Please advise me on the next step in my art self-education
December 8, 2020 11:57 AM Subscribe
I've been teaching myself to sketch, draw, and paint for a few years. But I still feel like it's incredibly difficult. I feel like I'm trying to art, or trying to learn how to art, in the wrong way. Looking for advice and class recommendations inside!
You can see my work on my Instagram here.
It has not felt lately like I've made much progress - in fact, when I try to draw or paint something, I feel like I'm missing a few steps that I used to remember. I wonder if there are fundamental skills I've not learned.
And, sitting down to paint is incredibly frustrating lately. I get everything set up, and nothing happens. It's very discouraging to want to go to inspiring places because I feel like it will be a waste of time.
What do I mean nothing happens? I... Just hardly know where to begin. Or what steps to do next.
And when I do something, I dont know if I did the right thing or not. I don't know how to practice to make myself better. When I try, for example, a stretch of figure drawing, I get anxious and then dealing with that anxiety takes more energy than the drawing itself.
I've been trying to find an art class or art tutor. Most of what I find on YouTube is fun to watch, but is hard to incorporate into my own practice.
So question 1 - any general advice for how to keep learning?
Question 2 - any recommendations for art classes, tutors, books other programs that I might find helpful?
You can see my work on my Instagram here.
It has not felt lately like I've made much progress - in fact, when I try to draw or paint something, I feel like I'm missing a few steps that I used to remember. I wonder if there are fundamental skills I've not learned.
And, sitting down to paint is incredibly frustrating lately. I get everything set up, and nothing happens. It's very discouraging to want to go to inspiring places because I feel like it will be a waste of time.
What do I mean nothing happens? I... Just hardly know where to begin. Or what steps to do next.
And when I do something, I dont know if I did the right thing or not. I don't know how to practice to make myself better. When I try, for example, a stretch of figure drawing, I get anxious and then dealing with that anxiety takes more energy than the drawing itself.
I've been trying to find an art class or art tutor. Most of what I find on YouTube is fun to watch, but is hard to incorporate into my own practice.
So question 1 - any general advice for how to keep learning?
Question 2 - any recommendations for art classes, tutors, books other programs that I might find helpful?
Focus on improving mechanics and technique every day rather than on "inspiration".
posted by Spacelegoman at 12:12 PM on December 8, 2020
posted by Spacelegoman at 12:12 PM on December 8, 2020
(Not that I really know what I'm talking about so take this with a grain of salt.) When I used to paint, there was, and I think, still is, a weekly drawing event on the wetcanvas forums. Each week, someone posts something like 10 or 15 photos, and the idea is, anyone who wants to participate can spend a week or so drawing or painting one of the photos, then over the course of the week or maybe after 24 hours, I can't remember the "rules"... people post photos of what they've got so far, and then progress over the week. If you look in here, you can see a bunch of threads people have started, the ones titled "WDE ... IMAGES HERE", are the weekly events, the ones titled "WDE...INVITATION" are the announcements of upcoming WDEs, and the ones titled "WDE something else" are various people's responses (images of the art they created).
The nice thing about it was you don't have to think up something to paint, and you can usually (but not always) find at least one image out of the 15 or so provided images that you wouldn't mind painting. And then over the course of the week, you can see how you do, and also, see how other people did who chose the same inspiration image as you. Some will do more or less straightforward representational are, others will be more abstract, or change things up using the original image as inspiration, or maybe they change up the colors or... all kinds of different things. But it's nice to see how other people approach it.
The other thing I'd say, esp. true with painting, less so with drawing, (and maybe you already know this) is that paintings almost always go through an "ugly" stage, and it can be very discouraging as you're covering the canvas, and thinking, "geez, this isn't turning out very well." But you have to persist, and fight through that "ugly" stage, and usually after awhile you'll fill in enough details and get it fixed up and it will stop being ugly (not always, of course, sometimes you make a stinker.) Figuring out that this "ugly" stage always happened, and that if you just continue anyway, you get through it made it much less discouraging when in the middle of it.
