So you want to become an artist?

“Can you tell me how you got to where you are with your work. I mean, my art is all over the place. I don’t know where to begin or when to finish. There’s no commonality in anything I am making. How do I make paintings like the ones that you do?” (Questions taken from Nancy Reyner’s “Painting Blog” January 8, 2010).

My answer to these question would be – you choose to be an artist for a lifetime! There are times when you would much rather be doing something else and not sit at that art show in the hot sun. But, you have chosen to be an artist.

How long will it take to paint a cohesive body of work? Do you have a subject that you are passionate about? Then paint a series of work that accentuates this passion. Set a number for the amount of paintings you will paint for the series, when the series is finished, you will have a much clearer picture of what and how you want to be known for.

Practice makes perfect and your art is no exception. After deciding on the type painting to paint for the series, the number of paintings in the series, then the hard part begins.

How much experience do you have in the type painting that you have selected? If it’s not much, then your time will be longer. Practice, practice, practice. Even tho I’ve painted for 30+ years, if I decide to paint something in a style that I haven’t perfected, it takes many hours of practice before I feel I have mastered the techniques such as the way to hold my brush, or lay down the colors and on which ground do I want to paint this picture.

I have always been a landscape artist, but I’ve grown in that I started with oils, when I was called away from my easel for a while, due to the illness of my daughter, I didn’t want to paint with just oils anymore. While I wasn’t painting I read watercolor and pastel books and learned that other mediums offered beautiful ways to express my creative spirit also.

But, when I was back at the easel, there was much practice that had to be done and I accumulated quite a stack of used watercolor and pastel paper before I had a painting that was good enough to exhibit.

If you have chosen to become an artist, I invite you to download “Choosing To Be An Artist – For A Lifetime”, the first chapter is an interview with an artist that has been an artist for a lifetime. I think you will enjoy this Special Report and gain insight and encouragement for your artistic journey.

Ellene
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