Growing confidence

…is the order of the day in many areas of my life! The picture above represents something which I have been longing to do for some time, albeit half-heartedly in the UK. A commission from my classmates, to paint a picture for a keen fisherman (also a valuable and almost retiring member of the teaching team at our school), was the prime excuse to buy a few canvases. I love the feel of painting on canvas, the rough texture enables a return to oil colour techniques with the acrylic paint. True, it is the first time I have used the canvas from that manufacturer, and the first time in which I have used that type of paint for a finished oil technique painting, but I am happy with the results. The colours in real life are not as dramatic as the photograph would lead one to believe, but tomorrow I aim to wet the canvas and ascertain if the varnish will brighten the colour excessively. It is very much alike to learning a language, getting back into painting: one has to experiment, to get to know the individual components, also the combinations in which they work, before they begin to perform what the artist or author demands!  Genuine praise and criticism are very valuable in both processes. Thankfully, in painting, I have not had to face the same kind of criticism or manner of correction as I have with learning a language. I understand that people do not like to hear their mother tongue “murdered”, but at the same time, it is not constructive to the self confidence, to be criticised for one’s language harshly- confidence to speak a foreign tongue is very fragile indeed, and professors of language need to be partly skilled in psychological subjects as well as simple teaching!

Negative things aside, I was pleased to have got through the exams, I believe with a passable grade which will enable me to move on to the next level, starting next week. We have nothing except a social dinner on Wednesday, at which I hope to present the picture to the teacher. He is known personally to me, although he has never taught me; most of my classmates were taught by him in their first block, when they were still very nervous and shy immigrants. He is a great guy, and as I a) did not have much confidence in the quality of my work, and b) did not want to rip off my fellow students, most of whom have minimal incomes, I charged simply for the materials to make the painting. All the same, the fact that my work is liked and perhaps even appreciated, spurs me on to try even more painting whenever I have the time. The law of time means that I will have to cut some other activity (i.e. computer time!) but many would not argue with that!

Having put the exams out of the way for at least three months, I am happy to be looking forward to the next level, and a new professor. I am also looking forward to discovering if there are any Anglophones among the 50 or so new students who begin next week. Although it is great for practise to speak French in the canteen at lunchtimes, several times I have felt swamped by Spanish or Arabic! English speakers are emphatically in the minority here!

Well, I may be in a linguistic minority, but if I can speak to others through pictures, I will be almost as happy! The recipient of my last painting was pleased to receive it as a birthday gift, though every time I look at the photo, I keep thinking of adjustments for “next time”.