How to Grow as an Artist

A personal Journey

I Like to paint alone.  Usually, I get into a private space when I paint; therefore, the minute someone else is around I feel distracted. This only happens when I am painting/sketching because I can do other types of crafts in a group setting and have done so.

When I am not painting, I often like to watch instructive videos. These are not only informative but serves to get the creative juices flowing. Two of my favorite painters that I follow are Samuel Earp and Ian Robertson. I take notes when watching their videos noting color mixing as well as composition and method.

Every artist reaches a plateau occasionally where we are unhappy or bored with our art. Some ways that I use to get to the next level.

Try new ideas, experiment with color and composition.  My color palette has changed over the years as I learn the nuance of getting just the right shade of a color. My earliest paintings are almost gaudy with color.

Know the rules so you can break them. I do not know that I have ever broken the rules. For me it is a full time job keeping the rules in my head as I paint.

Do a quick layout plan on the canvas. First, I decide where the horizon line should be located. Then I loosely paint a quick sketch of where the important elements will be. This is helpful in a number of ways:

• Check the composition before I start to paint.
• Get the perspective and size of the elements correct in relation to each other.
• Eliminate unnecessary elements to simplify the painting.
• You can also indicate where the darks and lights will be as in the image below.

Don’t overthink; let the creative juices flow. Without having an idea of what I was going to paint, I set to work. First came the sky and then the idea for a prairie landscape. I was thinking of how you might see a house and barn set among a few trees with bald prairie all around. This painting took on a life of its own and only took a couple of hours. The gentleman who bought it likened it so a Van Gogh! I should be so lucky.

Paint every chance you get. I am fortunate to be able to paint most afternoons between 1 pm and 4 pm. Like most things practice may not make perfect, but it does make progress.