Artistic Goals
The First of Three Elements of One Artist Goal Plan
By Roger Dale Brown, OPA
This
article is the first of three, in which I will outline the way I set goals for
my business. My goals include: artistic, marketing and business. Setting these goals gives me something
to strive for, they help me stay organized and they hold me accountable to
myself.
Artistic
Goals, for me, are the most important of the three categories. It helps me to
improve what I have to market, my art. Subcategories under these three elements
help me compartmentalize specific areas I want to concentrate on. They are: (1)
Get better; (2) Painting from life and on location; (3) Seeing better as an
artist; (4) Continue developing a critical eye; (5) Expanding my boundaries.
These
will put my goals into action.
(1)
Get Better:
How
do I get better? I acknowledge an area I am weak in and study that area. It is
important for me to schedule time to do this. I am easily distracted with life
situations and business. I also take advantage of an opportunity when it
arises. I keep a drawing pad with me so I can draw anytime. Studying is not
limited to painting. Drawing helps improve hand–eye coordination, seeing
value and developing an intuitive response to my subject.
I
also adhere to the theory of frequency, intensity and duration. If you do
something often, you will get better at it. If you study with intensity there
is a higher chance of retaining what you study. The longer you work on
something, the more likely your task will become intuitive.
It
coincides with a quote I read in my classes:
“Nothing
in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is
more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded
genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated
derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press
on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.� Calvin
Coolidge
(2)
Painting from Life and on Location:
I
decide how many on location or from life study paintings I want to paint that
year. I schedule the time as much as possible but many times it is spur of the
moment. Realize that every painting is not started with the idea that it is
going to be a finished masterpiece. Most of the time I paint on location to
study. I can read, study, take workshops every month, but if I don’t put theory
to test I will not grow. Most times I paint from life with the intension of
studying a specific problem area or theory, not to create a masterpiece. Paint
with a plan!
(3)
Seeing Better As An Artist:
Before
I touch my canvas, I try to see the subject in its’ simplest form or as an
abstract. Then I mentally build the scene back up and visualize the end result
of my painting. I have discovered
when I visualize the end result of my painting, the likely hood of succeeding
increases.
Sometimes
I leave my paints at home and observe how light falls over a subject, how
things reflect off each other. I look through the detail and see large simple
shapes or masses, the value of those masses, patterns of light and color within
those masses and all the other nuances. I simply practice seeing and
remembering.
The
ability to “see as an artist sees� is one of the most important elements of
learning and developing. Cicero once said, “Art is born of the observation and
investigation of nature�.
(4)
Continue Developing a Critical Eye:
It
is very important to become a student of art, to develop a critical eye. I have
collected a library of art books, I look at magazines and visit museums
whenever possible to study. Having a group to critique each other’s work regularly
is also very helpful to start understanding what makes a good painting. To know
a good painting when you see one, you also have to see the mistakes. The old
masters, contemporary masters and our piers make mistakes. It’s just as
important to see what they did wrong as it is to see what they did right.
Frank
Dumond told his students: “I am not here to teach you how to paint, I am here
to teach you how to see�. He did not just mean seeing the subject your painting
and the nuances within but also the ability to know what a good painting looks
like. By developing a critical eye you will develop the ability to critique
your own work intelligently and then you can take the necessary steps to
correct the problems.
(5)
Expanding My Boundaries:
I
put a lot of importance on being a well-rounded artist. My passion is landscape
panting. I love the outdoors and the beauty of nature. But, I also like other
subjects and I know that one of the ways for me to grow is to be diverse in
what I paint. I also venture to try new techniques, new mediums and tools and I
even make tools and equipment to help in certain situations. At the end of the
day I always bring something new back to my art.
The idea of being a well-rounded painter has
been important to the masters for centuries. In 1901, John Singer Sargent wrote about it in a letter to a
student.
“You say you are studying to become a
portrait painter and I think you'd be making a great mistake if you kept that
only in view during the time you intend to work in a life class, for the object
of the student should be to acquire sufficient command over his materials and
do whatever nature presents him. The conventionalities of portrait painting are
only tolerable in one who is a good painter. If he is only a good portrait painter, he is nobody. Try to become a painter first and then
apply your knowledge to a special branch or you will become a mannerist.�
This
is how I start each year. I set my goals and come up with a plan to put them
into motion. You have your own temperament and know what works for you. Develop
a method to get better and never compromise on quality and most of all enjoy
the process of being an artist.
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