My husband bought me the London Art College Drawing and Painting Course for my birthday last year. I’ve always ‘dabbled’ and during Lockdown completed a number of pet portrait commissions. But I wanted to push myself into tackling other subjects – getting out of my comfort zone. Art courses at colleges locally demand a regular weekly commitment, whereas the LAC self study modules allowed me to work when I could. I even roped in a neighbour to join me, so we could have our own art ‘classes’ in each other’s homes.
I discovered during the year that I was better at drawing than painting. I’d never tried pen and ink before but it proved to be a revelation and is now a favourite medium of mine. I used pen and ink in a group of Queen’s Jubilee works, which I exhibited was fortunate enough to sell last summer.
While I approached the drawing modules at the start of the course with enthusiasm, I found the painting modules more difficult. And, perhaps surprisingly given the wealth of images on the internet, I sometimes struggled to choose suitable source material. Getting family members to model was even more challenging. The final module on life drawing was my least favourite, but I just had to focus and apply myself.
Tutor Paul Weaver supplied me with detailed and considered feedback – I was often surprised just how much time he spent analysing my work.
For me, painting and drawing are a form of meditation and relaxation. I’ve now signed up to the illustration course, which is exercising even more creative muscles.
I share some of my work on Instagram (hilariestelfox) and follow a number of artists who post short ‘how to’ videos, which I find inspirational and a huge distraction from housework!
My husband, who is responsible for starting my journey with the LAC, says coursework is also a major cause of nothing much getting done in the garden either. But he is my greatest fan/critic – and everyone needs one of those.
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