Aryan Nair

Hello Lakshmi Ma’am,

From building my confidence, to improving my patience and concentration, these last few years in the art class have certainly improved my skills, not only in the field of art but other areas of my life as well.

When it comes to art, I am now able to notice significantly more in a picture than I earlier could, whether it’s colours, shades, values, lighting, fine details and the overall mood of a picture. I now find it easier to understand a lot of the theory that goes into making a piece of art and to apply those concepts into my own work.

Last year, for about three months, my artwork was mainly focused on sketching and several of the pictures I was given dealt with the basics of human anatomy. I’ve been interested in drawing human characters from a young age, but these classes truly made me realize the depth of the subject and its importance in sketching humans. The head to body proportion for different age groups and the importance of drawing the unclothed form first were unknown to me before I joined the class.

In painting, I learned the concept of opposite colours, the importance of being able to see and execute different values, add textures and work in layers over the course of numerous pictures. These classes, however, do not only aim to improve one’s skill in art, but also develop them as a person. For instance, the patience and dedication required to sit at one place for a designated time and work on my picture has greatly helped me in my academics and in general, I feel I have more patience and greater self- control than I did in the past. Your constant motivation and tendency to push us to our limits not only helps us in tackling daunting works of art, but also builds our confidence to face problems in other spheres of life as well. The practice of handling challenging pictures in class has helped in dealing with real life situations with a cool mind and a balanced approach. The works of art we are asked to do are not simply for the sake of making a picture but instead assigned for the purpose of learning and building life skills.

In 2020, when online classes were announced, I was unsure as to how the interactions and atmosphere of the physical class was going to be maintained. But within a few classes, all my uncertainty was shed; the online classes were almost at par with the physical classes in terms of the amount of work and learning done, despite the instances of network issues. Though I do miss the physical classes, the online mode has proved itself as a viable option to conduct lessons.

In conclusion, I would say that my time in the art class has definitely been enjoyable. I have discovered a lot more in the field of art than I ever imagined, developed life skills over the course of four years in the class, and even picked up few concepts in psychology along the way; for instance, ma’am, your technique of giving a picture that requires a free hand to someone who works in a restricted manner or vice-versa, taught me the psychology which goes behind the assignment of an artwork, besides the level of the student and the content to be taught. Thank you, ma’am, for all your support and guidance these last few years.