Late Bloomer

Watercolour and story by Steve Wierhake

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I grew up with some appreciation for art - my late uncle Thad Brykalski was one of the co-founders of the Michigan Watercolor Society in 1946. He made his living as an artist his entire working life, primarily as a commercial artist, but also as a fine artist. When I was in high school, my father always had major input on what classes I was going to take each semester, and for my senior year, he made me take a drawing class. I remember asking him why - and he said it would help round out my education. I enjoyed the class, and took a second one before graduating. I went on to college on a swimming scholarship and majored in business administration. My senior year in college I needed some additional credits, so I decided to take drawing 101, and took another drawing class the next semester - back in 1981.

I didn't pick up a pencil to draw again until 2009. I'd been thinking about drawing again for a while, thinking it would be a good and therapeutic hobby for me. Most of the classes at the community art center where I live are during the day - which didn't fit in to my schedule because of my job, but when a beginner drawing class scheduled for evenings became available, I signed up and began my art journey. A co-worker of mine at the time was a "hobby" artist, and I told her I was enjoying the drawing class at the art center. She told me there was a weekly Tuesday Night Life Drawing class at the art center, and I started becoming a regular participant. The life drawing "class" was/is an open studio class, with no instruction, just the opportunity to practice life drawing (or painting) with a live model. I've been a regular participant ever since, and am about to start my third year as volunteer model coordinator. I live in Florida, and the community art center where I live is impacted by seasonal residents - which means the life drawing sessions happen in the fall and winter, typically taking a break by Easter each year.

I've gotten more serious about my art over the last 6 or 7 years, which primarily has meant practicing more frequently. I decided to try watercolor painting perhaps 8 years ago. At first, my results were terrible, but my skills have improved since then - although I have a long ways to go. I'm self-taught when it comes to watercolor painting - relying on free YouTube instructional videos, some books, and some basic subscriptions on Patreon.

I also do some pastel painting, as well as ink drawing, but watercolor painting fascinates me the most at this point in my art journey. I'm interested in more instruction, such as what's provided by the Watercolor Academy because I think there can be important things to learn from different sources. Not all instructors teach the same things. Some only teach their own style. I'm still trying to figure out my style, and can only say at this point that I like representational art. I often lean towards realism, but not photorealism.

I'm impressed by what I've seen on the emails from the Watercolor Academy and would like to learn more. While I'm 65 years old, I feel like I can continue to improve my skills a great deal in the coming years. I still work, so making time for my art is an ongoing challenge, but I've able to make it a fairly consistent part of my life most every day, even if it's just 20 minutes of sketching.

Why should people vote for me? I really cannot answer that question. I can only show examples of my art.

I've attached a photo of a painting I did - based on my own photo reference - called "Mike's Boots". It is approximately 8.5" x 8.5", on cold press paper.