Advice For Emerging Artists

Every famous painter, sketcher, and other artists had to start from somewhere. Vincent Van Gogh needed to learn about color mixing and paint order before he could paint “The Starry Night.” Leonardo da Vinci had to learn how to control line weight to sketch out his sculptures. If you’re an aspiring artist, or art enthusiast, looking for some inspiration for your next piece, here are some famous artists giving their best pieces of advice.

“Have No Fear of Perfection. You’ll Never Reach It” – Salvador Dali

As a beginner artist, there’s a good chance that you’ll eventually smudge a perfectly good drawing, or let colors drip on a painting. Despite producing over 1,500 paintings in his career and expanding his horizons into film, Dali was always very critical of himself and his work.

The best way to strive near perfection being an artist is simple: practice. Start by identifying some of your weak points in your technique. There’s a good chance there is a video or article out there that will help you identify the mistakes you might be making. From there, take 10 to 15 minutes every day to work on your technique.

“It Isn’t Until the Painter Has No Idea What He Is Doing That He Makes Good Paintings” – Edgar Degas

Even if you don’t work with paints, the best ideas sometimes come when you start drawing or painting freely. If you don’t have a clear idea, give yourself a time limit and see what you can create. Even if your current project doesn’t give you the results you desire, you may be able to use some of the elements in a future piece.

“Gazing at Beautiful Things Acts on My Soul” – Michaelangelo

Who inspires you as an artist? What medium is your favorite? Answer these two questions and see if there are any galleries in your area featuring your favorite medium or artist. If there aren’t galleries that showcase your favorite medium, see if there’s a documentary about your favorite artist. This might give you some inspiration on what to include in your next piece.

“Leap Into The Void. Turn the World Upside Down” – AA Bronson

Some artists create their best work and new genres of art by accident. If it weren’t for Gustave Courbet or Honoré Daumier, we would not have Realism. If it weren’t for Louis Leroy, we wouldn’t have had the Impressionist movement. Take your vision and run with it. You don’t know how others will react to your piece until you show it off for the very first time.