Hello Everyone:
So, you want to be an artist, or a musician or an athlete. For most people, the race is won before you even get to the track. Everyone who is successful in anything in this world makes it a point to practice their craft on a regular basis. I heard on ESPN one time that Tiger Woods hits at least 1,000 golf balls a day trying to improve on each swing. That type of dedication can make you one of the best in the world at something, just like he is. If you are a person, like me who wants to be really good at something, but cannot devote 12 hours a day to our craft, then we must still practice regularly, but not quite as obsessively. For artists, try and give an hour a day to practicing techniques, brush strokes, etc... I paint a lot of landscapes, so trees and mountains and things are very important in my work. I use old cheap canvas panels and do landscape elements regularly. These are in oil paint, my sketchbook has the same types of practice elements, but those are in watercolors. Really, if you give an hour of real practice each day, you will be surprised at how quickly you improve. Once you start to see your work bear fruit, you will increase your practice time without even thinking about it. One thing to keep in mind though. If you make a finished painting each day lets say, that is also practicing, but I found that when you use your best materials with the mind set of making a finished piece, subconsciously we do not allow ourselves to experiment or take chances. Those chances, thinking outside the box is where we grow the most as artists. Just a thought.
So, you want to be an artist, or a musician or an athlete. For most people, the race is won before you even get to the track. Everyone who is successful in anything in this world makes it a point to practice their craft on a regular basis. I heard on ESPN one time that Tiger Woods hits at least 1,000 golf balls a day trying to improve on each swing. That type of dedication can make you one of the best in the world at something, just like he is. If you are a person, like me who wants to be really good at something, but cannot devote 12 hours a day to our craft, then we must still practice regularly, but not quite as obsessively. For artists, try and give an hour a day to practicing techniques, brush strokes, etc... I paint a lot of landscapes, so trees and mountains and things are very important in my work. I use old cheap canvas panels and do landscape elements regularly. These are in oil paint, my sketchbook has the same types of practice elements, but those are in watercolors. Really, if you give an hour of real practice each day, you will be surprised at how quickly you improve. Once you start to see your work bear fruit, you will increase your practice time without even thinking about it. One thing to keep in mind though. If you make a finished painting each day lets say, that is also practicing, but I found that when you use your best materials with the mind set of making a finished piece, subconsciously we do not allow ourselves to experiment or take chances. Those chances, thinking outside the box is where we grow the most as artists. Just a thought.
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