"Ten Below"
Oil on Panel
16x20"
2014
No one will deny that brush mileage is one of the best ways
to get better at painting. You can know everything there is to know about
painting, but if you don’t paint all that often, you won’t know how to put paint
on the canvas effectively enough to communicate your ideas. If you've heard of
the 10,000 hours rule, you know this is probably the case for getting good at
anything – simply put, most experts have put in the time.
But time isn't the whole story - most experts also know
how to practice effectively, how to push themselves to the next level. If you
practice the same thing over and over, you won’t get better no matter how many
hours you put in.
So, what makes us improve? For me, it’s the idea of perfect
practice, working thoughtfully on targeted areas. In
the book “The Talent Code,” Daniel Coyle describes this kind of practice like
this:
“Deep practice is built on a paradox: struggling in certain targeted ways – operating at the edges of your ability, where you make mistakes – makes you smarter. Or to put it a slightly different way, experiences where you’re forced to slow down, make errors, and correct them – as you would if you were walking up an ice-covered hill, slipping and stumbling as you go – end up making you swift and graceful without your realizing it…. The trick is to choose a goal just beyond your present abilities; to target the struggle. Thrashing blindly doesn't help. Reaching does.”
- Daniel Coyle, The Talent Code
Practicing this way can be a slow, tedious process. You make
mistakes, you think deeply about things that aren't working, and you try to
apply different ways to correct those mistakes. It doesn't always happen
overnight, but after a while, the things that were challenges become second
nature. You get better.
For me, this means that I no longer set quantity goals for
painting. Sure, painting 100 paintings a year is a good goal that will get me
in the studio on a regular basis, but does it matter if I’m painting the same thing
over and over? Now, I focus on stretching my abilities in a
number of different ways. Here are some ideas:
Paint Something Outside of Your Wheelhouse
I’m all for painting your passion. I love being outside, so
I paint landscapes. It’s different for everyone, but I guarantee you’ll paint
your best when you paint what you love. That said, it’s easy to get complacent
when you always paint what makes you comfortable, so it’s good to step outside
of your comfort zone and paint something completely different every once in a
while. For me, this means adding some architecture or wildlife to a painting
every once in a while, or doing some figure painting in the studio to work on
my drawing. For a figure painter, this might mean heading out to do some plein
air. Either way, you’re developing skills that you don’t have, and it’s making
you stronger.
Focus on Your Weaknesses
In order to improve, you need to think critically, identify
some of your weaknesses, and then work on those things. I painted the painting
above when I felt I was getting a bit too tight with my studio work – I set out
a panel and told myself I was going to work on thick paint and softer edges, and
ignore everything else. The goal wasn't
a masterpiece or show painting, but rather a skill set. Working on those soft
edges is like playing scales on a piano – I’m working those little muscles that
I need in order to commit that skill to memory. If you have a tough time with
clouds, go paint cloud studies. If you struggle with drawing, get a sketchbook
and a pencil and get to work.
Change It Up
Are you comfortable painting small studies on location but
clam up when it comes to painting something big? Or do you love the comfort of
your studio and lose focus the second you get outside? If you run out of one
color on your palette does it send you into a panic, or can you go with it? It’s
easy to get comfortable with painting certain sizes, or in a certain location,
or with a certain set of materials. But if you want to grow as an artist, you
need to work on the edge of your ability sometimes. Work a little bit bigger
outdoors. Do something in a different format. Use some different colors and see
what happens. If you can handle a few changes, you’ll be more versatile as an
artist, and your paintings will improve.
Get Uncomfortable
I’m all for plein air painting in the summer when the
weather is perfect and the light is stunning, but I’m not gonna lie - I don’t
get as excited about getting out there the rest of the year! Last year, I
decided to just paint, no matter what, and learned a valuable lesson. I painted
on cloudy days with flat light, and I learned a lot about greys. I painted in
the snow, and learned a lot about brevity. I hauled my painting stuff up a lot
of trails in a backpack, and learned that sometimes you just have to paint what’s
in front of you when you get there. And when I got back into my studio after
all of that, I had a whole bunch of new skills, and a new found appreciation
for the coziness of my nice warm studio. Sometimes, it’s good to be uncomfortable.
Say yes, even when you don’t want to.
What are some of the best ways that you implement “perfect
practice” into your art?
