My first blog post

 


  Hello fellow classmates. My name is Regan Gray and I am from Fairbanks, Alaska. I am currently a junior at UAF pursuing a bachelor's degree in Justice. I have yet to figure out what I want to do career-wise after college. I spend most of my free time reading fantasy and sci-fi books. I also enjoy going to the gym and staying active. During the long winters, I like to go snowboarding and snow-machining with family. In the summers I enjoy going camping, doing long hikes, kayaking, berry picking, and traveling if I can. I would not consider myself a person who spends a lot of time admiring art or knowledgeable of the many types of art. I sadly was not born with an artistic ability, although growing up I always wanted to be able to be good at drawing and painting. However, the only things I am able to draw or paint semi-decent are flowers and trees. I do enjoy coloring and occasionally doing a paint-by-number piece. I am excited to learn more about art throughout this course and get to know you all more.    



The piece of art above is called "A Windmill on a Polder Waterway" and was painted by Paul Gabriël in 1889. This past winter I downloaded an app called DailyArt because I wanted to learn more about art in a unique way. This app basically shows a new painting each day by various artists, it gives the details about when the painting was created, and important information about the artist. This was the piece I was shown today, so I thought I'd share it. 


When I was a child I really liked to draw. I was never good at it, but I would still sit and draw at least 10 to 15 pictures a day sometimes. I always loved doing art projects in school growing up and would spend extra time on them in an effort to go above and beyond. In High school, I took an Intro to Drawing class, as well as a year of ceramics as electives. I found out very early on that drawing was never something I was going to get good at, even though I really liked doodling and attempting to sketch things. So I found myself taking on the hobby of coloring. I love buying coloring books, usually nature ones, or ones with flowers, and taking a couple hours to just sit and color as many pages as possible. I enjoy looking at pop-up galleries whenever I'm traveling. Just in general If I'm out shopping or at some type of an event where paintings, photographs, or sculptures are at; I always will stop and browse. I currently do not own any art, I would love to one day, but it is expensive and I never find myself in a position to splurge on it. 

This is a link to the DailyArt app I mentioned earlier in my post.

I encourage you to check out his app if you enjoy looking at art, but maybe you have little time to do so. This app allows you to learn about new art in just a couple minutes and is really simple, which is why I enjoy it so much.

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 28, 2023 at 12:48 AM

    👍🏼 very nice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Ukulele FoolAugust 29, 2023 at 3:15 PM

    What a fun app. I am always surprised at the things I learn from my students, and I have been teaching this class for over 20 years.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Haley SielakAugust 29, 2023 at 4:07 PM

    Hi Regan, what kind of berries do you like to pick? I like to pick berries too, and I enjoy traveling as well. Thanks for the link for the app, I'll definitely take a look. Just like you, i wasn't born with an artistic talent. When I drew, I drew the sun on the corner of the paper. Did you do that too? lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Regan GrayAugust 31, 2023 at 2:49 PM

      Hi Haley, I like to pick blueberry's and raspberry's. My family has a secret blueberry spot we go to every fall and spend hours picking them. In my back yard I have a huge raspberry bush which usually starts producing them in the fall as well. Thats funny that you mentioned drawing the sun in the corner of paper. I use to love drawing the sun because it was one of the only things I felt I could draw or color and it would look semi decent.

      Delete
  4. Connor LindseyAugust 31, 2023 at 9:18 AM

    Hello Regan, I love art as well, I was always told I had a gift for art, but I never saw it that way. It wasn't until I took a few classes in art that I started to get better. YouTube is a great place to learn the best techniques, materials to use, and overall abilities. I encourage you to try looking at "Brad's Art School" on YouTube. It's really great and it has helped me learn a lot! Wonderful blog! 😊

    ReplyDelete
  5. Alayna WalkerSeptember 6, 2023 at 3:52 PM

    Hi Reagan, I relate on the concept of how expensive art is. I often can only afford prints, but even then, I still feel the stretch of my wallet. I could rant for hours regarding the ethics behind charging people for art, or the scam of modern art, but that would take hours. I like your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  6. katarinaSeptember 6, 2023 at 4:15 PM

    Hey Regan,
    I am also a junior this year and am not sure what I want to do career wise, although I am working towards a degree in biology. I hope you guys have had a nicer summer in Fairbanks than we have here in Kodiak because our berries are super small this year. What is your favorite thing to make with the berries you pick? I have just this year started making jams and jellies, blueberry, fireweed, and salmonberry (but that one was an absolute flop.)

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnnaLayne UlroanSeptember 8, 2023 at 3:24 PM

    Hi Regan, I too enjoy snow-machine riding, berry picking, and traveling!

    ReplyDelete
  8. MGallagherSeptember 10, 2023 at 6:38 PM

    I can empathize with feeling like you will never improve, but art is a skill that will get better with practice and instruction. Skill is not something you are born with. There is nothing wrong with preferring coloring pages or paint by numbers, but I really think there is no reason to shut yourself out of other avenues.

    ReplyDelete

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