Yes! You CAN Learn How to Paint!

  As a teacher, I have had many students of all ages and skill levels.  And many students will tell me that they can "only draw stick-figures" or they "have never been artistic."  Some students hit the ground running, while others feel more frustrated.  Why is this?  Let's talk about this artistic learning process.
  Firstly,  It's important to have realistic expectations from the beginning.  Here's an analogy for you:  Let's say I want to learn how to play piano.  I begin taking classes and what do I start with?  Mozart? Chopin?  Well... I would probably start with some finger placement or scales.  FYI - I am not a music teacher nor a musician, but I know  that you learn gradually, step-by-step.  
  Think about the language learning process.  It takes a lot of practice and there are always new words to learn!  Everything in life is actually like a language; painting and drawing are simply a visual language with specific terminology.  Terms like value are crucial to understanding art.  Learning these terms lets us speak the same language, but it takes time so be patient.

One of The Essential Principles: Value

  With expectations in check, how can we learn how to draw and paint?  My own education and background is very academic; academic training goes back to the Renaissance and requires that students learn painting as both an art and as a craft.  It's very rigorous training over a long period of time, but it provides a good platform that you can grow on as an artist.
  I learned all of the fundamental principles by studying traditionally in academic settings.  I learned a lot in school, but the most important thing is experience.  There are no shortcuts with this process.  Taking a class allows you to speed this process up by directly learning, asking questions, etc. but hands-on experience is irreplaceable.   

One of my Favorites by Robert Henri

Reading books is also helpful, but there are so many books out there--how do you know what's helpful?  I see a lot of step-by-step books, but these "technique-based" books that say "Step one: draw a circle, Step two: draw a square" are not very helpful.  Instead, I gravitate more towards principle-based books that are about larger concepts like shape, value and color!
 Check out a book called The Art Spirit.  It doesn't focus on technique, but it speaks more about bigger ideas and philosophical topics.

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  I won't pretend that I can teach you everything here in this blog post, but I can point you in the right direction and encourage you that you can learn how to paint.
   And if you take away one thing from Eric En Plein Air, please try to enjoy the process and the experience of creating art.  Be kind to yourself and remember that baby steps are still steps!
 Keep learning, focus on the big principles, take classes, read books, watch videos, talk to friends, share ideas, make memories and enjoy every minute of it.

Remember to Enjoy the Experience! Cambridge Beaches, Bermuda | Plein Air Trip | May 2024