Not being systematic in learning has its drawbacks, but it makes for a more interesting journey. I believe that if you’d like to draw and/or paint you should jump in at whatever point appeals to you, then find your way out from there.
You need not first learn to draw to perfection, spending two years working in black-and-white as if you were in a 19th century Parisian art school before you got to play with colour. Who’s got the time or patience for that? (That’s rhetorical, I know some people do.)
What you do need is a willingness to try. Or to use the term I learnt from one of the participants in a recent workshop: “behavioural flexibility”. Sounds a lot more focused and dedicated than “being out your comfort zone”.
It’s a mindset: accepting what you can’t do right now; not beating yourself up for not instantly succeeding; granting yourself time to explore, discover and learn; trying new things and see what happens; telling the nagging critical voice that says it’s too scary and you may fail to shut up and wait and see.
Excellent post!
🙂
Thank you!
Great advice especially for those who say I’m no good at art — just do it, you might surprise yourself
Good advice – I am ‘stuck’ at the moment. Today I think I’ll just jump in and see what happens!
Hope it goes well!
Working without anticipating the result can be terribly hard if it’s a situation where I need a pleasing result, I find.