Advice for Painting Growth in 2017

'Winter Wonderland'        8x10        pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $150

It's time again for new beginnings. Time to set new goals or make resolutions. No matter what 2016 brought you there is the promise of a New Year. Another chance to work towards your hopes and dreams. I am working on my goals and plans for the coming year and I will share them with you soon. They are surprisingly low key this year.  My reflection has brought about some thoughts on becoming a better painter. I have some advice that may help you with your goals and plans for your art in 2017.

We all want to paint better. No matter where we are in our art journey there is always room to improve and grow. That is what makes it so fulfilling. We are never really 'there'. But it is always nice to be able to paint something that you are proud of...something that shows you are making progress. There have been two things that have helped me overcome the painting learning curve. I'd like to share them with you:

Study and Practice are the keys to success.

Practice: I love to share my painting story....how daily small paintings helped me feel comfortable with pastel. Painting everyday got me through that learning curve faster than I if I only painted occasionally . There is no question that daily painting practice works. But it needs something else in order for it to really help.....You need to combine practice with study.

Study: It is important to learn and put into practice the basic concepts of good painting. Understanding composition, value, color, drawing, edges and more will improve your paintings. Practice without this knowledge will only result in the possibility of repeating bad habits. Gathering this knowledge takes time. We are not ready for everything all at once. But with continued study and practice concepts will start to click and make sense.....and your work will only get better.

There are so many great art books and dvds available. We also now have access to online art demos and classes. Make it a goal to take advantage of them. Choose a concept to work on each month of the year and practice this concept! 

Also consider going to a pastel workshop. Many great instructors are posting their schedules for 2017. I have a fun line-up of workshops and I'd love to have you join one! Here is the link to contact info for these workshops.