You Don’t Study Art, You Slowly Become It

I see artists asking all the time,  what to study, how much to study, when to study and so on. First of all, we all start there and stay there for a certain amount of time. But what we all eventually realize, in one way or another, is that we start to see, practice, do “art” all the time. And yes, I am talking about lighting, composition, texture, form, subject matter. OK, maybe not so much do, as much as observe. But, when I go for walks, I look at how the light travels through the leaves, all the time. I see how breaks in the tree compose distant landscapes. We all see beautiful sunsets, so what about the color, cloud patterns, colors, landscape…. make these sunsets particularly beautiful. When I watch movies I take note of what compositions I like and the shapes involved. I note particularly interesting scenes and imagine my own variations with my favorite theme. Then if I like what I have, I sketch it down. Even tiny thumbnails, will trigger the memory later, and you can always go back and pause that scene if you want. I watch the way people move their bodies around me, I see the way light goes around different forms and shapes, I watch how a hydrant reflects off a chrome bumper, just about a million little things all the time. It just happens.

It just comes and goes randomly, some days more and some less. But as we study and practice, we begin to realize the most amazing art in the world is all around us all the time. Everything is described in visually amazing ways, and inspire us through our own individual experiences. But that is what I mean by becoming art. Its not like we plan to study the leaves, look at the forms and compositions of a room full of party goers, create amazing creatures out of shadows, but it just starts to happen. And its fun! Yes we have our chores, and specific things we need to practice. Because technically, we can always get better and learn more. But do not forget the world around you, as that is what can bring your life to your work. So realize their is more to creating then proper studying, go out and become more creative with every experience.

For Snow Towns by Zack Gamble

Snow Towns Again.