Art Class

Creative expression can take almost any form, and one doesn’t have to be an “artist” to experience it. Those who make a successful career out of their creative output are fortunate in that they have the kind of talent that makes people want to take out their checkbooks. I like to think my legal work involves a great deal of creative thinking when it comes to problem-solving. But I have also discovered the satisfaction and joy of putting brush to paper as a way to express myself.

One of the things I look forward to most on returning to Florida is restarting my weekly studio watercolor class at the Armory Arts Center. I have been taking the same entry-level class since 2017, never having graduated from beginner status, by choice. I come in with my own ideas and sit in the rear corner—part in, part out—rarely following the curriculum, but the instructor is available to me when I need help with something. The first time I experimented with illustrating my writing was for Fishing to Home Waters, a book on traveling and finding my camp in Maine. Now I am focused on more whimsical pieces for a new project tentatively called “Childhood Stories.” I started on my own over the summer and have a goal of 30 or more finished paintings by the time the book is handed over for publication. I am also trying to do portraits of friends in charcoal, and I find it a real challenge to capture someone’s likeness. So far, there is little resemblance.

After art class this week, I detoured over to the area behind the administration building where sculpture classes are held. My friend Paul is a student marble sculptor, and I wanted to see what he was working on. Class was not in session, so I took a peek under the canvas cloth covering his project. Paul has done smaller animal pieces in the past, but this new one is a monster: the marble block is 180 lbs. I could see the beginnings of a head emerging from the stone form. Quite an enterprise. A lot of hammering and chiseling involved. I get instant gratification from drawing a scene, adding color to it, and waiting for it to dry all in one session. Paul has incredible patience. In seeing his work, I thought about the emotional drive that goes into creating a sculpture, from drawing the concept to seeing it realized in 3D. Paul will spend an entire season of some six months on one piece, the image emerging from the stone ever so slightly from session to session. I admire Paul for his dedication and look forward to further glimpses as he progresses.