Learn to paint like you first!

5 reasons I teach you to paint like yourself and not like me.

1. It’s way more fun. 

If I were to run you through step-by-step demonstrations on how to create a painting in the exact way that I create a painting, I would be robbing you of the best parts of making art - joy and wonder! 

Discovering what you like to paint, how you like to paint and what works best for you is a personal process. 

Following curiosity and enjoyment leads to discoveries and only you will know what brings you joy! 

2. Your time is valuable!

It definitely takes time to uncover inspiration, direction and a unique process. 

It’s easy to think that learning another artist’s way is a shortcut to finding your own way with painting.

But if you learn in this way, you still need to spend a lot more time processing what you’ve learned in order to discover your own unique process.  You may even need to spend some time un-learning some of the things to be able to let them go and move forward!

Tapping into your own way at the beginning is the best way to save time and creative energy.

3. It builds confidence

Learning to paint like another artist - even if you teach yourself how to do this - limits your potential for discovery. 

It’s hard to feel confident with your work if you are checking over your shoulder to see if you are getting it right or wrong by comparing it to another person’s work. You might worry that any variation you bring to the process is distracting or leading to failure. 

Confidence comes from making your own discoveries and becoming familiar with your own decision-making process. When you reach a tricky stage in a painting, you will have this understanding to draw on to guide you through.

4. It develops connection 

As you experiment and create work, even as a beginner, you can gather an understanding of what you like to do and why. 

If you are following another artist's process step by step, you might also follow and adopt their particular reasons for working in certain ways instead of exploring your own.

Thinking about your own choices and decisions will strengthen your connection to your work and guide your creative development and personal growth.

5. Authenticity is valuable!

A unique style, approach and process creates artwork that is original and valuable. Developing a trademark combination can take years of practice, experimentation and reflection. 

Passing on exact recipes results in the creation of unlimited versions of the same kind of work. In this way, something unique and special quickly becomes watered down and generic and no longer valuable.

For this reason I make sure to keep my collectors {who value my unique work} in mind when creating learning resources to help artists make progress with painting.

The Abstract painting for beginners course is full of demonstration videos! 

Click here to find out how these videos were created with the ideas mentioned above in mind.