New toys to play and paint on! I’ll show you the progress of my guitar painting and also a short video of me playing the ukulele. First, the story of the ukuleles, and a short recap of what this new adventure is about:
Hello again, this is blog post 2 in my new series “Guitar and Painting”. No worries if you missed the first one, it’s a quick read. My new adventure includes learning how to play the guitar, and now also the ukulele. Since the uke is like a mini guitar, it’s a good one to start my first oil painting on “guitars”, beginning with that little uke on the right (in the photo above). These ukuleles were both purchased from Goodwill auctions, great deals! It seems to be a pretty common thing for people to buy instruments, never play them, and then donate them to thrift stores. So, if you’re looking for an inexpensive instrument to start with, you’ll probably find what you’re looking for if you’re patient and lucky.
The one on the left is strung to be played left handed and is now mine, woot! I’d never played a ukulele before, so, like the guitar, it’s a brand new experience for me. But, I’m picking it up pretty fast. It’s easier than guitar, and since I’ve been working on learning chord shapes for that already, my brain is wired up to learn uke as well. Here’s a glimpse into how I’m teaching myself how to play the ukulele:
In the above photo you can see my piles of colored pens. It’s faster and easier to read the chords if I color code them differently from each other. And, it’s best if I only chart the chords that appear in the song I’m playing. That keeps things as simple as possible, nothing extra cluttering the page.
I already knew what frets are, as they are the same on a mountain dulcimer (which I’d already been playing), the guitar (which I just started learning how to play), and now the ukulele (this is my first experience playing it). Frets are the sectioned off areas from the end of the instrument to the body where the sound hole is. The first fret is the one closest to the end (near the neck). But, the way the strings are labeled (tuned) is different from instrument to instrument, and if the instrument is tuned to different notes/keys, then it will change again. I had to learn how the uke strings are labeled (G C E A from top to bottom), which is different from the guitar.
I look things up on the Internet, for example “how to make a C chord on a ukulele”. I like knowing the finger(s) to use, the strings, and the frets for each chord. I find it easier to see that information in writing, like “A string, 3rd fret, finger 3”. Fingers are numbered 1-4 (starting with index finger, no thumb). But I occasionally watch videos for guitar or now the ukulele, and those are sometimes helpful. There’s really nothing better than just playing the instrument though. Practice, practice, practice. I’m determined!
Here’s my first day on the ukulele. I sent this short video to my husband who was at work. I could play a song right away because it only had 3 simple chords in it, and two of the chords used only 1 finger! It will get more difficult of course, but I looked up easiest songs to play on the ukulele and “You are my Sunshine” was one of the ones that popped up.
So, I did it! Not bad for the very first time playing the ukulele! I’m guessing my progress will be a lot slower going forward though because the songs will be more difficult. But, I want to learn, especially since my first painting ON an instrument will be on a ukulele, as it will be a faster and easier adventure than painting on a guitar (the eventual goal). For now, I’m still working on the canvas painting OF a guitar. This is the progress on that:
You might recall that my guitar painting had no background the last time I shared it with you. Now I have a big start on it, but it’s a large canvas (4 feet x 2.5 feet) and it makes my arm and wrist ache to paint such a large area for too long. So, I multi-task. I take days off from painting and do other work in between to avoid injury. It also helps me focus if I take breaks and do other things. When I come back to it I have renewed energy and perspective. It’s tempting to rush through my projects, but it’s too easy lose patience and become sloppy. I do better work when I rotate the projects I’m working on in stages, forcing myself to step away and come back with fresh eyes.
I’m glad I had the ukulele video to share today because I couldn’t do a guitar one for you. I was tuning my guitar and I broke a string! It was my first time doing this, but I’m sure it won’t be the last. It was quite a shock, even though I knew that can happen. It was like when a balloon pops when you’re blowing it up- you know it can happen, but when it does it’s a shock! The string zipped across my hand and, wow, did that hurt! My index finger looked as red as if I’d burned it. But, I survived and so did my guitar. I’ll get some help re-stringing it and then I’ll get back to learning how to play it.
Stay tuned to this site for blog post 3, the next chapter of my guitar (and uke) playing and painting journey! Subscribe below if you’ve not already done so. Also, if you missed my previous blog series, here’s the menu for “Compare 3”, a series of 30+ posts about painting techniques and methods, using three different paintings and videos to explain each concept. And here’s the menu for “Stories that Inspire my Art”, 25 posts that share the background stories behind the paintings, including videos from real life as well as videos of paintings.
I hope y’all are enjoying the countdown to spring weather! We had a nice preview of lovely days of sunshine here today in Savannah, Georgia. Blessings and peace, xoxo.
