Fun in unexpected places….
Spending a day in a sea scout hut in Milford Haven may not sound like a bundle of joy, but take a roomful of lively U3A students and one watercolour tutor on a mission (me) and a great time was had by all. Well, I enjoyed it anyway (and got paid for it!). It was a very mixed ability group, so we dipped in an out of dozens of subjects – the magpie approach, hoping there would be something for everyone.
It amazes me how people have a different attitude to art to, say, learning a musical instrument. With music, you don’t buy a piano, try and play a Beethoven concerto and when you fail say ‘there, I knew I didn’t have musical talent!’ You get lessons, do easy stuff to start with, do lots of scales. But with painting, people buy the kit, have a go, fail and then say they don’t have talent. All that’s needed is for someone to show them how, followed by plenty of easy stuff and scales. For painting, ‘scales’ means trying out different colour mixes, brushstrokes, ways of laying on the paint. Producing a complex finished painting is the equivalent of that concerto! Talent is the cherry on the cake… but first you need to bake the cake. Sorry, way too much ranting…… time to calm down and top up the wine glass.