When my daughter Hannah was in first grade, about 20 year ago, she showed some talent in art. However, her school art teacher encouraged her to paint as fast as possible. He also didn't think that six year olds could learn perspective. So, she wasn't doing the best that she could. I enrolled her in a local studio that focused on teaching children. Hannah's art got better quickly, and she soon incorporated perspective in her drawing and painting.
Hannah's classes looked like fun, and I thought drawing skills would help me create visuals for my presentations as a college professor. So, I enrolled in a drawing course. We did blind contour drawings of still lifes (couldn't look at our paper) that helped us loosen up and improve our drawing skills. My drawing teacher said I shouldn't wait until I was good at drawing to start painting. Well, I hadn't even thought about painting, but I decided to give it a shot. I went for my first plein air session, and really struggled to paint sailboats on a lake, how big to make them in relation to the horizon, etc. However, I kept going, taking courses in the evenings and painting on the weekends whenever I could.
I would show you that first painting but I am pretty sure I got rid of it. Here is a more recent painting of a similar scene.
