Leave your perfectionism at the door. It’s time to jump in!
Transcript
This is episode 4 of the Art Fit Podcast. Hello, I’m Anna Battle, Shiny Happy Artist and your host of the Art Fit Podcast. Now, just as physical fitness is good for your body, Art Fitness is good for your mind. And you don’t need to be an Olympics level professional artist to benefit from Art Fitness. But what is the point? How do you actually do it? How do you fit it all in? Well, I’m on a mission to help you get Art Fit.
This podcast is brought to you by my Shiny Happy Art Club. I send you a brand new high quality guided Paint Along each month, in acrylic and watercolour, as part of a lovely group of art friends from around the world. So, you can become a Shiny Happy Artist and get Art Fit.
Now today, we are taking that Nike slogan on board, and I am telling you to just do it. You cannot become confident without action. If you are not going to draw, there is no way you are going to become confident with drawing. Think about it; it’s the same with driving. If you don’t learn to drive, if you don’t get in the car and turn on the ignition and do all of those actions that can altogether mean that you’re driving, you cannot become a confident driver. You cannot become a confident dancer without learning those moves first, and actually, giving them a go and watching yourself in the mirror and figuring out what’s working and what’s not working. Playing piano, you can’t become a confident piano player or pianist, until you’ve actually put your hands on the keys. You can’t become a confident chef, if you’re not going to actually get your hands dirty and get stuck into the cooking. And that’s exactly the way it is, when it comes to drawing. You have to actually do it. And remember, look, it’s either fixable or it’s redoable, but you do want to sort of throw yourself in with that energy at the beginning. Because often, the first one you do is, it does end up being the best.
Many years ago, when I was 10, I remember it so clearly, I was actually entering an Australia Post competition. We had to design a stamp. And I drew a possum for the stamp, I just did it. I threw myself into it, and did it. And what I do regret is that I wasn’t using decent paper for that first drawing. I must have just thought, this will be my warm-up sketch. And I did it again, after I had done it the first time, but that energy, that ‘Just do it’ energy was really captured in that first one. And I do regret that I didn’t do that on slightly better paper at the beginning because I was in the right mindset and I was just doing it. So, it’s important to remember that whatever you’re doing, you’re going to capture sort of that feeling in your drawing or painting. So, if you’re not feeling it, it’s probably best to walk away from your page and come back another time, but getting that ‘Just do it’ attitude is really, really important.
Now, of course, just doing it is one way of looking at the actual act of drawing, and it’s also about learning with different art supplies that you may not have used before. So, just doing it means that you can throw yourself into, maybe using a pen and ink on a nib, using a strip and stick and dipping it in paint, getting your fingers in when you are spreading paint around on your paper or your canvas. There are so many ways that a teacher can open your eyes to things that you might like to just do. And I say, don’t hold back. No one’s going to get hurt from trying a new art supply or trying a new way of painting. And if you are so hung up on making every line perfect, you’ll just never get it finished.
So, often at the beginning of a class, I’ll explain to people, not to fall in love with the marks that they put down first, because they might be covered up later. And by the same token, you don’t want to worry too much about a line going a bit skewiff if underneath, you’ve just got to do it. I want you to feel confident enough to make that initial mark on the paper, so that the other marks can follow it. It really, really is important. So, just do it. Particularly, if you’re working in acrylic, it’s a very forgiving medium. So, once it’s dry, you can paint over it again. but if you are just doing it, it goes a bit haywire with watercolour or whatever it might be or drawing, know that you are still getting some learning out of that; you will still be able to paint or draw it again, and just doing it in the first place is the way to become confident with drawing, and every single mark is building your confidence. So, take that away, I hope. Just do it, on your way to Art Fitness. And because that is a Nike reference, I think that’s terrific when you’re talking about Art Fitness, it makes a lot of sense; just do the physical exercise and just do some art exercise as well, on your way to becoming Art Fit.
So, you want to get Art Fit? We’ll find out when the doors to the Shiny Happy Art Club open next. There are 24 online Paint Alongs to choose from when you join, so you’ll definitely find something you love. And now, there are also $15 and $25 subscription options. So, go to www.shinyhappyart.com to pop your name on the waiting list. I look forward to painting with you in the Shiny Happy Art Club. And until then, I’ll be back in your ears with the next episode of the Art Fit Podcast.
