Art Lessons With Jamie

I began to draw early in my life…. And Sunday Morning was a special time for me. I would get up early, before everyone else in the family, and run outside and quickly pick up the big Sunday newspaper. I wanted it all to myself for just a little while.

What Was So Exciting?

What in the world could be so exciting in the newspaper to a little girl who could not even really read yet? Sunday was the day the “FUNNY PAPERS” came. There were four full size sheets of cartoon characters in little squares and strips, cartoon characters of all kinds, doing all kinds of things. They were running and jumping and they would ride DINOSAURS, or FLY, they had funny faces and could talk to each other via little balloons over their heads.

But the main thing to me was that they were drawn in simple black lines. There was no color on these comics, not then, and probably not for another 15 -20years…

     PURE BLISS for a child who loved to try to draw. Do you remember the old comic characters on those pages? Brenda Starr? Or Daisy Mae and Lil’ Abner?

   Snoopy was there and the Peanuts Gang, but my personal favorite was ALLEY OOP… What a man! … Or should I say, What a CAVEMAN. I look back now and wonder why He was my favorite fellow to try to “draw”.

Maybe Brenda Starr was just a little to chic and sophisticated, or Daisy Mae was too blond and beautiful, or I don’t know, maybe Snoopy just wasn’t entertaining enough for me. Who knows why, but Alley was the fellow for me! I drew him riding his dinosaur,  carrying his club, standing in front of his cave.  Anything he was doing in the “funny papers,” I was copying on my paper, trying hard to duplicate the lines that made ole ALLEY OOP the exciting  CAVEMAN  he was.   I am still attracted to the rugged, outdoorsy  types…hummmm

What Was I Doing?

I was teaching myself to draw. Somehow I knew that by copying another artist’s simple lines, I would work until I could draw similar enough looking lines that I could recognize what I had done  as being ole ALLEY himself.

 WHAT A TRIP! AND THANKS ALLEY… FOR THE LESSONS YOU TAUGHT ME. I needed a model, and a good example to follow, and you were always there,on Sunday Morning.You never let me down.

I hope to be as inspiring a teacher to you as Alley Oop was for me. I won’t be there every Sunday, but the new  Art lesson workshop downloads  and kits will be there in the store for you. Just order them up when you are ready.

Study is best when done with examples and my downloadable art program lessons are filled with examples and step by step instructions. Lots of  easy examples to copy and study from.   Just remember …don’t judge, but delight in the results of your efforts, and rejoice in any ability you have.

Go on, get to your favorite spot, draw some funny little characters : and maybe, just maybe…
I’LL SEE YOU IN THE FUNNY PAPERS!       Sincerely, Jamie

Drawing with Picasso as a inspiration... program for sale in the store.

Jamie Carter

A painting in the old masters Fauve technique

While thumbing through an old art magazine this morning I caught myself passing by pictures and articles that didn’t seem to hold my attention… my mind was on some other “LOOK” I wanted to research.

Then, for some reason, I began to take a second glance through the pages again and  I came across some nuggets of gold… an article about drawings that are produced for patents. And a school of painters I hadn’t looked at in years… The FAUVES. What color information, what wonderful line drawings. And the who…what…whys were  all there in the information that I was going to pass up in favor of something else more…interesting? Hmm.

Hitting A Brick Wall

It made me realize how many times I had encouraged my students to try other mediums and methods only to hit a brick wall with them. They simply did not LIKE that style or method, at first glance it  just didn’t appeal to them. Because they didn’t want to dig and  look for the “nuggets,” they missed out on the “gold.”

What did I learn this morning? I was reminded that everything manufactured or produced starts with an artist’s drawing .That means everything in the room, with the exception of you , your plants, and the cat.

Look at the wonderful color and use of lines in this Fauve style painting..

And I learned again about color theory; about the art critics who balk when  presented with artists who create techniques and styles of painting outside of the currently accepted  criteria or “box,” if you like to think of it that way.

My Message and My Lesson

Never quit digging for gold… look for the nuggets where you may not expect them to be, even if you think you’re not interested.

Don’t pass up that drawing technique because you already KNOW HOW to draw… really?  O maybe you heard someone say watercolor was hard to learn or not as marketable as oils. Are you sure? Have you tried it with a good teacher? Have you shown it to a collector?

KEEP DIGGING>>> THE GOLD IS THERE, but probably not in the places you have dug before. Don’t be a balking critic. Think and research outside of the box.

Happy hunting … and Keep exploring .
The moral to the story.. Be a lifetime student.

Enroll in the forever school of art.

See You at the easel… and have a color-full day.

Jamie Carter