This painting you see is my first attempt with acrylic on canvas and it came out much better than what I expected. Drawing silhouettes is in one way a safe first step as you don't have to burn your head with the different shades that a painting of a landscape in broad daylight demands:))
I spent about 6 hours with the painting and that could be because I was doing it the first time. Prior to this I had spent about 2 hours sketching the camel, the tree branches, the mosque, the setting sun and the shrubs on the ground with a pencil after the background had dried up.
I had dabbled with Microsoft MS Paint and done a few paintings with the computer mouse. What you see below is a collective image of these.
I had also worked on some pencil sketches, some of which I have put into the older posts in this blog. I think I would have bought at least ten books on acrylic painting to understand the nuances of mixing and shading. I read a little of all these books, but never jumped into the actual activity as the various steps in that whole process still lay as obstacles in my mind. Some of them were the place where I would place the canvas and paint, the mixing of the colours, the different brushes that I should be using, the picture that I should start with first, how to do the basic sketching on the dried acrylic after the background was done and how to make changes in the sketch in case I wanted to.
I have seen my sister struggle with pencil sketching a year back and the outputs were never satisfactory. But somehow in the last few months that went by, she took up acrylic painting. I think 'took up' is a mild word. She rather 'jumped' into it. And although there was an initial period of struggle, I saw some beautiful paintings based on the Masaii tribe come out. I believe she was going through a difficult period after quitting her job to look after my father and when many people called up home and asked her about her career, it used to pile up as a mountain of pressure on her. But it was great to see that getting channelized in this creative way.
And so when I took up acrylic painting, most of the obstacles that were there in my mind, were already sorted out and clear as I could see how my sister had gone about. She was with me when the brush with the first dip of paint hit the canvas and also right through the sketching and the editing of the sketch before the final painting. I was really surprised to know the several little things she had already learnt from her experiments and experience.
I think what held me back was the fear of failure and wanting to come out good in the very first attempt. That way I was only holding myself back with the fear to explore.