Another thing (and this might just be me) is I eventually figured out that I actually don't like to paint. I like to have painted, past tense. I don't like the act of painting, but I do like having a painting that came out well and being able to say, "I made that." The act of painting requires a lot of concentration and is just kind of hard, or so it is for me, not exactly relaxing (might be that I use acrylics, which dry quickly and sometimes require you to work quickly, oils might not be like that.) For awhile, I was kind of "speed painting", like, let's slam out this 16x20 canvas in 45 minutes instead of spending days on it. This gets you lots of practice quickly, and gets you done with the "painting" part and straight to the "have painted" part right away, which appealed to me. More suitable to an impressionist style than a more realistic style though, so YMMV.
posted by smcameron at 12:22 PM on December 8, 2020
The nice thing about it was you don't have to think up something to paint, and you can usually (but not always) find at least one image out of the 15 or so provided images that you wouldn't mind painting. And then over the course of the week, you can see how you do, and also, see how other people did who chose the same inspiration image as you. Some will do more or less straightforward representational are, others will be more abstract, or change things up using the original image as inspiration, or maybe they change up the colors or... all kinds of different things. But it's nice to see how other people approach it.
The other thing I'd say, esp. true with painting, less so with drawing, (and maybe you already know this) is that paintings almost always go through an "ugly" stage, and it can be very discouraging as you're covering the canvas, and thinking, "geez, this isn't turning out very well." But you have to persist, and fight through that "ugly" stage, and usually after awhile you'll fill in enough details and get it fixed up and it will stop being ugly (not always, of course, sometimes you make a stinker.) Figuring out that this "ugly" stage always happened, and that if you just continue anyway, you get through it made it much less discouraging when in the middle of it.
Another thing (and this might just be me) is I eventually figured out that I actually don't like to paint. I like to have painted, past tense. I don't like the act of painting, but I do like having a painting that came out well and being able to say, "I made that." The act of painting requires a lot of concentration and is just kind of hard, or so it is for me, not exactly relaxing (might be that I use acrylics, which dry quickly and sometimes require you to work quickly, oils might not be like that.) For awhile, I was kind of "speed painting", like, let's slam out this 16x20 canvas in 45 minutes instead of spending days on it. This gets you lots of practice quickly, and gets you done with the "painting" part and straight to the "have painted" part right away, which appealed to me. More suitable to an impressionist style than a more realistic style though, so YMMV.
posted by smcameron at 12:22 PM on December 8, 2020
Seconding 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain' as suggested by St. Peepsburg.
It's got a nicely structured, deliberate approach and focuses on concrete techniques and lessons with outcomes, which should help scratch both the "what should I do?" and "how do I get better?" itches.
posted by parm at 12:29 PM on December 8, 2020
It's got a nicely structured, deliberate approach and focuses on concrete techniques and lessons with outcomes, which should help scratch both the "what should I do?" and "how do I get better?" itches.
posted by parm at 12:29 PM on December 8, 2020
I'm not on instagram, so I could only see what was randomly posted on your front page. But to me it looks like you are doing good.
One thing I have done with many students for 20 years is to draw in full scale or even a bit larger. That was how I personally learnt to free my drawing/painting skills as an artist's apprentice, and I've noticed it does wonders for most people. To begin with, buy a cheap roll of paper, tape it to the wall, and either just use coal or use cheap gouache paint, and draw/paint people or objects or animals in their real scale. Because you have to engage your whole body to do this, you free your brain in some way which I think may be known by science. It works like magic. From these impro works, you can move on, either scaling them down to a more practical size or keeping the large scale and moving on to oil or acrylics on board or canvas.
Something I am planning to do very soon, maybe this Friday, is another thing that worked very well for me when I was younger: define a project. For instance, for one year, I made board games. Sometimes my own versions of well-known games like ludo or monopoly. Then I invented games that were not very succesfull from a board-game point of view, but I've seen they are still hanging in peoples' homes as paintings. Another project I worked on was a "paradise garden". My planned project is "food". Have no idea where it will go.
Finally, when it comes to arts, the 10.000 hours thing is real. You need to just go on and on, even on days where nothing works and you are uninspired. Draw lines, like Agnes Martin. Paint monocrome surfaces and explore the qualities of pigment and binders. Make collages and transform those into paintings.
posted by mumimor at 12:29 PM on December 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
One thing I have done with many students for 20 years is to draw in full scale or even a bit larger. That was how I personally learnt to free my drawing/painting skills as an artist's apprentice, and I've noticed it does wonders for most people. To begin with, buy a cheap roll of paper, tape it to the wall, and either just use coal or use cheap gouache paint, and draw/paint people or objects or animals in their real scale. Because you have to engage your whole body to do this, you free your brain in some way which I think may be known by science. It works like magic. From these impro works, you can move on, either scaling them down to a more practical size or keeping the large scale and moving on to oil or acrylics on board or canvas.
