Feeling exceptionally unmotivated.

[yoshi09]

I can't paint at all and this painting class is really a struggle to go through since the teacher's style is "copy this. Go." with no lecture or teaching of painting technique or anything. I am already half way through the semester and am still unsure if I'm holding my paint brush correctly. I am so over this class but I can't even drop it because

Comments

[novemberbaby]

Oh no! :( Have you approached the professor about this? I think it's just unacceptable that a professor would just skip all the lecture/techniques and tell you to copy. If copying worked, the class wouldn't need to exist. =__=

[yoshi09]

Yeah I did approach my professor on this. On separate occasions. But she has little consideration of privacy and her office hours are during class, where everyone can hear you. On top of that she has no sense of over-stepping her boundaries and will use your work as examples of what-not-to-do or paint all over your painting with blue to point out areas you need to fix. (To give you an example of how reckless she is, every class she is "fixing" a student's painting without their permission or even knowing who the student is. She just picks a painting hanging on the wall for display that she thinks needs "help" and then paints all over it. No joke.) It's really humiliating sometimes because usually she calls the whole class around to look at this bad example and *then* she asks you as everyone is coming over if it's all right that she show people your painting. By that point everyone's already around her desk so it's not like you could say no anymore

[novemberbaby]

Oh man. *hugs* Don't cry, Mel.

You should step up and fight back. Yes, that's putting your grade on the line but someone has to let her know that she's extremely disrespectful. If no one says a word, she'll just continue being the ridiculous professor that she seems to be and you guys will all have to suffer through the semester. Art is supposed to be relaxing and fun, though at times it can be frustrating. But it's the art that frustrates you, not the person who's guiding you.

She may be a good painter but she certainly sucks as a teacher if she's making her students feel miserable. 8(

I feel like I'm influencing you to be a rebel, haha. But really, love, don't cry. (Or maybe you can cry in front of her as she critiques your art work. *ducks from tomatoes*) I don't think you can't paint and I'm not saying this because I'm super biased and I love you. I know you can. <3

[chibimui]

There's really no "right way" to hold a paint brush but if I were to describe how one generally would hold a brush, it's like how you (are supposed to) hold a pencil. Between the index finger and the tip of your thumb with the middle finger as a support. Adjust as necessary for comfort

[yoshi09]

Thank you sweetheart for the advice. I was trying dry brushing today and I just think painting isn't for me. I want to give up so bad. =/

I will do that. Perhaps I'll just need to paint more by myself or just find larger brushes... Right now I'm painting with a palette knife because I have no ocntrol over my brush strokes. -_-

[chibimui]

Yeah, painting really relies on a steady hand and excellent wrist control. I have the wrist, not the steady hand, so painting isn't exactly my best skill either. Feels a bit ironic I'm giving you painting advice when I also don't like painting myself ^^;;

and I forgot to mention: dry brushing is hard at first. Really hard. And slow if you're painting a wide area. It takes a lot of practice to get used to and use well, but keep working at it. I practiced by shading clouds since clouds are fluffy and soft and the shadows are subtle.

also your teacher sounds pretty horrid. I'd die under a teacher like that considering how much I already criticize myself, I wouldn't need a teacher doing it for me. >.< Hope things work out in the end and you don't hate painting too much by the end of it.