As previously mentioned, though I felt assured in my painting skills in one way, I was lacking confidence in another and these mixed feelings inspired me to take a Beginning Painting class at PNCA. I figured that I would know most of the material, but that if I learned one or two tricks of the trade that it would be worthwhile. In terms of that expectation, the only thing I learned was that it is permissible to mix different mediums together. I had assumed that this was at least slightly an oil and water situation or that people simply should prefer a single solution over a concoction. I am pleased to have been corrected of this ignorance. Otherwise there was no basic painting instruction that I was lacking. Which in itself was a sort of confidence booster. Sort of like if you try to figure out how the electoral college works based on what you half remember from eighth grade, what you’ve overheard, and wild assumptions and then you find out that your guesswork is correct.
More importantly, I was fortunate with my teacher. The teacher that was originally slated for the class was replaced by another occasional PNCA teacher, Cecilia Hallinan. At first I was wary of her exuberance, the way she could rave about certain colors or lines. I am generally a reserved and reticent person and as such I am suspicious of people who are laudatory, not that I necessary assume that they are disingenuous, I just find it a slightly unnatural quality. Since this was a continuing education there was also a little bit less discipline and skill in the class than I was expecting. So I was rather discouraged after the first class thinking that this would not be beneficial for me in any way.
However, Cecilia noticed that I was not taking the same copious notes as the rest of the class and then on seeing me paint immediately inquired as to why exactly I was taking a painting class. I explained my fears and she volunteered to spend extra time before and after classes with me, since she felt I wouldn’t get much out of the lessons themselves. So despite my initial cringe reaction, her willingness to reach out and support me and her general exuberance quickly became very important to me. She had me bring some of my finished and unfinished paintings into class for her to see and she was extremely encouraging about my painting abilities and potential.
Even after the class had ended she had me bring several paintings that I was working on to her studio. These were #50 which I had finally finished after many many months of work and the Driftwood series, #53, #54, and #55. William Park came by her studio and she asked him to comment on the paintings as well. They both exhorted me to view myself as more of a professional and to present my work as being of professional quality.
All of this support was vital to me and I definitely wouldn’t have pursued exhibiting or selling my work without her encouragement. Cecilia had named Launchpad Gallery as a place I should look into and when I saw that they were having a non-juried show later in the year I signed up.
The painting class had also been the first time in several years when I had really tried to paint a subject, and the first time since high school when I had worked on still lifes. I had also done a landscape, #52, which I then turned upside down and abstracted to some extent, while still retaining some of its perspective. Having dipped my toe back into realism based expressionism I decided that for Launchpad’s ‘Dreams’ show I didn’t want to pick a random painting and say that it was about dreams, rather I wanted to paint a larger and slightly more realistic painting specifically for the show. This paintings would be #57 – Dream Canyon. It’s still important to me that if a show has a theme or guidelines that I work on a painting specifically for that show or those constraints.
Dream Canyon was hung in the ‘Dreams’ show at Launchpad and I was delighted to have the first line on my résumé’s exhibition history. The piece didn’t sell during this show, but it did illicit some praise, particularly from the gallery owner Ben Pink.
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