How to improve as an artist when you don’t have external feedback
How to improve as an artist when you don’t have external feedback.
We’ve all done it at some point: spent months, sometimes years on our creative endeavors, and yet no matter how many hours we spend in the studio, we don’t seem to be improving. We’re coasting in the smooth waters of been there, done that, until one morning we wake up and realize we haven’t grown very much, if at all, as artists.
The trouble is, at least in your mind, that you’re not attending some fancy college or living in a hip artists’ colony surrounded by enlightened peers, and the only person giving you feedback is your mother.
So, what should you do?
I’ve come to realize that sometimes we need to take control of our education. We need to systematically look at our work, judge it with a loving but critical eye, and grow.
Slow down and look at what you’re doing.
I was watching a video the other day of an artist I follow on YouTube. She was explaining what it meant when you hear people say, paint what you see. Now, that may sound silly, but for years I thought, well of course you do! Does anyone else think that way?
But listen again. Paint what you see—not what you think you see. We all know what a human face looks like, eyes, nose, lips, ears. If you sat down and thought, well of course I can paint an eye, no problem. Your mind goes, sure thing, here you go, and plop—an eye. Only it looks like something your kid drew last week at preschool. What the heck?
Sometimes we need to slow down and think about what we are attempting to create. What I’ve been doing lately is not saying, hey, I want to paint an eye. Instead, I’ve been thinking, look at that shape, how it connects to that shape, and then on and on. If you’re painting (or creating anything really) on autopilot, you’re not going to realize that your brain has taken over what your eye is seeing and has decided to do its own thing, and that’s not always for the best.
I have a heck of a time with hands and feet. Most of what I work on is more portraiture than a full-body layout, so they don’t come up that often. My mind of course says, no worries, I know what a hand looks like, plop, there you go. I step back and think—ugh what the heck just happened? I let my mind shortchange my eyes. I wasn’t in the driver’s seat, I wasn’t paying attention.
Don’t get me wrong, painting on autopilot can be liberating, and depending on what it is you’re trying to accomplish, autopilot might be just where you need to be. Only sometimes we need to focus and think meticulously about what we are trying to create.
Keep your old work as a REFERENCE.
Beatrix Potter (from my sketchbook)
What did you do last week, last month, last year? Don’t toss your old sketchbooks; put them on the shelf and refer back to them occasionally to see how much you’ve grown. Sometimes, like with anything, our memory might not be spot on, things can get a bit blurry. You might be looking at the last few pieces in your ever-growing collection and think, why am I not improving? But I bet that if you’re making a conscious effort at improving, learning new techniques, and focusing on growth, not just churning out more of the same old same old when you look back at those old books, you will be amazed at your progress.
Try a Master copy and keep trying it.
Sargent (from my sketchbook)
Let’s say you did a master copy of John Singer Sargent’s, Lady Agnew (a personal favorite of mine) two years ago. It’s time to try again. Don’t have your old piece out as you work, only the master’s version. Once completed, compare your new version to the old. Have you improved? Is it closer to that of the master version, are the brushstrokes freer and more expressive? Is it closer to your ideal of what you’re trying to accomplish?
Never done a master copy? You are missing out! I love doing master copies. One, they are amazing for trying to figure out what that artist was thinking, how they incorporated brushstrokes, color, etc. into a piece. Two, they are a great reference for your progress. Find an artist that you love, find a piece of their work that speaks to you, and try to recreate it.
If you think about it, if you were trying to learn to play the piano you wouldn’t start by writing your own music. You would start by first learning the basic keys (your medium) and then playing Jingle Bells or Elvis’s, Can’t Help Falling in Love. You would learn by practicing someone else’s work. Art is no different, so stop listening to those people who say copying someone else’s work is wrong, that’s how we learn. Just don’t try to pass it off as your own! Duh!
Beatrix Potter (from my sketchbook)
In Closing…
Keep a sketchbook, keep practicing, keep learning, keep making master copies, and above all else, don’t get discouraged. You will improve at your own pace in your own time. Don’t compare your work to anyone other than your own. Everyone’s circumstances are different, and we all have our learning curve. Admire other artists all you want, but don’t play the comparison game. You’ll never win and it doesn’t benefit you.
I hope you found something here that was of help. Now go out there and get messy!
