Many students feel pressure when taking studio classes, as they may be surrounded by peers who have experience in what they’re doing. The pressure is on, you want to do well, automatically compare yourself and your work to others and many people want to avoid this problem for as long as possible.
This is not the case in Painting I.
Dolymarie Mercado is a Freshman Art Therapy major that was thrust into Painting I with little to no experience in the subject, given brushes and oil paint, was put to canvas and to the test. However, there wasn’t any pressure on her shoulders to make something amazing. She states that her teacher, Steven Alexander, asked the class who had worked with oil paints, and that seeing she wasn’t the only one who hadn’t allowed a sense of relief to wash over her.
She recalls that her teacher encourages them to keep their work open, stating that there is always room for improvement and that the class itself had a relaxed atmosphere. This allowed her to pull out her best work and feel comfortable in a space that she would have otherwise been out-of-place in.
When it comes to the actual medium she says that oil paint is fun and that she feels calm when mixing the paints, even calling to paint mixing videos online. Dolymarie says that she encourages other students to step into the painting studio and take the class even if they are hesitant about putting brush to canvas for the first time, especially with oil paint, “Its one of the paints you can erase, unlike acrylic or watercolor,” she says, pushing the idea that Painting I isn’t as foreboding as many inexperienced painters may think.
So pick up a brush and let’s get to work, after all, you’ll never know what you can make until you try!