You want to develop your art skills. You practice. You watch YouTube. You strive to learn on your own, but...
"My goal is to learn to draw!! I have lots of books on drawing, but they are all of no help."
This
was the lament of a subscriber to this blog. And I've heard similar
statements from other readers who struggle to improve.
Even when they have the desire and the drive - like another reader who said…
"I am motivated to learn more and let my art and myself soar to greater heights."
First off, one thing you need to realize is that you are
your own worst critic. As a result of your self-criticism you may erect
barriers to fulfilling your potential.
An inner voice may whisper, you aren't good enough or you don't have enough talent.
More than once in the past as a drawing or painting was going badly, I groaned, "How could I ever have believed I could be an artist?"
I'm willing to bet you've said something similar as you strove to perfect your art skills.
This is one of the reasons we struggle. We damage our own self-confidence.
Developing your art skills depends on having the belief that you can develop them. And having that belief relies on more than just talent.
This story of Canadian artist Robert Genn should illustrate that point.
In
the very early years of his career, he asked the owner of the gallery
that was handling his work why his paintings weren't selling.
Before the owner could answer, a well-known artist standing nearby loudly remarked, "Because they're the shits."
You
can readily understand why Robert felt devastated. He told me he
couldn't pick up a paintbrush for two weeks after this incident.
And it was ten years before he could tell anyone this story.
The well-known artist's work was selling very well at the time this happened. But, it was only a few years later that his work fell out of favor.
He completely disappeared from the art scene.
Robert, on the other hand, got back to work, began to steadily improve and gradually built a following.
He eventually became a very successful painter.
This is just one instructive example of why your art skills are there, waiting to be perfected.
The only questions are: Will you allow them to be?
And what's the best way of developing them?
Best Wishes,
Gary Gumble
Founder of BeginningArtist.com
Without art the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable. (George Bernard Shaw)
P.S. Now, if you look at my drawing and painting below, you might be tempted to say, "Oh man, I could never do that."
But that remark isn't true.
And it hides the fact that these pieces of art are the result of many years of practice. You don't see the trials I went through, the stumbles or the gradual process of learning what works best.
One of the important lessons I learned is this. Absolutely crucial for successful art is learning to see the correct proportions of your subject.
Drawing everything the right size, the right shape and in the right place.
Get your proportions correct and you're already halfway to successful art.
To do that, all you need are two working eyes and a teachable mind.
That's one of the first important lessons in my...
Mastering Proportion and Learning to Draw course.
Perfect your art skills now, so you never again think, "Oh, I could never do that."
Click here to learn more about...
Mastering Proportion and Learning to Draw
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