Beginning Artists - Keep Practicing

Hello everyone: My name is Kathy Hebert and I am an artist/art teacher. I teach beginners - people who have never done art before. Yes, you can learn to do art. No, you do not need to have any talent. Yes, it does require hard work and practice - there are no easy roads here.

Before you learn to paint, you need to learn to draw. Many non-artists believe that they should be able to jump right into painting. Painting is simply drawing with a brush. If you can't draw a hand, you won't be able to paint a hand. If you can't draw a tree, you won't be able to paint a tree. You need to learn composition - how a drawing/painting is placed on a sheet of paper or canvas. You need to learn about negative space - those shapes around objects that don't have any names - like the space between the nose and the mouth. You need to learn about values - how dark or light something is. You need to learn perspective. Once you have an idea about all that - then you can add color.

Betty Edward's book - "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" is a very good tool for the beginning artist. If you don't have good basics, your art work will always be limited. And, practice, practice, practice. Draw hands, rocks, buildings, faces, everything that you see in your world. Don't expect a lot and be happy with what you have done. After all - drawing is hard work! Just making the attempt is an act of courage. A positive pat on the back is far more productive than a kick in the butt. You would never tell a toddler that their walking is terrible when they are just learning to walk!!!

When I first started drawing I was very bad - but I loved drawing so much my results didn't matter. Being so bad, I could only get better. That is one of the secrets of art - be in love with the process, not the product. Drawing and painting are about doing. They are not about where you will hang your finished piece. They are not about impressing your relatives.

Get yourself a nice 11 x 14 sketch pad, some #3 graphite pencils, a kneaded eraser and start practicing. - Kathy