Art courses saved my artistic life!!

No seriously, it’s not even click bait. I’ve done a few courses over the last few years. Some in person, some online, some short mini ones, some over multiple lessons… I’ve even joined an art membership!

How have they saved my artistic life you ask? And what courses did I do (just as important really)!?

Looking back, I’ve always had an artistic inclination but consistency was never my strong point. I didn’t understand why I kept being drawn back into painting and drawing. It was always small stuff – the odd painting, designing Christmas glasses, creating designs on paper and melting them into candles…

“Seriously there have been some fun and random creative endeavours but I never thought of them as anything more.”

Slowly though, I was doing more painting and decided to do a course in a local college in 2018 under the guidance of Limerick based artist Jim Furlong in Limerick College of Further Education. (Check him out on Instagram, he’s an excellent charcoal portrait artist)

I continued to plod along nicely, enjoying doing bits here and there as work was busy and we had Conor in early 2019.

It wasn’t until 2021 that I took another course. I had spent much of 2020 following along with hashtag challenges on Instagram, these helped set up a regular art practice and also interest. I started listening to art podcasts and following artists on Instagram. There was lots of activity as everyone was on stay-at-home orders as everything shut down and slowed down somewhat.

A welcome escape

2020 was also rife with some personal struggles. I had my first miscarriage at the start of August 2020 and a lot of things took the backseat as I focused on health and family. It took the wind out of my sails. But the creative urge was still strong so I worked away on some bits with no urgency or understanding of what I was trying to do. It was just a welcome escape.

I had another miscarriage in January 2021 so in stepped the lovely Laura Horn in March 2021 whose gentle instruction in her Modern Mixed Media course introduced me to new techniques, styles, skills and questions about my art. It was exactly what I needed – not only a welcome distraction to what my body was going through, but it was opening my eyes and my heart to what my art could look like. There was something very satisfying about painting to someone else’s instruction but knowing it was contributing to my own knowledge as well.

Unfortunately I had another miscarriage in early April 2021. Art was more anchored to me at this stage but courses were still so important to push it in the right direction and keep me sane. I did Louise Fletcher‘s Find Your Joy course in June, a free yearly course she runs to see if I could use art to tap more into my emotions and become more expressive about it.

I didn’t understand abstract art – I’ll be honest, I still don’t really. HOWEVER, like the modern mixed media course, it opened up new concepts, ideas and approaches to art. I think by engaging in courses and teachers that I felt “safe” with, I allowed myself to try new things and be more open with learning. And I was learning that art could be a medium through which I could express my emotions. Not only that, but I started to develop an interest in letting go through my art – it didn’t have to be perfect for me to enjoy it.

(I should note that both Laura and Louise have podcasts that I listened to regularly before doing their courses – and still listen now of course)

2021 was all about experimenting, doing hashtag challenges, creating bad art (check out my piece on why I love making bad art), and trying different things. It was building, building, building to something that I couldn’t see or understand just yet. And that was the life saving thing about the courses – it was keeping me steady and asking questions of my art. Questions that wouldn’t have dawned on me if I kept trying to do this art thing on my own.

And that was the life saving thing about the courses – it was keeping me steady and asking questions of my art. Questions that wouldn’t have dawned on me if I kept trying to do this art thing on my own.

I got Kellee Wynne’s book, Mixed Media Colour Studio, for Christmas 2021 and my mind was blown by the simpliest thing – colour mixing. Like WHAT?! OK, I know it’s probably the dumbest, most basic thing to anyone who has gone to art college etc etc but it really fried my brain to go through it and see the possibilities. Like, wow, maybe I should try this too? I really wanted to understand my art more. I felt by understanding my art more, I was understanding myself more. Cheesy I know. Good thing I like cheese.

Next up was Emily Jefford‘s Do it for the Process, course – look out for the podcast of the same name. Filled with probing questions about your art, why you do what you do and what is your highest work. She treads a beautiful line of questioning and curiousity and getting under your skin.

I treated myself to an online mini course with Susan Nethercote on the Garden of Joy In March 2022 for Mother’s Day. I don’t think the benefit of these mini courses should be underestimated. I loved watching her processes and the reasoning behind her approach. There’s something nice about watching other people’s approach to their art making to offer a different perspective on the whole thing.

Last one, for now anyway, was Phoebe Gander‘s first online course “Unlocking colour Part One – The Key to Colour Mixing”. Everyone has their own way of understanding and taking in colour theory. As a self taught artist, gathering other people’s approaches to it is important. Simple things like marking my blues to identify the warm ones from the cold ones has also helped immensely.

The benefits of these courses have been undeniable for me – keeping me in touch with my art practice, encouraging me to try new things and ask questions of myself and my art practice, learning new techniques and remembering that art is supposed to be fun.

They’ve been a source of inspiration,  connection and information. And brought me further along in my understanding of my own artistic why. And they’ve given me an outlet for me. For Jennifer. Not mom. Not wife. Not employee. Just me. 

And not only that, but paying for courses is also a way to give a little something back to artists who share so much value and time.

This year I also joined Louise Fletcher’s Art Tribe membership. I’ve found a wealth of information there that’s really beneficial to me. I have people that I can ask questions to, there are master classes and bags of new thought processes and styles and topics to get stuck into. It’s so important to learn from a variety of places. You don’t get stuck in one pattern and it’s fun to try new things.

What’s next?

What’s next for me is creating my first collection based on some poems I’ve written about motherhood. Yep, all these courses and self discoveries have led me down the path of writing and creating a body of work. Who knows there might be a book or something in it yet. Right now, it’s about learning and sharing.

So what courses have you taken that have inspired you?