How to Become a Better Artist - A Plan

It’s the time of year to plan for 2022.  Many of you may have on your to-do list the goal of becoming a better painter. If so, here’s list a that will help you get on your way: 

• Paint alot
• Paint regularly
• Paint hundreds of small paintings
• Practice areas that you'd like to improve

It’s a short list and it will get you where you want to be. It's not easy so let’s look at how you might implement a plan.

Plan A:  If you can swing it, paint everyday while you’re learning.  When I decided to really focus on getting better, I got up every morning at 6am and painted for an hour and half before I drove my son to school. By painting regularly, you will gain momentum.  You will remember lessons learned and grow from them daily. Don’t worry about making masterpieces.  Paint a small painting, put it in your painting pile and move on to the next one. Don’t labor over getting each one perfect.  It’s better to keep it fresh and fast (relatively) to keep that painterly feel. Notice what’s not perfect in each one. Is it the color?  Does it feel cohesive? Are you capturing what you wanted to? For example, the way the light is hitting a flower?  Is anything bothering you about it?  Study that! Find artists who do "that" well and copy them (remember this is just practice. You are learning). Look at any videos they have of their process.  Now rinse and repeat with this new knowledge.

Plan B: Ok. You can’t paint every day, how about this?  Put a little painting time on your calendar just like you would a dentist appt. For example, “Every Tuesday at 2pm, I will paint." Paint as much as you can in your scheduled window of time.  Assess your work.  Study the areas you'd like to improve in stolen moments throughout your week and arrive at the next Tuesday’s appointment with a little something learned in the past week to apply to your new painting. Don’t worry about finishing each one.  Don’t carry over the painting from week to week. Start anew each Tuesday with fresh new knowledge.

Plan C: You want to learn but have no time.  Don’t put it off. Fit it in where you can and know there will come a day when you can focus more. You will not be painting regularly or able to make fast strides in your development, but you will be storing little bits and pieces in your brain for the day when you are ready. This is what I did when my kids were growing up. I took a class here or there when I could.  I heard about things like the elements of art from art teachers, but they didn’t quite click back then. Later in life, when I committed to Plan A, I learned quicker because of these stored tid-bits.  I said to myself, “I’ve heard that before but now I really get it."

Which plan fits you? Don’t feel bad if you cannot implement Plan A or even Plan B right now. It is natural to have other commitments, priorities, jobs that need to be done.  Focus on the present. The seasons of life change. The beautiful thing is you can change your plan at any time.