Please help me

So, I have decided after much, much thought, as well as much, much money spent on university-world classes, housing, and supplies, that I am going to get my degree in Graphic Design after all.

Isn't that lovely?

Here's my dilemma. The BFA with Honours in Graphic Design at the University of Manitoba -- yes, I've decided to stay -- is provided by the School of Art. Fine Arts.

Which means that I have to submit a portfolio becau-au-ause I have not taken any art courses becau-au-ause I did not plan on going into Fine Arts.

Now, "designer" I may be, but artist I am not. I haven't drawn a picture by hand since Grade 10, and I haven't painted a thing since Grade 8. Please help me!

Today I went to the Bookstore, after much, much contemplation and thought, and spent $77.00 on art supplies. Which is actually a pretty good deal, apparently, because a lot of it was 40% off or 50% off PLUS I had a 30% off coupon.

What did I buy?

• TriArt High Viscosity acrylic paint (yellow, blue, red, black, white)
• White Taklon paintbrushes -- I'll be honest: I don't know what that means (a round one, a flat one, an angled flat one, and a liner)
• a little Staedtler tin of softleaded drawing pencils
• a 9x12 inch sketchpad
• one 9x12 inch cotton canvas panel
• one 11x14 canvas panel
  
• one 8x10 stretched cotton canvas

...and that's it. Seventy-seven smack-a-roos. They had this amazing colour wheel though that spun and stuff to show you what happens when you add black and white and I wanted to buy it so badly (because I know what colours make what colours but I always have troubles adding black and white and getting the colour I want) but it was like ten bucks, and so I was like, "Pfft! I can find that online..."

But I did not.

Anyway, the point of this entry:


This is what I painted today. This is the first thing I've painted in nearly five years. I'm embarrassed, a little bit, but bear with me. I'm learning all over. I'm not sure if she'll make it into my portfolio. Since I am literally making it from scratch -- when it's supposed to be my best work -- I may just end up throwin' her in there.

This is acrylic paint on one of the 9x12 canvas panels I bought. She reminds me of the dancer girl from that commercial. "Folger's in your cup..." I'm not satisfied with her legs. Or her dress. Or her arms. I liked the background before I painted her. Because I drew her a few times on paper first, but holding a brush is much different when drawing, so I wasn't able to paint her as well as I had sketched her out. Overall, not what I had hoped for, but pretty much what I'd expected. Comments would be greatly appreciated by anyone -- anyone? -- who reads this thing. Please give me advice on how to paint better. I know it's hard to tell what the painting is like from the photograph, but please. I've got to have some artsy -- any? -- friends out there somewhere.

Oh, P.S. I'm not quite finished with this yet. The pink part on the left side will eventually become a curtain, like a stage (also, you can't tell, but at about mid-dress, the background is darker and has some brown in it; it's supposed to be a stage). I just have to decide how I want to do the detail and what I want it to look like. So more will come of this piece.

Haha, "piece..." I sound like such an artist.