2020-06-01_The_Artists_Magazine

10 Artists Magazine June 2020

Prime CREATIVITY CHALLENGE

a

s a child,thethoughtofattend-

ingsummerschoolwouldhave

mortifiedme—andspending

thewarm,sunnydaysoffreedom

stuckbehinda deskwouldn’thave

beenmyideaoffun.Fastforward

tolifeasanadult,andtheconcept

ofdevotinga wholeseasontolearn-

ingmoreaboutartsoundedmorelike

summervacation,sothat’sjustwhat

I didlastyear:I enrolledmyselfinmy

ownversionofsummerschool.

I wantedtosetasidefocusedtime

tofindmyauthenticartisticselfand

exploretheworldofpainting.With

thisinmind,I madethreegoalsfor

myself:tocommittoconsistent

painting,togainskillsandtoimprove

mytechnique.I imposedsomerules

andobjectives:I wastoshowupfor

“class”rainorshine,noexcuses.I’d

paintenpleinair;if it rained,I’dhold

classindoors.I alsoplannedlessons

formyself,wrotetheminmyplanner

andcommittedtopursuingfourkey

subjects—outdoorstudies,indoor

studies,homeworkandfieldtrips.

OUTDOORSTUDIES

Myprimarygoalwastogetoutside

andpaintasmuchaspossible.I kept

mypleinairbackpackstockedand

readytogoeachday.Asa landscape

artist,I believepaintingonlocation

issoimportant;a photocan’tcap-

turethelightandvaluesofa real-life

Self-Imposed Summer School

Michelle Wooderson goes back to class

and experiences a sunny season of learning and growth.

PHOTOS BY MICHELLE WOODERSON

To further my artistic

skills, I signed myself

up for a summer of

drawing, sketching

and painting.