back home to Germany, I went out and spent a fortune on an easle, oil paints and expensive brushes etc. I really enjoy it, but haven`t had the time to start again, one painting is in my gallery since last year and is not finished yet.