98: Natural gifts vs. acquired gifts
THERE IS A POPULAR THEORY that has been around for a while called the 10,000 hour theory. In his book Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell write...
Category: learning
120 Learning by teaching
I recently finished teaching an illustration course at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. I’ve heard teachers say they learn more than their students....
142 How to manage your brain
In the book The Chaos Imperative author Ori Brafman outlines the the biological mechanics of creativity. I consider myself well versed in the literature of both...
206: How to improve
Summer Light, 11″ x 11″, 8 block woodcut When reflecting on how to improve in the coming year we might come up with the usual ideas: practice and st...
205: Practice deliberately
When research psychologist Anders Ericson was young he played chess competitively with classmates. One day he played against a boy he had beaten decisively in e...
223: Learning to paint, Part 2
Artists might think that sheer repetition is the means to improve their paintings. We often hear reference to putting miles on the brush. But according to the l...
222: Learning to paint, Part 1
Dream of Light, 44″ x 44″, close-up In the book Make It Stick authors Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDanie...
212: The limits of talent
In the book Talent is Overrated, Geoff Colvin outlines what separates world-class performers from everyone else—deliberate practice. (Read previo...
210: Art Hurts–the pain of Deliberate Practise
In blog 205 I wrote about Deliberate Practise. Much has been written about practising deliberately for musicians and athletes but what form would it take for pa...
236: Getting better faster
Close-up of large acrylic LEARNING to paint embraces a wide array of skills. It requires motor skills, or the simple act of applying paint. It requires intellec...
234: How to succeed in art
Ghost, Woodcut, 1.5″ x 1″ Due to factors beyond my control I’ve recently experienced a creative low ebb. To use the time produc...
240: Painting with Gouache
I HAVE never experimented much with gouache–probably from bad experiences using the chalkier, less versatile version known as designers gouache back i...
239: The Improvement Cycle
A common obstacle for new painters is to get blocked in the improvement cycle. This means we have trouble closing the gap between the frustrating phase of ...
266: Review of James Gurney’s “Fantasy in the Wild”
MY new year’s resolutions include having more fun with art while exploring techniques outside my normal purview. A video that admirably ful...
262: You Can’t Until You Can
OVER the last year I’ve written an unprecedented amount of posts about artistic improvement. Recently I’ve been reflecting on the idea that artists ...
324: The Difficult Truth
–I recently came across a video by Jeffrey R.Watts that had a lot of valuable information, especially for young artists. Watts spoke candidly about wh...