14-Day Beginner Series - How To Map Your Artistic Path

Hi, I'm Mackenzie Swenson, and welcome to the second in the 14 day beginner series, "How to Map Your Artistic Path." Today, we're gonna be talking about something that has actually been really frustrating for me at different points in my artistic journey, and that's the challenge of bringing two different things together. One of them being creativity and the other one being skill and structure. So something that I have found in, you know, just like different schools, different places for learning how to draw and paint, different, you know, whether it's online, in person, a workshop, a class, a book, a lot of times what I find, and other people I talk to have the same experience, places that really prioritize creativity, freedom of expression, self expression, those places can sometimes leave the actual structure of then giving you the skillset to realize an artistic vision that doesn't get addressed as much. And so, even though you have all of these ideas and a lot of, you know, you're tapped into your emotions and you feel like you're in flow, it's like there's kind of a cap on how much you can really do with that because you're like, but I also wanna know how to make, you know, this portrait in this piece that actually looks like the person I want it to look like. And I don't know where to go to figure that out. On the flip side, I also have seen a lot of highly structured rigorous systems of training. I myself participated in multiple. Where it's a very, very goal oriented path that they kind of push you through where, you know, you're learning a very rigorous skill set. You're learning a lot of fundamental tools and techniques and, you know, so you know how to draw this beautifully rendered, perfect figure drawing, or, you know, paint a highly realistic landscape, but no one ever really stopped to ask you, like, is that what you wanna do? Like, is that where you wanna go with this? And so what I have found in, you know, this really has come together for me in the mentorships that I do one on one with folks. It's kind of creating a two part structure for your artistic education. And on the one hand, we have casting an artistic vision and getting really clear on what do you love? What are you drawn to? What inspires you to move forward? And what do you wanna bring into the work that you're striving to create? And on the other hand, it's education. What are the specific skills? What are the constituent components of the things, the building blocks I need to bring this artistic vision to life? And so then we look at things like workshops, online classes, specific books to get, specific studies to do, things to essentially build that skill set, but not just in an arbitrary cookie cutter way, in a way that's very much personalized and geared toward that artistic vision. And so we're just gonna talk a little bit about how to essentially be your own advisor, you know, to look at those two pieces and to really be able to guide yourself in that direction. And something else that I have found very helpful is even if you have a small group of like-minded artists or, you know, just people who are interested, it can be really fun to have someone to bounce ideas off of who's also on the same path. So that's just a little bit about, you know, how I like to structure those two things. So casting a vision, and then looking at how to build your education to customize it for that vision. So to start with, when you are thinking about casting an artistic vision, like, what does that mean and what are some tools that you can use to really dig into that? And I'll just share a couple of things that I find helpful and that I recommend to my students and things that I do as well. So one of the things that I actually find incredibly helpful and maybe too into, I don't know, I use Pinterest a lot. And what I like about Pinterest is that it's private. It's different than like Instagram or, you know, other social media platforms, because I don't really care who... You know, like it's not about sharing it with other people. It's about me really just kind of scrolling through these images that come up or searching for things. And just like, it's so quick, it's so easy. I can have as many boards looking at different things as I want to, and I can just very quickly go through and say, oh, I like that, I like that, I like that. Don't like that. I don't like that, but I like that. I wonder what else there is that's like that. And so I have a very extensive Pinterest collection of things and, you know, it's also I like that it's easy to do if I'm on the subway platform waiting for the train or, you know, it's something to do that, to me, feeds my artistic kind of soul. And so it's a nice thing to do that's not, again, just like scrolling through social media or standing there mindlessly. So that's one thing that I do. Another thing, I haven't really done this, but a lot of people find having a vision board. So like an actual, you know, analog or an actual physical thing, similar to what Pinterest is, where you print things out, you cut out images from magazines. That can be super helpful as well. And it doesn't just have to be paintings, right? It can be color palettes, you know, from the hardware store. It can be photographs that you maybe would want to model a painting off of. It can be, you know, textures that you like. It can be home decor, it can be, you know, whatever. It can be a poem. It can be, you know, I'm inspired by literature constantly. And so it's really just having kind of private spaces to curate the things that you feel inspired by. So another very useful question to ask, and this is maybe more around like coming up with a specific project is to find your favorite space in your home, or maybe even in a friend's home, or, you know, somewhere that inspires you and look at a blank wall in that space. And just ask yourself, if I could have anything on that wall that I wanted, what would I make to put there? And that can be a really good way of kind of making that process a little more concrete and a little bit more immediate. So those are a couple of the tools that I use when I'm really trying to define and tap into what I want for my art and where I