Blondheim Art Original Paintings

Mail Art
Dune Shadows
2 1/2 x 3 1/2
Watercolor on Index Paper
Envelope Included
11.00
.60 shipping

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Painters Tip


The Secret to Improving

People ask me all the time how to get better at painting.

Here are a few ways to improve:

Show Up!! This sounds silly but I mean it. Paint every day whether you feel inspired or not. Good painting has nothing to do with being in the mood. Good painters work whether they feel like it or not.

Study!! Get in the habit of doing a lot of small format studies in specific areas of painting. If you need work in composition, do lots of studies in composing tiny paintings. If you don't know how to paint water, go out to a lake or to the beach and practice multiple studies in water pattern, light on water, dull days on water, wave action, etc. Do hundreds of little water only paintings. Don't worry about making finished paintings, just do parts and pieces of your subject and do them over and over until they start looking pretty good. The same goes for mediums, brushwork, etc.

Research!! Do a lot of reading on techniques, mediums, subjects. There is a wealth of information available on painting. Study specific areas of interest and learn as much as you can.

Find a teacher!!! If you feel you are going nowhere on your own, find a good painting teacher. I'm not talking about the many who paint while you watch and collect your money. I'm talking about a painting teacher who will take the time to take you step by step and who will give you specific tasks and exercises to improve your work. Study with someone who really loves teaching rather than painters who just want to make money.

Be a real Student!!! Once you find a good teacher, you need to accept the role of student with grace and determination. Don't be one of the many who think, I already know what I want to do, This is weird, etc. Be willing to step out of your comfort zone and try things you haven't thought of before.

Start being consistent with the above options and you will start to improve. Don't keep doing what you are doing if it doesn't work. You need to think of new solutions rather than the same old way you have been working. Try a new approach, change to a different medium, try different palette and brushes, new supports, etc. Shake out the cobwebs and start fresh in 2008 with new determination and joy.