When the world is literally falling apart in wars, human and natural disasters
“This is precisely the time when artists go to work,” Toni Morrison wrote in her electrifying case for the artist’s task in troubled times. “There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. That is how civilizations heal.”
I wanted to share with you those beautiful words I read on Maria Popova’s website
The war and violence has left many of us feeling helpless. When we all feel so much stress and helplessness and anxiety, it can be helpful to have a healthy way to empty your head and at the same time to connect with the world, and making art is one of them. And when you share your art on social media, you connect with the world and you make the world more beautiful. Drawing and painting are universal languages. That’s also why artists are often put to jail by dictators. Art can be powerful!
My heart and thoughts of course go to all the victims of the war and other disasters going on in our world…
In those moments of despair, what we do might seem so futile…
That’s when I turn to two things: to the comfort of beautiful images and to my collection of pencils and brushes. More than ever, I want to encourage you to create and show your art.
So I started working on a new online course on the Skillshare platform…
Please tell me what you’d most like to learn, and if you have any questions you’d like to see in my future class!
Maybe there’s something new you’d like to try?
In the meantime, take care of yourself!
Sending you all my love!
Barbara
P.S.: if you want to paint spring colors with me I’ll be giving another Zoom workshop on 23rd April on the great Arttoolkit platform. You can surbsicribe here: https://arttoolkit.com/learn/spring-colors/
We’ll explore sketching springtime colors in this workshop, focusing on cherry blossoms, an ephemeral symbol of renewal. We’ll use trees, greens, and simple houses for additional inspiration. We will paint in a very intuitive way.
If you don’t have any trees with cherry blossoms around or if you’re on the other side of the world with another season: you can work from a reference photo—join us to play with color! All levels are welcome. Don’t worry if you don’t have pink in your palette: we’ll start the workshop by mixing some ourselves.
I hope to see you there and paint with you!
Hello Barbara,
thanks so much for these wise and inspiring words and for that great FOCUS graphic!
You have asked about what we’d like to learn from you on Skillshare.
Well, I loved your watercolor beginner’s course. For me, the next step would be a systematic introduction on how to build up a painting in watercolor. I don’t mean composition, I mean it more technically:
How many layers do I need?
For me, a layer is everything that I can do without interruption, i.e. without having to wait for the painting to dry (or having to blow-dry it)
What would I try to achieve in each layer?
What do I need to keep in mind when working on a layer?
(e.g. I know that it’s dangerous to apply paint onto a still damp layer – esp. when my paint/brush is wetter than the underground … – but I’m still struggling with this …)
That would really help me!
Best regards,
Barbara
(yes, my name is Barbara as well)
Thank you so much dear Barbara!
Hmmm I have to think about more about your question!
I made a new Skillshare class now where I show different ways of watercolor sketching, because I don’t always paint in different layers… It depends of the result you want to achieve. It’s true that a lot of watercolorists paint in layers… That’s when you want some colors not to bleed into eachother, but it also depends of the paper you use…
It’s a vast subject! I’ll work more on it!
Thank you so much!
Comment
Thank you for these words of encouragement in troubled times. The function of art is what you have indicated. Art saves us from this world that I don’t understand.
Yes Marivi, that’s true!