How to get better
Most artists are used to being told “I could never paint/draw/sculpt/create like that” when talking with others about their art. It’s something even other artists say at times! I always find that word ‘never’ a bit sad to hear, though, as though the speaker has given up before they even began.
Something I get asked a lot as a teacher is “how can I get better at painting/drawing/creating?” I much prefer this question, although it can be quite complicated to answer. Working out how to get better at making art is both one of the simplest things to answer, and one of the most complicated.
Here are a few ideas that may help you:
Keep practising
The most basic thing you can do to improve at just about anything is to keep practising. In the case of making art, try to do something at least every few days, if not daily. When you can’t actually make art, but have a little time on your hands (perhaps on the bus, or waiting in a queue) practise your observational skills. Think about how you might try to draw something, or mix a colour, or capture a feeling.
Something hard, something easy
When you are making art find a balance between doing something that comes easily, and challenging yourself to try something hard. If you are learning to draw, for example, practise drawing simple objects like apples or cups, improving your muscle memory every time you sketch the shape accurately. Then challenge yourself to draw your dog or a plant, something much more complex, but still practicing looking for and drawing shapes.
Explore and ask questions
Stay curious in your art making. If you are in the middle of a painting and wonder what would happen if you flooded a space with water, or tried drawing on top with oil pastel, don’t be scared to try it! (In your art journal or on scrap paper if you don’t want to risk ruining your work). Ask yourself why you always reach for that shade of red, what would happen if you mixed your own purple, which blue complements this orange; then try something different and see if you like it.
If you find yourself fascinated with a subject, maybe a type of plant, or a species of bird, or the shapes of buildings, explore further. Keep sketching, asking yourself what it is you love about your subject. Draw the whole of it, draw tiny aspects of it, draw what is around it, draw how it works. The more you know about it, the better you will get at reproducing it in your art.
Play
Most importantly, keep playing. Art should be a way to release inhibitions and discover your inner self. It should be emotional, maybe not always fun, but it could be cathartic, exciting, fascinating. If it is beginning to feel boring, it’s time to change something: your subject; your media; your approach. If you want to get better, you need to want to do more, practise more, challenge yourself more, explore more, and so play more.