There was an interesting comment on this blog post on the colour of shadows recently that really gave me pause for thought. Here’s the comment:
Do you think of matching colour this way as a sort of training wheels that you get to take off at some point? It seems quite labor intensive to paint something this way beyond a simple study. Do you find that as you have been doing more and more of these studies you have a better guess at what the value, hue, chroma is when you look at a new subject?
I’ve seen this phrase “training wheels” used often in art forums, in relation to many different things.
Sometimes it’s drawing with a grid, or using a viewfinder to select a composition. I’ve seen value scales referred to as training wheels, and dividers for measuring drawings.
It bothers me because it comes from what I believe is a basic and very grave mistake in mindset that artists – and pretty much only artists – have about their approach to learning.
It’s that you have to use these helpers at the beginning in order to get your skills down, then you never have to go back to them again.
And more; if you’re using them, that means you’re still learning. You’re not professional. You haven’t made it yet. You haven’t arrived. You’re somehow…less.
Think about this: Musicians don’t stop practising scales when they can play one well. They practice scales their entire lives. At least, if they want to keep progressing they do.
Athletes don’t stop training when they reach a certain level of skill development and fitness. They keep training. They don’t try to just turn up and perform. They’d quickly find themselves at the bottom of the league tables if they did.
Why should artists be any different?
There’s a sneakily pejorative aspect to that mindset. It’s a trick our brains play upon us, and it will only slow our progress.
So no, I don’t see it as training wheels. It is labour intensive, but if you want to draw and paint realism well, you have to accept this: It’s hard work, and demands a lot of different skills, developed to a high level, working together.
There is no end to the development of those skills. I still use a colour checker, and I’m still constantly learning new things about colour. I still paint cubes and spheres, and I still learn from every study I do.
With regard to colour mixing, certainly I am better than I used to be at getting in the right ball park more quickly.
That’s because, with practice, I’m gradually developing more detailed knowledge of my tube pigments and what combinations get me in which area of the colour space. Certainly I’ve picked up a lot of knowledge about value which helps keep me from making basic mistakes.
But I want to continue to improve, and for that reason I’ll keep practising methodically, and looking for ways to improve my practice methods.
Another reader here recently commented with one of my favourite stories about a musician.
Pablo Casals is widely regarded as one the best ‘Cello players ever to have lived. When asked why, into his 90’s, he still continued to do daily practice, he answered that he believed he was starting to see some progress.
If we want to improve, and if we want to help to bring realism as whole up from the sad state it’s got into over the last couple of generations, then we need to do the same.
Best wishes, and thanks for reading,
Paul
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Bravo Paul!!!
I couldn’t agree more. I’m the Director of Studies at the Angel Academy of Art, Florence, and we constantly tell all this to our students. If you want to draw a straight line, use a ruler—only amateurs try to draw a straight line freehand; professionals use equipment.
I agree, too, that too many beginner Realist painters have the weirdest ideas!!!
Bang on.Paul.
Well said, Paul. I just ordered a proportional divider after all these years of painting! With my busy lifestyle, I need all the help I can get, and I honestly believing that using it will help my drawing skills. I absolutely hate drawing but can do it as I did pay a lot of attention in the past to drawing. I did portraiture for years and people couldn’t believe the perfect likenesses that I could get. I even did one of my Aunt when she was dying years ago without the help of a photo. I nailed her and the family loved it as did she. That took drawing skills and a good memory! I have found when I’m in the “zone” I can do wonderful paintings and wonderful drawings. I see no harm in using these tools. I’ll be practicing art the rest of my life too, as you say. It never quits. And I think if you could ever reach that “perfect” level, the fun would be gone. Hope you are feeling well Paul!!! Bronwen
Thank you Paul for writing about the importance of practice. Yes we can memorize and reach a level of mastery, but we can only maintain this mastery by continued practice. As the saying goes “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” Highly recommend reading “Peak, secrets from the new science of expertise.” There is another book I came across that opened my eyes to how important it is to train your brain and to practice remembering information, thus enhancing you long term memory. This is an ongoing practice for the rest of your life. The more you do this practice the better you become in remembering, and so it is in all things.
http://blog.artofmemory.com/files/pdf/The-Training-Of-The-Memory-In-Art.pdf
Enjoy
Helga
Helga, I’m reading “Peak” now and agree, it’s definitely worthwhile. A revelation.
Kathryn
I totally agree. I was visiting the National Gallery a few years ago, and there was a group of 7 or 8 yearolds with their teacher , trying to draw something they had seen on their visit. Teacher took away an eraser from one of the children who was correcting his drawing because ‘ real artists don’t use rubbers’! That attitude seems a perfect way to put a child off drawing altogether.
Absolutely correct! And even more deliberate practice throughout an artists life is an absolute! Especially, with realism!
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Well Said, Paul!
Thanks for this post I agree with you . I have been completing small studies colour mixing following your tutorials . As you have mentioned before the perception that an artist is born and just arrives with talent can be a self limiting perception. It may be that some artists who appear to have talent are in reality more focused and single minded and practice the craft more ? I dont know. However as I could never afford to study in an art school full time I appreciate the posts and tutorials that you share. It’s hard to make time when you work but even if I just say I will do 25 mins it always ends up being much longer . Last thing , I do feel a place to practice and reflect , take notes etc however small with all the tools you need set out helps enormously.