Something I am planning to do very soon, maybe this Friday, is another thing that worked very well for me when I was younger: define a project. For instance, for one year, I made board games. Sometimes my own versions of well-known games like ludo or monopoly. Then I invented games that were not very succesfull from a board-game point of view, but I've seen they are still hanging in peoples' homes as paintings. Another project I worked on was a "paradise garden". My planned project is "food". Have no idea where it will go.
Finally, when it comes to arts, the 10.000 hours thing is real. You need to just go on and on, even on days where nothing works and you are uninspired. Draw lines, like Agnes Martin. Paint monocrome surfaces and explore the qualities of pigment and binders. Make collages and transform those into paintings.
posted by mumimor at 12:29 PM on December 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
Something I've found really inspiring is Still Here Still Life, an Instagram account that posts a weekly still life prompt and then posts a bunch of submissions. It's incredible to see how much variation and interpretation there is - some folks go a more traditional route, others are way more off the wall, and it's all incredible. It takes the anxiety/edge off because you realize that maybe there is no "right" thing to do - just try a bunch of things, see what resonates!
It's really helped me try to experiment while also leaning into a "style" a little more (a style that might change in the future with more experimentation). Working on a still life every week is also great because it just gets you back to focusing on basics and what you want to do with them - lighting, shadows, color, shape, etc.
posted by thebots at 12:51 PM on December 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
It's really helped me try to experiment while also leaning into a "style" a little more (a style that might change in the future with more experimentation). Working on a still life every week is also great because it just gets you back to focusing on basics and what you want to do with them - lighting, shadows, color, shape, etc.
posted by thebots at 12:51 PM on December 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
When I try, for example, a stretch of figure drawing, I get anxious and then dealing with that anxiety takes more energy than the drawing itself.
I totally get this^. And this may be a controversial opinion, but I actually think that art, just like lots of other things can often be abstracted into a "formula" of steps. Once you've learned the formula, you can deviate based on your style, but learning the formula can help you get out of an anxious mind space, and have more of an attitude that you're just practicing following the steps. For figure drawing, I took a class which taught us to follow a more nuanced version of this, and practice with lots of different poses.
For me, learning these steps was super-helpful in getting out of art-related anxiety spirals. You might also find this previous thread helpful.
Question 2 - any recommendations for art classes, tutors, books other programs that I might find helpful?
What types of painting/drawing would you like to learn? Personally, I've found that getting personalized critiques in some way (either from classes, paying for a professional tutor, or internet forums) is really important to getting better technically. I've had the best luck with local art schools or community college classes, since I like the in-person experience.
If you prefer a more self-directed route, I've liked the online classes at Society of Visual Storytelling, since they have "homework". Skillshare and Domestika also do something similar -- which one works best for you really depends on what art style resonates. These classes can help alot with learning new techniques or "formulas", but these types of classes don't really give feedback.
Based on the style I saw in your instagram, I also think you might like the book Urban Watercolor Sketching.
posted by tinymegalo at 2:14 PM on December 8, 2020
I totally get this^. And this may be a controversial opinion, but I actually think that art, just like lots of other things can often be abstracted into a "formula" of steps. Once you've learned the formula, you can deviate based on your style, but learning the formula can help you get out of an anxious mind space, and have more of an attitude that you're just practicing following the steps. For figure drawing, I took a class which taught us to follow a more nuanced version of this, and practice with lots of different poses.
For me, learning these steps was super-helpful in getting out of art-related anxiety spirals. You might also find this previous thread helpful.
Question 2 - any recommendations for art classes, tutors, books other programs that I might find helpful?
What types of painting/drawing would you like to learn? Personally, I've found that getting personalized critiques in some way (either from classes, paying for a professional tutor, or internet forums) is really important to getting better technically. I've had the best luck with local art schools or community college classes, since I like the in-person experience.
If you prefer a more self-directed route, I've liked the online classes at Society of Visual Storytelling, since they have "homework". Skillshare and Domestika also do something similar -- which one works best for you really depends on what art style resonates. These classes can help alot with learning new techniques or "formulas", but these types of classes don't really give feedback.
