One way to improve your painting, without changing ANYTHING about your style, your studio supplies, or your life is to increase your confidence level about your artwork.
It's true. This one thing: confidence, improves your art, immediately. It isn't easy to get the confidence - true, internal confidence - about your artwork, or is it? What you can do is fake the confidence, until it comes from within, truly. Like the smile your mother told you to paste on your face when you went into your first dance, nearly quaking in your new, tight shoes. It does work, because the internal voices are supposed to be there (in your back of your mind) to help you make decisions that improve your life, your wealth, your health, and your happiness. Naturally, they gravitate toward improving you - but those voices get very screwed up. They believe in the grading systems taught to them by schools - made up in Germany in the late 30's. They believe in the boogeyman and all sorts of irrational fears like you are wasting your time with your efforts. Creativity is not eating a bag of potato chips while watching reruns of Gillian's Island when you just had three days of down-time and rest. So, truly, you are not wasting your time. Tell those voices to ease up; believe in yourself; believe in your artwork.
Believe in
Yourself
Re-read the sentence before this one. You just read the recipe for better artwork. Remind me to text this post to my son. He is involved in schooling as it is today and he is so hard on himself. They have improved test scores, reading aptitudes, but are they churning out perfectionists? We are allowed to make mistakes without them being counted against us, and so are our kids. We need to remind ourselves of that before the potato chip bag is a must.
Here's one book about educating artists that will truly help you, or your artist friend, open up their internal critics and build confidence from within. Is your egret about to fly, or does it look like a painting? "That thing couldn't fly!" Mine, at the bottom of this blog, won't fly. But he glimmers and shines in the midst of his painterly, non-realistic waterlilies. And for that I am proud. (Pasted on pride and confidence, here; but it will come. I'll keep painting and building my confidence with hushed internal critic voices.)
The book is Brave Intuitive Painting, by Flora Bowley. She is a local Portlander, like me. I had the privilege of taking a class with Flora before she became an art teaching superstar.
Brave Intuitive Painting-Let Go, Be Bold, Unfold!: Techniques for Uncovering Your Own Unique Painting StyleIt's true. This one thing: confidence, improves your art, immediately. It isn't easy to get the confidence - true, internal confidence - about your artwork, or is it? What you can do is fake the confidence, until it comes from within, truly. Like the smile your mother told you to paste on your face when you went into your first dance, nearly quaking in your new, tight shoes. It does work, because the internal voices are supposed to be there (in your back of your mind) to help you make decisions that improve your life, your wealth, your health, and your happiness. Naturally, they gravitate toward improving you - but those voices get very screwed up. They believe in the grading systems taught to them by schools - made up in Germany in the late 30's. They believe in the boogeyman and all sorts of irrational fears like you are wasting your time with your efforts. Creativity is not eating a bag of potato chips while watching reruns of Gillian's Island when you just had three days of down-time and rest. So, truly, you are not wasting your time. Tell those voices to ease up; believe in yourself; believe in your artwork.
Believe in
Yourself
Re-read the sentence before this one. You just read the recipe for better artwork. Remind me to text this post to my son. He is involved in schooling as it is today and he is so hard on himself. They have improved test scores, reading aptitudes, but are they churning out perfectionists? We are allowed to make mistakes without them being counted against us, and so are our kids. We need to remind ourselves of that before the potato chip bag is a must.
Here's one book about educating artists that will truly help you, or your artist friend, open up their internal critics and build confidence from within. Is your egret about to fly, or does it look like a painting? "That thing couldn't fly!" Mine, at the bottom of this blog, won't fly. But he glimmers and shines in the midst of his painterly, non-realistic waterlilies. And for that I am proud. (Pasted on pride and confidence, here; but it will come. I'll keep painting and building my confidence with hushed internal critic voices.)
The book is Brave Intuitive Painting, by Flora Bowley. She is a local Portlander, like me. I had the privilege of taking a class with Flora before she became an art teaching superstar.
Finding the right art book to pour yourself over is another confidence builder. If you don't at all like abstract art, and only like fantasy art, you'd do much better with Dreamscapes, Fantasy Worlds, on the blog bar to the right. Some art books are not one size fits all, and they aren't going to wow you if they don't have the right information for you. This is why, I've added so many books to this blog and intend to review them, over time, to give you more information. However, Amazon has many reviews on these books, so you can find out more just by clicking the links. Have confidence, go ahead, you'll know what's right for you - you truly will!!
Video Review and Watercolor Koi with a Fantasy Background
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