Thank you Paul
I can see the value of using colour checkers and methodically practising etc but my problem is I don’t enjoy doing these activities. I think the person who made the original comment might feel that it’s all a bit of a grind and is hoping that eventually the skills would come naturally without endless tortuous thought and wrestling with methods and materials. For me it takes the joy out it. It’s a reality check for sure and lately I have been wondering if I want to turn art into a dreary struggle like everything else in life. It seems if I want to improve I have to treat it like a science – which I have always hated. Maybe I am just too lazy?
Thing is, is that in away, you have to learn the science to use it, in your art,you dont have to,and i can see what you are saying,I personally dont see how anyone can enjoy painting without learning the science,it would be way to frustrating.
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my comment. There is a joy in painting intuitively, in turning the brain off so to speak. I can’t see much joy in agonising over how to work out colour, value, chroma etc. This is not to denigrate Paul’s very generous work and information on this website. I am just not very technically minded so this approach is hard. I suppose I still believe more in talent and natural ability at heart.
Marvelous. Well said. I couldn’t agree with you more Paul. I hope you are doing well and feeling better. Thank you for your fabulous posts, they help me so much! As you’ve said, never stop learning. There is always something more to know.
I’ve been learning to play guitar for fifty years. I hope to have it down in the next fifty.
Great post. Very instructive.
Thank you so much Paul for your post! We have to get rid of so many misconceptions about the making of art.
I do agree with you. Sportsmen and musicians practice all their lives why should it be any different for artists and yet we are made to feel “amateurish” if we admit to such techniques. I do like your posts – they talk common sense and you make me feel better about the things I do to try and improve! Thank you. Allison
Paul,
You missed your calling. Only “real” people allow themselves to be vulnerable (letting others inside, etc). This is the hallmark of real sincerity and wisdom…and you should allow it to have a larger voice. You need to write a book to share your wosdom and philiosophies…and ok, you could illustrate the jacket yourself, but you have a way of piercing the veil that a lot of people need. You could call it “It’s Still Life”. By the way, what is your illness? Sharing that info is vulnerable, but you have supporters all over the planet and maybe there is a solution in hand somewhere else outside the UK. Just a thought…By the way, you are also an inspiration to me as well…I just retired (age62) and am struggling to regain a foothold back into the world of painting after a 44 year forced hiatus. I have tied a knot in my “thread” and am holding on for dear life…please do the same!
I occasionally say to my students, we all want to draw and paint but many of us don’t want to practice.
I don’t know if it is true but I read a quote about Yehudi Menuhin, when asked in his later years if he still practised, he is supposed to have said: if I miss a days practice I can tell the difference, if I miss two days my friends notice, if I miss three days the whole world knows.
(Art apart, I still get confused about practice/practise)
Paul, Excellently written and direct to the point. Your blog should be a staple for anyone that wants to be a professional painter.
Thank you Joe!
Touché Paul!
I had a teacher that used to say, “the more you know the more you know you don’t know.”
As always, well stated in your article and I look forward to more of these gems!
Ha… Didn’t realize that my comment/question would provoke an entire post. Just want to clarify a couple of things.
1) I have nothing against using tools to achieve the task you have set out to do. To that end, if the task is to paint a realistic still life, why bother with measuring tools or learning to draw for that matter, just take a photo of the still life, trace it on the canvas and paint away. Yo do need to know how to use the camera properly but then you don’t have to spend days on a line drawing to achieve the same goal.
2) I have nothing against practicing to learn a skill. That is, if the practice results in mastery of said skill. In this case, the skill is learning to discern the color and then mix and place that color on the canvas. Using the color checker is a tool to accomplish that. My question was – does it help you master the skill or does it become a crutch? From your post, it appears to be the latter. I can see how it helps you achieve your goal in a simple still life in a controlled environment. But would it let you grow beyond that (multiple light sources, outdoor setting with fast changing light, complex scenes, figures, etc.)?
It just made such a good starting point for a post, Kaya, I couldn’t resist it!
In answer to your points:
1. Because a photograph is a mediated version of our perception – a version of what we see. A painting is also mediated, but mediated differently. Realistic painting and photography are not the same thing.
2. In a sense, it’s both, although I would rather use the word “aid” than “crutch”. The meaning may be similar but “crutch” is a loaded word with pejorative connotations. I presume you’re irked and its choice was deliberate. I’m sorry if that’s the case. The colour checker both helps you get closer to accurate colour and helps you practice and develop your sensitivity, it’s not either/or. That greater sensitivity will help you in any situation.
1) I didn’t mean paint from the photograph. Just use it to help you with the line drawing and setup. If you set up the camera correctly, you will have a realistic and accurate drawing without spending two days on it.
2) I think I used the word crutch to accurately express my point. Not irked. Crutch was used to mean – a tool that loses its helpfulness after a time and becomes an impediment instead.