“Practice! Practice! Practice! The best advice I ever got I still use today. My seventh grade art teacher (thank you, Mrs. Severson!) said, ‘Keep a sketchbook. Draw everyday.’ I have and I do.”
I believe in the inherent creativity in EVERYONE! The following ideas can help each you find your unique artist voice.
Encourage creativity. Fostering creativity promotes problem solving, self-reliance, stress reduction, risk taking, and quiet time.
Acknowledge while accepting that every you can't excel at everything. Don't be discouraged because your efforts don't meet your expectations. Some of us don't discover and explore hidden talents until we are older (think Grandma Moses.)
Enjoy your creativity. Give yourself positive reinforcement for your efforts. Get rid of the negative self-talk. Encourage imagination.
Supply opportunity. Have a place where you can draw or paint. Make a mess. Realize that the expressiveness of the mess is part of the process, the spontaneity, the fun.
Explore! Experiment! Never stop learning. Try a new media now and then. Try drawing something you wouldn't normally draw. Take a boring subject and make an interesting drawing of it. Make mistakes. Don't get too upset. It is only a piece of paper. You may not see it when you do make mistakes, but you are learning from them. By recognizing a mistake, you are opening the door to learning from it.
Have art supplies on hand. School or student grade (what you can buy at the grocery store) are fine to begin with especially for younger artists, and for expression for expression's sake. Do buy the best art supplies you can afford. Quality artist materials perform better, giving better results. Better results encourage pride, self-confidence, greater effort, and risk taking.
Practice! Practice! Practice! Understand that it takes work to develop drawing skills. Frustration will occur. It's okay to make mistakes and mess up. Remember, it's only a piece of paper.
Support the idea that all art in all the different media is based on good drawing. Without good drawing skills, artists won't develop their talent to the highest potential. Some art teachers will disagree on this, but basic skills are vital. Artist Laurie Barrows makes a point drawing everyday, if only for 15 minutes.
“My sketchbooks are where I play and experiment. I draw what is around me: landscapes; people; animals; ANYTHING! Found still lifes that just occur are great fun! All art in all media is based on good drawing. Without good drawing skills, artists won't develop their talent to the highest potential. I know some art teachers will disagree with me on this, but I really believe that basic skills are vital.”
Explore! Experiment! Never stop learning. Try a new media now and then. Try drawing something you wouldn't normally draw. Take a boring subject and make an interesting drawing of it. Make mistakes. Don't get too upset. It is only a piece of paper. You may not see it when you do make mistakes, but you are learning from them. By recognizing a mistake, you are opening the door to learning from it.
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