wanna go. And like the root of all of those things is really honesty. Like it's giving yourself a space where you can step out of asking, what would people like? And there is absolutely a time and place for that question. If you're an illustrator and you're hired to do a drawing for someone's story, obviously it's important to ask yourself if they like what you're doing and if it's aligned with their vision. But when you are really curating for you, and when you are really trying to get into your, where you wanna go with your art practice, it's important to give yourself that space to really ask, what do I like? And that can also be hard. So I just, if you start to ask yourself that question and you actually have a really hard time answering it, just go with your first instinct. You know, don't overthink it, don't spend too long hemming and hawing over, you know, is this really what I like, but do I like this more? Am I sure about this? Just, you know, it's low pressure. No one else has to see it. No one else has to be a part of it. So just give yourself a space where you can really, really dig into that question of what do I love, what am I inspired by, what am I drawn to, what makes me curious, what makes me intrigued? And so that's a great way to at least get started in defining your artistic vision. So now that we've talked a little bit about defining your artistic vision, I wanna talk about the educational component and how to think about that. So to me, the first thing that comes to mind is how do you define art? And this is obviously something I don't have the answer to and has been contested for centuries, millennia probably. But I have come to a definition that I find very useful. And so if no one else agrees with it or finds it useful, throw it away, like you don't have to listen to this. Take what you like and leave the rest. But the way that I break art down is craft plus story. So what I mean by that is every piece of art can be kind of separated into the craft. And this really gets into the pure sensory realm, right? Like we're digging hard into right brain, like just what is this physical object? What is this play of colors and shapes and patterns on my eye? What, you know, it's a more abstract sense of like, oh, this is compelling and beautiful, and I really can't explain it. I'm drawn to this thing. And that's, you know, and it's also the craftsmanship part of it, right? Like, is this a well constructed? Is it a well stretched canvas? Is this a faithfully rendered hand, you know, that looks like a hand? Looks, you know, that sensory experience, that sensory visual experience is similar there. You know, I see, I know what a hand looks like and the image on the canvas, or, you know, the paper faithfully represents that. And so that's really just like the kind of bones of what the craft represents. And then on the flip side, or not the flip side, but, you know, hand in hand with that is the story. And it's, what is the meaning that we kind of soak into the things that we're looking at? So as the artist of something, I may have a very specific meaning in mind, a very specific story, a very specific thing that I relate a hand to, for example. You know, I maybe look at it and say, oh, this reminds me of comfort and safety and, you know, brings back a specific experience from childhood where I was holding my grandpa's hand, or, you know, something like that. And maybe it brings up then a similar story or similar experience for someone else, a parallel experience in their life. And then also to me, you can see it in someone like, let's say Leonardo DaVinci, he obviously has a phenomenal craft, right? Like his paintings are, you know, I don't think it can be argued that they are remarkable works of craftsmanship and beauty, and, you know, just on a sensory level. But they're also incredibly intriguing. And I don't know what the stories are about them, but I also know that countless biographies have been written about Leonardo DaVinci. People crave information about his story as an artist, about the bigger picture of what he brings to the table. And so what that says to me is that like, you know, people just, we have kind of a hunger for both of those things. And so if we look at, you know, what art could maybe contain, you could have a painting that is a very well crafted piece of work. It's done on a soundly prepped panel. It's got long standing pigments on it. It's varnished, it's safe. It looks remarkably like a thing, you know, like, wow, that is a really well painted teapot. Who knows. And it just is not compelling at all. Who knows why? And to me, that would be an example of something that is really all craft and very little story. So I feel like it's probably safe to say that if you don't really have an object that you're creating and there's really no compelling story to it, we haven't made something that would fall into the realm of art. And so this little square here where we have really no story, no craft, we don't really need to look at that. But let's look at this right here. So what I just talked about with the teapot, you know, this well crafted painting, skillfully rendered, technically well done, boring, really boring, very uncompelling. That would be an example of a piece of art still, that is lacking in story, but has craft. And, you know, like there's still a place for that. There's a lot of places, you know, where it's like you're still building a skill set, you're still, you know, it's a valuable thing, but it's not maybe gonna be like a transcendent timeless piece of art that's going to wind up in a museum. So then over here, we've got a piece of art that has a really compelling story, but maybe is not particularly supported by the actual craft, right? Like the painting that's created. And I actually feel like a lot of the, not all, but some maybe less... Some of the modern art that I don't love as much falls into that, where, you know, I'll read the artist's statement and go like, wow, that's such an interesting concept, I really love what they're saying about, you know, exploring femininity in a changing world and what that looks like and how that's shifting. And then I look at the painting that goes with it, and I'm just like... I don't know how that