Quest to become a complete artist

Feedback from Sandhya Sharma

The path to learning fine art has been a difficult and arduous one for me. To begin with, studying fine art had to be put off for safe career to be able to support the family. When it was time to paint, I found myself in an environment not very congenial to learning art. There were no teachers or institutions to support middle aged beginner. So I learnt and practised through online courses.

One of these courses made it fairly evident that I needed an instructor to learn drawing. This took me to Magomedov Makhatch in the Russian Cultural Centre, Tunis. Beginning with drawing a cylinder, he kept me at the drafting table for over 8 months. I drew all shapes of pots and pans, lanterns and flasks. If I drew a boat at home, Makhatch would give me boats to draw for all of the month. It was a beginning. I painted my first original still life compositions at home while learning from Makhatch and he critiqued them and I then worked over them again.

Later I went to Florence Art Academy in Sweden after reading about their work in Juliette Aristides books on Classical Painting/drawing Atelier. Her ebook on Classical method showed a clip on Jordan Sokol (another young Old Master) and I wanted to learn at the FAA. I did two workshops there, covering still life, figure drawing and then portraiture. Since its expensive to be away in Sweden for long terms I once again studied from distance learning programmes. Last year I got a Diploma in Drawing and Painting with Honours from London Art School and also got a Certificate of Merit in Life Drawing and Painting.
Next week, if all goes well, I will be doing a week of life drawing studies under the instructions of Martin Yeoman at the Royal Drawing School, London. The more I learn the more I need to grow and improve. I think, if I stop learning then my paintings from that point onward will stop responding to new stimulating images and subjects. In order to stay alive to the arts, each day has to be seen for its newness.

I have many favourites so will name those who come to me first, Michelangelo, Leonardo D Vinci, and Proudhon etc. being skipped as taken for granted. So here is the shortest list: Ilya Repin, Raphael, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Roubtzoff, Etienne Dinet. I admire these artists for they all have immense ease with which they use their medium so the viewer looks at the work and connects immediately with the subject and the story unraveling in the painting.

I think the main challenge is to be able to draw and paint in a seamless fashion and to be able to use the material in a way that its presentation does not deflect the viewer from the main theme, be it light, beauty, colour, form . . . So, I think my main challenge is to draw well, paint well, while at the same time not losing sight of the main goal — a true depiction of the subject. For all of this to happen simultaneously I need to excel in each . . .

Primarily I would like to learn about composition that goes beyond space division and is made beautiful with arrangement of light and dark, colour harmony, and textures. I would like to practice and become efficient with glazing, scumbling, impasto, bravura and many more things that make traditional oil painting so rich. Above all I would like to be able to draw and paint where the strength of one adds to the strength of the other.

I wanted to find a course that takes me to the next level of proficiency in painting. I found it and more, as the course will also give me a better understanding of different methods/styles/approaches to paint and this would mean better decisions made by me when approaching different subjects and situations.

Sandhyasharmafineart.com