I hate the internet!
All of a sudden I am able to see the best 5 illustrations some guy or girl on the other side of the planet is posting. It is always the best paintings that rises above the normal haze of art posting on the internet. And I get the feeling that everyone everywhere is being better, more genius, wild and daring than me. Not to mention the simple fact that they all seem to be way better technically than I am, or at least feel.
Back in the days it was different. Mainly because expensive art books or magazines were my only way of discovering new fantasy art.
I still remember the day I decided I wanted to be an acrylic painter. It all happened because of Dermot Power. I was frequently buying Duelist, a magazine about playing Magic the Gathering. This specific issue had a very engaging cover painted in the way/school of Glen Fabry, Simon Bisley and Kevin Walker, all some of my favourite artists. But in this issue there was on the back of the cover a little text about the cover artist. It said among other things, that Dermot was painting acrylics and that he was 27 years old! I turned the page; the cover was awesome and I had that strange voice within me saying; You should have painted that cover Jesper, You could have made that painting. just get to it. What are you waiting for?”
Right, then the more logical part of my brain kicked in, as it sometimes do once or twice a year, and I calculated that I had about a year to learn how to paint acrylics. Luckily a friend of mine Jan Kjær just got back from a School in US and he taught me the way of acrylic illustration.
I painted this Angel as my trial painting and I felt that the medium was welcoming me home… I also felt that a year might not be enough to get there.
 |
| My first acrylic painting |
Hey jesper awesome post and i know exactly what you mean about the internet for about 10 months i just had to come of off Facebook altogether and let myself create with no sense of comparing my art other than to myself. I even had to delete my old Facebook and it was so liberating i have a better direction of what art i want to make now. Really love this article one of my favorites because it's honest and you showed your first painting which not enough pros do to inspire beginners
Dermot Power is fantastic! Have you read Slaine: The Treasures of Britain? It's all Dermot Power, all acrylic and it's beautiful.
I know. English is not my first language and sometimes it is hard to see the misspellings.
Hello Jesper, at which age did you start your training to become a painter? I've wanted to be a painter since I've been a kid/young. Everyone has steered me away from this path but I've decided to follow my dreams and give it a shot. I feel like I'm somehow too old to begin (actually I have my birthday today, 27 years…) and I'm a bit worried about it – on the other hand I've only now found the courage and will to paint. I got myself a job where I'm allowed and expected to draw and paint my heart out which has been like an miracle, even though this first month has been really hard on me. I feel kind of lost and after each painting I've done I feel anger, disappointment and other negative feelings. Yesterday, for the first time after finishing a painting I felt actually happy. Like I managed to do something. I don't even know why I am writing this, I guess I just wanted to tell someone. Anyways, I was wondering about your age when you started. Maybe I still have a chance, trying to get into an art school in approximately two years. These two years will be tough and they'll include a lot of hard hard work and dedication. Next pitstop will be my first sold painting. Thanks for your content at this blog!