Real Artists Hone their Craft

TLDR: Here’s the video link if you want to watch/listen instead of read https://youtu.be/AS5y2nJcQp8

Announcements

Today’s Open Studio is By Appointment Only since there is a threat of high winds and stormy weather. 

The next Arty Party is November 26th, 6:30 pm Central. It is the last online sale before Christmas.

Christmas orders are filling up. Once they are full, I may be able to take your order, but the price will be significantly higher because I will have to rush production. Get yours in now!

This Week in the Studio

When we last looked in on the Magical Freaking Unicorn she was headed out to visit her daughter in the Dallas TX area.

I had such a good time! Even though her flight was grounded, God intervened and she got home in time for my visit anyway. Saturday night saw us gathered with some of her husband’s family to carve pumpkins. I carved a Snoopy.

My son-in-law is at the left end of the table and my daughter is next to him. She carved the flower, and he carved the Puppycat. They tried to introduce me to Puppycat, which is a strange little animated cartoon (for adults???) which I did not understand. But Puppycat is cute. More like a cat than a puppy, in case you were wondering.

I was able to pick up some more clay on the trip, though, which is good because I was running out. I bought a different type this time. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Monday was catch up day: I didn’t work in the studio at all…just tried to get other things done.

But Tuesday was amazingly productive! I made four herb stripper bowls, two platters, and started a mug commission! So exciting and it felt good to get so much done. Oh, and I also worked on a project to begin sharpening my painting skills: more on that in a minute.

But today I got very busy in the studio this morning–I actually got quite a lot done!–but then I headed out to my afternoon travel teaching and completely forgot that I had slabs of clay sitting out. Needless to say I am now rehydrating them.

Honing Our Craft

You’ve heard me say before that I don’t have much appreciation for “talent”. I’ve told the story before about how I, like many other people, believed that artistic “talent” was a thing one was born with, and not accessible to everyone. Which is a lie. And a boggart (hat tip: Harry Potter).

Artistic skills can be built with practice and I’m living proof. Real artists hone their craft.

But that means it doesn’t come without work. It only comes with constant, joyful, dedicated practice. Something which doesn’t come easy for most of us, myself included.

I’ve been so focused on my pottery work that my painting has taken a back seat. It worried me a little, but I just needed to give my clay the time it needed to get well off the ground, and also to complete some commissions and show. During that time, my painting skills were suffering just a little, and I was beginning to notice.

So during my travel time this weekend, I gave it some thought and realized that I could use a tactic that helped launch me into a developing painter.

Finish a lot of Paintings

I had read, early on in my research and self-education about painting, that one of the best ways to get better fast was to finish a lot of paintings.  In order to do this, it was suggested, a key was to paint small. Based on that interesting tidbit, I set myself a goal of painting one 2.5X3.5 inch painting per week for a full year.

Now, understand that back in that stage of my artistic journey it took me a whole week to paint one teeny tiny business card sized painting! Part of that was because I was working a very exhausting and stressful full time job, and part of that was just because I was a beginner. I would work ten or fifteen minutes a day, and by the end of the week I would have one finished.

I almost made my goal. I think in the end there were 40 or so tiny paintings.

My main point is that the tactic worked. I really began to grasp many concepts because I finished many paintings. I also learned early how to tell when a painting is “finished”. This is a concept that many new artists find extremely challenging.

So this week I set up a “no excuses board” at my easel. I know I need to get my painting chops back up to par. My “no excuses board” is a backing board with 8 small papers on it prepared for painting. As you’ll see if you watch the TLDR vlog, I have begun 4 drawings which will eventually turn into small paintings. I have a goal to work on them at least for a few minutes each day. There are 8 more small pieces waiting to go up once these are finished.

I hope you’ll keep watching and cheering me on as I complete this challenge I’ve set for myself. More importantly, I hope you’ll set your own self a challenge and then do everything you can to set yourself up for success: that’s what the “no excuses board” is…My painting papers and pastels are on the easel and ready to go any time, so there’s really no excuse why I can’t put a few strokes on paper as I pass by.

I promise once you get started you won’t want to stop. You must challenge yourself not to binge, though! It will not be as effective. A little today, a little more tomorrow. Here a little, there a little. One step now. One more step later.

The frequent, consistent practice will bring you amazing results. Your challenge can be anything, of course–but if it is art related, so much the better. Most of us are not creating because we think we can’t. But we’ve never practiced. That’s all that’s missing.

Practice.

Here’s a photo of my “no excuses board” with three drawings and one painting begun.

Check out the Vlog for video of the process, or my Instagram for a reel.

I hope this week that you practice seeing the music, listening for the colors, touching the magic and find that your wonder and worship are awakened delightfully. Please let me know how you’re doing and if you set yourself a challenge!

Godspeed,