translates. Like the craft itself doesn't feel like it supports the story as well as it could. And so that to me also is like, it's interesting, it's important, you know, it should be done if someone feels like they want to do that, but it could be more. And so to me, that's where we get to this final square, which is something that has both a compelling story. And I also just wanna clarify, when I say story, I don't mean like a narrative. A narrative like, you know, begins with this, and then this happened, and then this happened, and then the end. Like I'm really saying meaning. So some sort of meaning beyond the thing itself that we ascribe to the painting or the drawing or whatever it is. So this last category here where there's a story and there's also craft. So it's beautifully done and it has a really compelling meaning. And to me, this is where you get really, really impactful work. You get really, you know, you get those masterpieces, you know, like the people who really hit both of those together. And so the other thing is this is very binary, right? Like no, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, yes. What it really is more so, this is a more effective way to think about it for yourself is... More like a mixing board, right? Like sound or, you know, whatever it is people mix on boards with slides and stuff. So if we have a scale here, really the idea is I just wanna get both of these things in this direction as far as I can. And again, that's a personal goal. If you're someone who's really intrigued by ideas and concepts and all of that, lean more heavily into the story, like focus on that more. If you're someone who's like, I don't really care, I just like to paint beautiful things, lean more into the craft, you know, like let your curiosity and your impulses and all of that kind of dictate what you focus on. But it's helpful to kind of break it apart and be able to look at those things individually. And so as, back to this concept of how do you structure your education. You first, it's helpful to break down, you know, which part of this am I looking to really get better at or improve? And it's probably gonna be both, but with story, I would say one of the things that's really helpful is asking, and this is also scary and vulnerable, but is asking for feedback and really asking people like when you do something, what does this mean to you? Like, what are you getting out of this? What is this piece saying? And what you'll find is you'll get a lot of feedback around just that will kind of mirror back to you things you may have no idea about with your piece. And you know, what people are picking up from it. And that can be a really useful guidepost to help you. You know, then maybe ask, oh, it's interesting. What I was trying to say was this. Do you have any thoughts on like how I could maybe say that better? Or if you just want people to fully say like, have it be what it means to them, that's fine too. But if you want to get really effective at communicating a certain concept, asking for feedback is probably the best way to get there. So, you know, just whatever your practice is, incorporating some sort of critique structure, whether it's with an instructor or just with a group of friends, is really, really useful. So then with craft. This, you know, like this gets to be a big discussion, right? Because we can look at a lot of different ways. And actually the rest of this 14 day series is gonna get a lot more into how to kind of create a good lesson plan structure for yourself around addressing your craft. But what I would say is, you know, there's a lot of different tools you can use. And so, you know, when you look at a painting you want to create, you break down, what do I need to get there? Do I need to learn how to draw this portrait? Do I need to come up with a good way of using colors? Do I need to learn a new medium? And then you come to, you know, a site like Artist's Academy and you type in what you need to learn. And you find a video that works for that thing that you need to learn. You know, if that's not doing it for you, sign up for an in-person class, you know, find a mentor, you know, get a book on it. Like any of those things is going to be a really useful way of just learning what it is that you need to learn. Google it, you know? And so, but the main thing that I come back to is, is this in alignment with something that's going to serve what I want out of my art? And if it's not, then why am I pursuing this, like how to draw the perfect tree or, you know, I don't really wanna do gouache. Like, why am I investing in this, like why did I go out and buy a bunch of gouache paints? Like, I don't know. So just continually coming back to, is this something that's serving my direction? So the last thing that we're gonna do today is just go over what are some of the things that are essentials if you're just getting started? You know, if all of this is new and you are like, okay, this all sounds really fun. Like, I don't wanna go out and drop $200 on fancy art supplies. Like, but I wanna test the waters. So I'm gonna just show you what I use as my kind of foundational kit of things. And, you know, it's usually how I start anything, whether it's a painting, a drawing, you know, like these tools are kind of what underlie all of the projects that I do. So first thing is paper, a sketchbook. I love this little guy, it's the Strathmore brand and it's their toned paper. This is just a little 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inch spiral bound sketchbook. I like that because you can fully open it and then it lays flat. Whereas if it's a bound book, it always is kind of like bowing when you lay it open. And I like having just plain white paper, but for sketching quickly and on location, I like having a gray paper or some sort of toned paper. So this one is sketch paper, medium surface. And I wonder, oh yeah, so it is the 400 series. So I also, if I'm using a white paper, I use the Strathmore 400 series drawing paper. So the drawing paper is a little bit thicker than the sketch paper, but they're both fantastic. So it depends on what I'm doing. The reason I like the gray or like a mid tone paper is if I'm going out and doing, like, let's say on