A Personal Story On Oil Painting Lessons

I already told you of how I started to oil paint and my desire to paint like the painters in the museums.

I was only painting landscapes. And cheesy looking ones at that.

After all, I wanted to paint other things. The greatest artists painted all type of subject matter. Sure, some liked portraits more, others like landscapes more, but they could do it all. I couldn't!

I only knew about landscapes. And dare I say "cheesy" landscapes at that.

I couldn't go outside and paint a landscape that I was looking at. I wouldn't have the slightest idea where to begin?

I wanted to improve. I knew I wasn't really painting. I had to learn more.

When I went to college, I thought..."Ah, now I will learn what I am after."

Boy, was I mistaken! When I went to the City University Of New York, I took my first real painting class.

We met in a crowded room with still-life set-ups all over the room. You pick an area to paint in and paint one of the set-ups.

Let me tell you all about about the teaching I received...

......and that was it.

Did you miss it?

No, you didn't. Because I received no instruction whatsoever. I was told one tip...

"Use one paintbrush, a number 8 round brush, and don't clean it."

(no, I'm not joking!)

Of course, the entire class receiving this tip, produced canvases filled with mud. I couldn't believe it. Was this what I was waiting for? How was I ever going to learn? I received a B-minus for that class.

I couldn't believe it. A grade of a B-minus for my major? Boy was I disillusioned.

The painting classes exhibited their best painting at the end of the semester and my teacher agreed that the first painting I did was the best one.

( Isn't that backwards? Wasn't I suppossed to paint better and learn more as the class went on? )

What other proof is needed that this class was a waste of my money and time?