Mr. Jules Gravel, my Grade 9 art teacher, is a man who changed my life completely with some much needed advice. “You’re an excellent artist, Wendy, but exaggerate your shading. Darker darks. Lighter lights. Exaggerate them. And try blending a little more.”
I was 14 and thought pretty highly of myself. I didn’t appreciate his “advice”, so for my next set of sketches, I exaggerated all right. BLACK darks, WHITE lights. All blended to smooth perfection with my finger. I did it to teach him a lesson.
Ha, what happened is that HE taught ME a lesson. The most important art-related lesson I’ve ever learned. Continue reading
