You will get plenty of advice from experts wanting to help you improve your drawing (Yes, even here). You’ll also find masses of recommendations in Art books and journals that are intended to help you paint better.

Do you know what to do with most of it? Surprisingly, the answer is “It is quite often better to just ignore it all!”

Unless things are going wrong for you, needing help and looking for information to overcome a problem, a great deal of the time the best option is to carry on doing exactly what it is you are doing.

No doubt there will be room for improvement but if it is going well for you there is no reason to stop…

  • If your work is going in the direction you want… You would be a fool to veer away and miss your objectives.
  • If you know what you are doing is getting you to the place you want to go… Just keep on going for it.

Take no notice of those who say that you “Should do this” or “Don’t do that”. Why should you listen if you are enjoying what you are doing? Even more, if you are having fun and getting good results you can’t fail to improve. And when your artwork is progressively improving you can easily justify continuing because…

“You know this attitude will produce the results you desire”

Be confident that you can make it using your talents. When you do there is no need to worry about your weaknesses, because they will be offset by your strengths. And it gets better…

“In due course your failings diminish as your abilities grow”

Success will breed success. The bonus that success provides is your growing self-confidence.

You will never stop learning, nor should you want to. As an artist you will always want to get better and…

  • Know more about art materials and how to use them.
  • Get in-depth knowledge about the subjects you want to draw
  • Discover how to make the paints bring added life to your paintings

This is what being an artist is all about, with the search for improvement leading towards perfection being the aim. You only need to listen to constructive suggestions that help you move onward. And when you have reached the top what happens then? Do you stop then? Is that perfection?

Not a chance… “You will reach higher still”

If it feels good doing what you are doing now, “Do it some more”. And, when you have done that, “Do it again and again… and then again some more…”

There you have it… “Don’t stop doing what you are doing well”

 

Michael Dale is the author of 1 Color Is Best (the quick and easy way to learn to paint watercolor) and 3 Colors Are All You Need (mix any color you want fast using only 3 colors). Visit http://www.Paint-And-Draw.com to find out more.

If you haven’t done so already, why not take a look at this video that features some of Michael Dale’s Simple Watercolor Paintings

 

Terms of republishing…

Each article listed on this website is an original work © Michael Dale. You are welcome to link to, or reprint these entire articles with no changes. You must agree to respect copyright by not changing titles or content. In particular, you must include the FULL Resource box and all links.

 

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“A day away is best for your art”

by Michael on October 16, 2011

“When you are working hard at your art it is far too easy to get stuck in a rut”

What happens is that you can get too serious about your painting and drawing that the freshness and life is lost. In other words it can become nothing more than a job.

  • This isn’t how it should feel as you are in the process of creating your next masterpiece. It should be enjoyable and fun.
  • Why else would you be prepared to spend your spare time doing something that was nothing more than a struggle?

What is the point of feeling as bad about having a pencil or paintbrush in your hand as you would at your day job

So, you might ask… “What is the cure?”

Take a break for the day…

  • Go and visit friends
  • Go to the cinema
  • Go play some sport
  • Get in the garden

Or, better still, get out and go somewhere different for the day. As an example, I took the train to the city of Lincoln in the Midlands of England, in the company of my father and youngest brother.

It might not sound exciting to some (no jumping from mountain sides or wrestling with wild beasts) but it was pleasant, comfortable and entertaining. As we traveled through Robin Hood’s Nottingham we saw plenty of open countryside, cottages and castles (at Nottingham and Newark). Traveling for around 50 miles we saw far more inspirational sites than any artist could hope to draw or paint in a lifetime (In truth you see more ideas everyday than you could ever paint).

And then we arrived in Lincoln itself. This is a revelation in itself… a lively modern city that lives alongside its Roman origins. The impressive Castle and Cathedral at the top of the hill are surrounded by a mediaeval town that has buildings that were built just after the William the Conqueror arrived. Can you imagine that?

  • You could have eaten lunch in a 400+ year old timber-framed restaurant that spans the River Witham, overlooking and being entertained by a band of drummers on the bridge outside.
  • You could have been fortunate to watch and listen to the Hallé Orchestra practice for the evening concert. Each and every musician was note perfect… Incredible! It was so good that the conductor went and sat in an audience seat to appreciate the amazing music.

What a day… Good company, good food, great location and the finest entertainment that money can buy.

“Can you say that about your day?”

So don’t get depressed and fail with your art. Go out and get away from it all. Refresh yourself and you will find frustrations and problems far easier to solve.

 

Michael Dale is the author of 1 Color Is Best (the quick and easy way to learn to paint watercolor) and 3 Colors Are All You Need (mix any color you want fast using only 3 colors). Visit http://www.Paint-And-Draw.com to find out more.

If you haven’t done so already, why not take a look at this video that features some of Michael Dale’s Simple Watercolor Paintings

 

Terms of republishing…

Each article listed on this website is an original work © Michael Dale. You are welcome to link to, or reprint these entire articles with no changes. You must agree to respect copyright by not changing titles or content. In particular, you must include the FULL Resource box and all links.

 

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“You can still get great Art results when things go wrong”

September 26, 2011

Recently the English weather made its mark. At a show held at Sledmere Hall in Yorkshire. As often happens it began as a clear blue September day, perfect for the horse drawn wagon driving exhibition. Everything looked set for a good event. I managed to capture the horse teams working the “figure of eight” track [...]

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September 23, 2011

Earlier in the year Paint-And-Draw.com was completely rebuilt. It needed it. I had lost the plot and didn’t know how to make it interesting to art beginners. True, there was the simplest and easiest way to learn how to start painting with watercolors and a few other bits… but that was never going to be [...]

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How To Paint A Landscape Portrait Painting

August 2, 2011

There are major difficulties for any art beginner. To learn to paint and draw fast, it helps if you admire the artwork of your art teacher before you learn the drawing and painting techniques required. It also helps if you Appreciate the Art rules you are shown Accept the reasons why Art laws work Recently, [...]

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Let Watercolor Paintings Paint Themselves

July 28, 2011

As I sit here writing this article there are 6 watercolor paintings slowly drying. Unfortunately, one painting looks a complete mess. While the others are bright and clear, this one has a muddy-colored pool that could result in a total disaster. This is water dealing its mixed blessings. What can be done to rescue the [...]

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Paint Exciting Watercolors

July 25, 2011

Why do intelligent adults find it so difficult to learn new things like painting with watercolors? Children don’t seem to struggle with the most complicated computer technology, so… “Why do grown-ups find it hard to learn new art skills?” In reality there is no mystery to learning drawing, painting or any other craft skill. All [...]

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Everybody Can Be An Artist… If They Try!

July 22, 2011

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do… you could become an artist. Think about it… What is a drawing? In simple terms, it is nothing more than a group of lines. Even at its most complicated, the only difference will be that the lines are reinforced with smudges and other marks. Is [...]

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Who Else Wants To Learn How To Draw And Paint?

July 19, 2011

Did you know that anybody can learn to paint and draw… “And that means you!” All you need to do is make it simple. Be determined to have some fun and start with some easy stuff. Drawing isn’t difficult to do… All you have to do is make some lines and marks on some paper [...]

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Which Is The Best Color To Use For Learning Watercolors?

July 16, 2011

A simple answer to this question is… “Any color will do!” This is the reason why a paint box contains many different colors. You could choose from any number of colors to paint with. The problem is that too many colors can be distracting, even more so when they mix to create other colors. You [...]

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