Based on the style I saw in your instagram, I also think you might like the book Urban Watercolor Sketching.
posted by tinymegalo at 2:14 PM on December 8, 2020
I *do* think you have a good eye, and I do think you have some real skill. The question is what your end goal is. If you don't like the end result, my guess is you've come upon pat solutions at some point, and are still applying them past their past due date. That's human nature, and it speaks well of you that you want to get beyond that.
What happens if you depict the two men in oil? What about self-drying clay? What about charcoal? What about finding similar old master-type images, and comparing them to yours. The question is what's missing? what's weak? what could be more energetic?
At a glance, I'd say your two men could stand to feel more three-dimensional. That they don't directly relates to your use of shadow ... but it also seems to relate to your use of contrast. What happens when you use something like charcoal: How dark do your darks get? Where your lines outlining the two men are a bit tentative now and always of a relatively even thickness, what happens if you redo the image, putting real energy into lines that grow thick and thin to show movement, energy, solidity and weight?
The time honored self-teaching method in the visual arts is to copy: Figure out how Goya drew this and Picasso drew that. Render this other picture like Michelangelo or Leonardo. In so doing, you start to familiarize yourself with a range of visual solutions. In normal times, I'd tell you to find a time to visit a museum once a week just to do some sketching. Since these are not normal times, consider using your biggest monitor to find some images at the [museum of your choice] that challenge you to redo them so you can figure them out — and bit by bit incorporate them into your own work in your own way.
posted by Violet Blue at 2:34 PM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
What happens if you depict the two men in oil? What about self-drying clay? What about charcoal? What about finding similar old master-type images, and comparing them to yours. The question is what's missing? what's weak? what could be more energetic?
At a glance, I'd say your two men could stand to feel more three-dimensional. That they don't directly relates to your use of shadow ... but it also seems to relate to your use of contrast. What happens when you use something like charcoal: How dark do your darks get? Where your lines outlining the two men are a bit tentative now and always of a relatively even thickness, what happens if you redo the image, putting real energy into lines that grow thick and thin to show movement, energy, solidity and weight?
The time honored self-teaching method in the visual arts is to copy: Figure out how Goya drew this and Picasso drew that. Render this other picture like Michelangelo or Leonardo. In so doing, you start to familiarize yourself with a range of visual solutions. In normal times, I'd tell you to find a time to visit a museum once a week just to do some sketching. Since these are not normal times, consider using your biggest monitor to find some images at the [museum of your choice] that challenge you to redo them so you can figure them out — and bit by bit incorporate them into your own work in your own way.
posted by Violet Blue at 2:34 PM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the advice so far everyone! Just a note - I absolutely loved Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain but struggled to know what to do once I got to the end of the exercises. I've got numerous books on how to draw buildings, animals, houses, people, etc. and I am grateful for prompts and groups. But I'd really love an external structure that can "hold my hand" to help me understand what to practice next, what I'm doing right, and what I'm doing wrong.
posted by rebent at 2:40 PM on December 8, 2020
posted by rebent at 2:40 PM on December 8, 2020
I recommend Liz Steel's sketching/watercolor classes very strongly. They've really helped me grasp both the technical aspects of drawing and get better about drawing regularly.
I've also seen Sketchbook Skool recommended. Their classes are each taught by several teachers, so it seems like there might be more variety but also less consistency. I found them better for ideas and motivation than for technical skills.
posted by mkuhnell at 4:23 PM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've also seen Sketchbook Skool recommended. Their classes are each taught by several teachers, so it seems like there might be more variety but also less consistency. I found them better for ideas and motivation than for technical skills.
posted by mkuhnell at 4:23 PM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
It might be helpful to find some artists you find inspiring or who have a similar style. When you're not sure what to do next, or how to start, just ask yourself what one of those artists would do. This might feel a little imitative, I know it does for me, but it's a learning tool. (And, really, you can't actually know what someone else would do next — the answer you come up with will still be your own!)
posted by TurnKey at 5:16 PM on December 8, 2020
posted by TurnKey at 5:16 PM on December 8, 2020
Hey... I think you are doing great! I've been in art for many decades, and you are doing fine. One thing I've realized over the years is that the stuff I make never quite goes where I want it to. I'm never really 100% jazzed by it. It's near impossible to bring an objective eye to your own work. When I look at stuff other people make, it's far easier to like it. ie. looking, liking and making are all a bit different.
