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We all have our artistic heroes – the painting “Gods” we worship. When I went to art school I used to think “If I could just paint like Sargent, I will have arrived.” Later I learned a couple of important truths:

• No matter how accomplished I become, I can never paint like Sargent.

• That’s OK because the world doesn’t need another Sargent…It’s already got one!

We can’t learn to paint like Sargent, Fechin, Schmid, Gerhartz, etc. not because we can’t become as skillful but because we aren’t them. We don’t have their worldview, aesthetic, or personality. The good news is that we can each become or own unique, inimitable self!

Whew, that’s a relief! But how?

"Sunspot" Pastel on Archival Support 20 x 16

That’s the challenge! The modernist credo, “be original” mostly lead to a dead end populated by decidedly un-original poseurs. In the second half of the last century, University Art Departments quit teaching the basics (drawing, perspective, color, design) in the vain hope that the lack of technique would lead to a flowering of creative originality. (After two generations of this nonsense we were left with drawing instructors who couldn’t draw and painting instructors who didn’t know how to paint!) 

In the waning years of the 20th Century ateliers sprang up to correct this situation. With a lot of training and effort students have once again learned to draw accurately and create the illusion of a three-dimensional subject on a two-dimensional picture plane. While skill levels have jumped dramatically, sometimes the new Renaissance seems to be missing something; there is a sameness to much current work. It’s almost as if we’ve mastered grammar and vocabulary only to discover we have nothing to say.

So, we’re back to the same old problem: how do we learn originality? How can we find our own voices? Here are some thoughts:

1. Borrow best practices from the musical world. Before I went to The American Academy of Art, I received a degree in Composition from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago (sadly, now defunct.) We were expected to learn our craft, not by abandoning technique but by embracing it! I had to learn song form, fugue structure, orchestration, etc. so that I had all the tools in my toolbox. 

2. Copy the masters. It’s one of the best ways to learn. Sargent copied old masters like Rembrandt and Velasquez to absorb their technique and aesthetic. The most creative musical group of all time, The Beatles, learned by copying Little Richard, Buddy Holly, The Coasters and other rock pioneers to absorb and internalize their “licks”. It’s been the springboard for creativity for millennia.

3. Practice vs. performance. Musicians are also very clear about the distinction between the two; they practice scales and arpeggios thousands of times so that they have command of the instrument when it’s time to perform.

4. Attack your weakness. That’s a quote from Dan Gerhartz, one of today’s masters. Don’t kid yourself, technical competence is not restricting; it’s incredibly freeing. It’s a lot easier to be creative if you don’t have to struggle just to be accurate.

5. It takes mileage. We are the rehearsing animal. We have to do something over and over and over again to get really good – it’s the 10,000-hour rule. How many free throws did Michael Jordan shoot in practice so that he could nail them when it counted?

6. Experiment. I’m teaching a workshop during the Hoosier Salon’s “First Brush of Spring” next April. Several exercises are designed to foster a sense of experimentation, the hallmark of creativity. In the “series” exercise, students paint a simple still life over and over, asking themselves “what if” questions: “What if I painted it all in shades of blue?” “What if I only painted the shadow shapes?” “What if I used an ink brayer instead of a brush?” etc. The more students experiment, the more ideas they generate. Jeremy Mann offers sound advice: “If you don’t like the result, don’t do that again. If you do, try it some more.”

7. Think like a film maker. Who or what is the star of your painting? Who are the supporting players? What led up to this moment? What is the theme (something bigger than the mere subject – “Love” “Honor” “Courage” are all universal themes). This kind of thinking will give the piece layers of emotional depth and make it indisputably yours.

8. Work on a non-archival support. Try oil paint on newsprint. Don’t worry about creating a “masterpiece;” it’s going to fall apart in a couple of years anyway. You might as well try something new.

9. Play. Little children don’t worry about the output; they’re just trying to have fun. One way to get that childlike fearlessness is to decide that regardless of outcome, you’re going to scrape off the painting at the end of the session. Try it; it’s very freeing. You can always change your mind.

10. Maintain a secret sketch book. Try out ideas. Think on paper. To avoid self-censorship, promise yourself that you’ll never show it to anyone else.

11. Don’t worry about making an epoch-changing discovery. There have only been a handful of paradigm-shifts anyway (the invention of linear perspective, Caravaggio’s Chiaroscuro, and Monet’s broken color to name a few).  Be happy with your own vision regardless of how big or small.

"Clark Street, Night Effect" Oil on Linen 20 x 30

We’re all individuals each with our own way of seeing the world. I trust that if we put in the hours, eventually we’ll all find our own voices. The twin hallmarks of creativity seem to be: 

• A boundless wellspring of ideas, and 

• A fearless willingness to try them (even if it might wreck the painting). 

The above thoughts are merely my way of trying to speed up the process. 

Happy painting!