location little thumbnail sketches or quick sketches like these, I like to be able to use the gray paper as the mid tone and then use white chalk and then use either pencil or a little charcoal. So I can simplify what I'm looking at into just three values. And so it makes it very easy to do that. So that's just a useful thing that comes in handy with toned paper. I don't have an example of the white sketch books with me, but yeah, again, it's just the white paper I use is Strathmore 400 series drawing paper. So from there, pencils. The main pencils that I use are this brand, which is Staedtler. And the one I use the most often is an HB, the little number you see on the bottom. I also do use a broader range, but the one I usually go to is an HB. And so then I also really enjoy using these General's charcoal pencils. So the one I usually use here is the medium or 2B. And so I just find that the hard sometimes doesn't actually leave, like it's too hard. And then the soft is just kind of like powdery and smudgy. But their medium is really nice. And then for white chalk, this apparently lost its tip, but also the General's brand white charcoal. So this is what it looks like. Here, we've got a very short guy with some of the white chalk still left. So then this, you have to be a little careful with, but there are also some blending tools that I use. I try to be judicious because it can end up looking smudgy, but this is just a stump. So it's basically a rolled up piece of paper that goes into a point, and that's great for just spreading value around. And then this is called a shammy. And it's just like a, I can't remember, lambskin? I'm sure they have a vegan friendly version maybe. But this is great, especially in charcoal, if you're, you know, needing to spread a lot of a tone around a piece of paper or for smudging things out. So then for erasers, I have two erasers that I use. One of them is a kneaded eraser. So this is what mine looks like. It's stretchy. Right? And you can kind of twist it into any shape you like. So a little point, if you wanna get really specific. I also like to sometimes roll it into a kind of a pin and, you know, you can kind of roll it over a broad area and just gradually lighten things. So very versatile, also fun to just kind of play with, if you're stressed out. It looks like this when it comes in the packaging. And then the other thing that I use for an eraser is this little guy called a Tombow Mono Zero eraser. So it's got the precision of like a pencil and it's hard. So the kneaded eraser is very soft, so sometimes it's hard to get into really like ground in pigment. But the Mono eraser is very, very hard. So it's great if you really need to like get a pencil mark out that's etched in there. And it's also great to really clean up lines because you can be very precise with it. So, and the way that that works is it's just like a mechanical pencil, right? So you got this. And then I always keep a bunch of refills on hand, cuz I go through these like nobody's business. So. And then for sharpening, I use a utility knife. I just, I like to be able to shave down. Here, you can kind of see. Pull one of these guys out. I like to be able to shave it down so I can see more of the lead exposed so that I can get a long angled taper and keep the point really sharp for a long time. And people can also use Exacto knives, which are smaller, but I actually have a harder time being precise with an Exacto knife, so personal preference. And then once I'm actually needing to then sharpen the lead itself, I have this little piece of Masonite board. And this piece of Masonite board, I use just adhesive sandpaper. This is, I think, 120 grit? Yeah. And then I'm able to kind of press down and get a really long flat taper. Right? I don't love those little baby sanding boards cuz they curl up and they just like, they don't give me enough space to actually get like a long point. So, but again, they work. Personal preference. And then I keep a piece of grittier, like 100 sandpaper around too. And this is great for charcoal, white chalk, colored pencil, which is super waxy. So if you try to use this one for colored pencil, it'll just like destroy. Like you'll get like two sharpens in and then it's filled and doesn't work. So keeping a gritty piece of sandpaper around is great too. And then the last three things are a measuring tool. So this is, you know, great for just judging proportions and even, you know, like figuring out compositions, finding through lines, all of that. Something that's long and thin is ideal. And then either a regular mirror or, this is really dirty, a black mirror. And I use that to check drawing. So I'll actually look out at something and I can look at it then upside down. So I'm seeing, you know, everything back beyond the camera now upside down. Or to the side and then it flips it in reverse. So being able to look at your drawing either very quickly upside down and the thing that you're drawing can help you find drawing errors really quickly. And then the last thing is this little guy called a view catcher. And so if you guys ever see, you know, the painters in the movies doing this, like, you know, whatever thing, looking super pretentious, it's actually super helpful. But your fingers aren't exactly the most square things on the planet. So this thing's really cool cuz you can basically use it to frame up whatever you're looking at and it's compact. And you know, I have a few of these cuz they're so useful and I lose them all the time. But you can also set it and make it any ratio you want. So whatever your canvas size or your paper size is, you can look in a window that matches that. So yeah, that's kind of the... Oh, then last thing is just some sort of a nice pencil case that you can use to keep everything together and organized. So I don't even know what brand this is, but it's a brand that's very common at art stores and it's got all these nice little spaces for me to keep my pencils. There we have my preferred tools and what I suggest to my students as a basic starter kit. And I really appreciate you joining me today for how to map your artistic path. I hope you found this helpful and really looking forward to going through the next couple of days with you guys.