But, as mentioned I think you are doing very well. I think perhaps what might really help is some sort of interaction with others in and outside art. A group of artists to discuss and critique with? (online these days). I think you'll find the input you get will help you to view your work more objectively.
As far as feeling anxious when starting a piece - totally get this. I think it's part of the process for many artists. I've had people say "oh it must be so relaxing to paint"... and I think, no, it's not. It's work a lot of the time (for me anyway). Maybe accept that and move forward.
For sitting down and "nothing happens"... perhaps that's not the time to find what is going to happen artistically. It's hard to be creative on demand. By that I mean... for me... most of my concepts and ideas about what I'll paint come at other times. I write them down. I get ideas and thoughts about stuff - ooh! red bird! - and put it on the list. Much easier to sit down and say "ok, today it's a red bird."
Last thing: Don't worry so much about technique and learning skill. It comes naturally with repetition. [frankly, I think the most polished 'blasé' work ain't half as interesting as something less technically accomplished, but truly heartfelt]
I'd suggest thinking more about what you might want to represent and say with your work when you're away from the art setup.
Hope you continue!
posted by ecorrocio at 6:41 PM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
But, as mentioned I think you are doing very well. I think perhaps what might really help is some sort of interaction with others in and outside art. A group of artists to discuss and critique with? (online these days). I think you'll find the input you get will help you to view your work more objectively.
As far as feeling anxious when starting a piece - totally get this. I think it's part of the process for many artists. I've had people say "oh it must be so relaxing to paint"... and I think, no, it's not. It's work a lot of the time (for me anyway). Maybe accept that and move forward.
For sitting down and "nothing happens"... perhaps that's not the time to find what is going to happen artistically. It's hard to be creative on demand. By that I mean... for me... most of my concepts and ideas about what I'll paint come at other times. I write them down. I get ideas and thoughts about stuff - ooh! red bird! - and put it on the list. Much easier to sit down and say "ok, today it's a red bird."
Last thing: Don't worry so much about technique and learning skill. It comes naturally with repetition. [frankly, I think the most polished 'blasé' work ain't half as interesting as something less technically accomplished, but truly heartfelt]
I'd suggest thinking more about what you might want to represent and say with your work when you're away from the art setup.
Hope you continue!
posted by ecorrocio at 6:41 PM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm at a similar point (though your work looks better than mine!) and am in the process of looking for a drawing tutor to do the handholding with me to help me get to my goal (drawing pictures of built environment that are mostly realistic, and doing it pretty quickly / in one sitting). I have a friend who is a artist, so am talking with her about who might be the best fit and how to provide that structure that I feel I need.
I have no idea if this will work for me, but was similarly frustrated with my own dithering, so figured this would be worth trying.
posted by chiefthe at 7:54 AM on December 9, 2020
I have no idea if this will work for me, but was similarly frustrated with my own dithering, so figured this would be worth trying.
posted by chiefthe at 7:54 AM on December 9, 2020
1. If you aren't already, follow lots and lots of artists of different styles. Just absorbing lots of other people's arts will help you figure out where you want to go. (identifying the "no"s can be helpful, and of course so is identifying the "yes"es).
2. The year and a half I did of r/sketchdaily were really helpful. I definitely produced lots of garbage but I gained so much confidence in the process...
3. For figure drawing imo the best thing is forcing yourself to go fast. There's online figure drawing videos where poses are only held for 10 or 30 seconds. Do a hundred of those... Really this combines with point 2. Forcing speed and quantity helps overcome anxiety over quality (by making quality not the goal) and yet quality ends up improving anyway, "by accident".
posted by Cozybee at 10:19 AM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
2. The year and a half I did of r/sketchdaily were really helpful. I definitely produced lots of garbage but I gained so much confidence in the process...
3. For figure drawing imo the best thing is forcing yourself to go fast. There's online figure drawing videos where poses are only held for 10 or 30 seconds. Do a hundred of those... Really this combines with point 2. Forcing speed and quantity helps overcome anxiety over quality (by making quality not the goal) and yet quality ends up improving anyway, "by accident".
posted by Cozybee at 10:19 AM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
« Older What's the word for "keeping the shared inbox... | Please help me source the Funkiest of all Pickles Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 12:07 PM on December 8, 2020