MY ARTISTIC ABILITIES

For a few years now I have been meaning to do a serious work of art. Something that would be time consuming and tedious, but which would give me a sense of accomplishment & utter fulfilment. Work commitments and often sheer laziness have always come in the way. The lockdown set me thinking, I could have done it at that time, or at least made a start, but then again, the online work kept me busier than ever. In fact, the computer has taken over our lives as we speak. At least that’s what I believe. Now that I am on leave, the urge to fulfil a long-cherished ambition has stirred within me once more – am certainly going for it this time. “It’s now or never”, I have said to myself. In reality, I have said that before as well, but this time am removing the “never”. Its “NOW”! I have made a firm resolve and will see it through. I vaguely remember when I was in Grade one, we were asked to draw an elephant in a test. I drew my elephant and handed in it – proud as punch. The teacher looked at it really hard and asked me what I had drawn. I reminded her that it was “an elephant”! I presume it must have been good, because the teacher showed it to a few teachers who passed by the class. They stared hard at my drawing and laughed out loud - and then she pointed me out to them! Anyway, forget that - this is the plan – this time I want to do a piece that is meaningful and deep – it should stir emotions – it should make people think. It should be something that people will admire , a piece that will have the wow factor – a sort of centre piece which people will look at ,gaze in wonderment, and enquire as to the source – the artist – have always wondered about a moment like that . Have pictured this so very often - We have a get together at home – about twenty friends come over for dinner. As each one walks in, the first thing that meets their eyes is my artwork. Two things here – it will be at eye level and it will have non reflective glass in a gilded frame. So, they look, in fact, they cannot stop examining – they go closer – they tilt their heads and some squint their eyes to get a better and different perspective - they ask about the medium used and nonchalantly I say “oil”. They then look at me and say, “where have you been hiding your talent you evil man” and I just smile and shrug! Not one to sit back, I did some basic research, and this is what I came up with: - Linen is the best of the best canvases to use but a trifle expensive. If you care about permanence (and I certainly do) and don't mind paying for it, (no I don’t) there is no better option. You can save some money by using a high-quality ‘cotton duck canvas’ which should weigh between 12-15 oz. It is cheaper than linen but is still a suitable choice for permanent paintings. So now I am in a bit of a quandary, as to whether I go for the Linen or the Cotton duck canvas but will work that out. It will be one of the two. Paints are a little more technical though and I have been consulting with a few friends and relatives. There is a wide choice in the market, and this took a few afternoons, but I have narrowed it down to any three of the following – Grumbacher, Bob Ross, Williamsburg & Sennelier. I know that I will never be the next Van Gogh but have also done a bit of reading and am now quite familiar with terms airbrush, blending , decoupage, gesso, high relief , encaustic, egg tempera and the like – words which till a month ago dazed me . There is just one major hurdle remaining – I can’t draw to save my life. Even a ball is difficult for me to draw – you see I am bad with symmetry. As for painting, the least said the better – to top it all I am genuinely colour blind. I guess I must start at the very beginning – that’s a very good place to start. As for my painting – have put that on hold for now .