Love Creating Art? Now Create It Better

What a beginning artist needs to consistently create it better is to use the right tools.

When I say "use the right tools" I don't mean the type of paint or drawing material you use or the kind of paper, board or canvas you use.

The materials you use to create art are irrelevant.

Let me repeat that. To create it better...

The materials are irrelevant.

To Create It Better

What matters is the image you choose to create using those materials.

And there are specific things you can do to consistently create wonderful images.

Plumbers have favorite tools they depend on. Mechanics have favorite tools they consistently use.

To create art, to create it better, beginning artists need tools too.

What I call "the artist's bag of tricks." Things they can use over and over and over to create good art.

Except I probably shouldn't call them "tricks"; they aren't tricks at all. They are the core knowledge that artists use to create their own unique art.

This is how I’ve done it and how you can repeat it yourself…

Read this article carefully…

You could be like Salvador Barajas of San Diego, California, one of my subscribers, who told me:

"Gary, you've given me the direction and instruction that has..... improved the quality of my work tremendously. I highly recommend... your instruction to anyone who wishes to produce outstanding work." 

It Doesn't Matter What You Draw or Paint...

What matters most is how you draw or paint it.

Almost any subject can, with a little imagination, be made interesting.

That's where the "artist's bag of tricks" comes in by showing you the tools that help you create it better.

A great way to practice these tools is to do small studies of things around you.

Studies can be much less intimidating than "paintings".

Paintings can seem too important and imposing in your mind, whereas studies allow you to just play, experiment and have fun.

You learn best and produce the best art when you are having fun.

You could start by drawing or painting single objects like the sugar bowl (above) from imagination.

The idea isn't to exactly reproduce something.

The idea is to draw or paint your subject in a way that uses your creativity and...

...makes it more interesting than reality.

One tool to use to do that is to change what you see.

To change what you see you might choose to only show a part of a scene, like the study at left.

Doing small studies allows you to play with things like design, color values and edges, as I've done here.

Notice how I've placed my dark color values to create an asymmetrical design.

Notice how I've allowed some of those dark values to flow into each other without trying to perfectly define everything.

You can also allow parts of objects to just fade off, as I've done with the footstool and the chair shadow.

When you don't try to define everything, you engage the viewer's imagination and pull him into your art to discover more.

Small paintings like these invite you to experiment and try things you haven't done or don't normally do.

By continually practicing what you learn in small studies, you gradually develop your creativity and a whole toolbox of tricks you can employ with confidence in a larger work.

And gradually create it better and better!