Return To Course Overview
The world tells us that the best artists are full of depression, anxiety, or angst.
I do not believe it.
I know that art can bring joy to the artist. It can be an escape from problems, or a way to work out our negative feelings. That means that the negative is often a part of artists’ lives, and therefore intertwined in complex ways.
But some great artists have worked from a place of joy, and negative emotions are not what propelled them. That’s why I like to say, “the world needs happy artists”. Because we need to see more artists who debunk the myth of angst.
Happy artists are in many different professional fields today. Movies, games, packaging and environment design, theme parks, surface design, websites, videos, apps, and more, are all created by artists. We live in a world rich with visual creations.
You’ve learned how to help your artist be happier in these lessons. You’ve learned that frustrations are common but need to be overcome. Not knowing how to use tools, and not having the best ones, can really get in the way. You’ve learned that artists need the right kind of encouragement. They need honesty and support. You know that artists can do what they want if they keep after it and do not get discouraged.
You’ve also learned how to help an artist draw more accurately, paint with confidence, and know how to learn the language of color.
You are now equipped to help guide any artist on their journey, because you know they don’t need for you to draw or paint for them in order to learn how to draw and paint themselves. They need an honest, knowledgeable cheerleader.
You’re ready!
Competitions
Everyone loves to win. Winning is great, but in a race, only one person gets that gold medal. With art, there is no clock. There is no quantity. There is no established mark to make it to. Art is qualified only by each viewer’s personal opinion of that art.
That means a competition will not necessarily award the best artist. It will only award the artist who makes art that the judges like on any given day.
It’s up to you whether or not to enter contests. Do you want your child to be recognized as “the best artist”, or do you want them to be a dedicated artist?
Some contests have a lot of categories, like local summer fairs, and some competitions take a lot of artists into a special learning event. These are better because there are lots of ways to be recognized and the rewards can be good. Just be careful to explain that contests are not an indicator of talent. They’re more often an indicator of the judges’ personal preferences and misconceptions about art. Once that is understood, and you have a certain level of confidence built around a self-image that is not dependent on the value of your work, it is safer to compete.
Personal vision
Every artist is on their own journey, and that means they need to make their own choices. Some art teachers claim that they should not tell an artist anything at all, lest they thwart their personal vision. Others will steer an artist into a preconceived acceptable niche or even try and clone themselves into their students. Each of these paths for art teachers is easier than directing a student to find their own way.
Your job is to shine a light on their own path. When the artist finds a new path, you must turn your light towards their chosen direction. The essence of finding a personal artistic vision is to strike out in uncharted territory; to make new paths.
Experiments
The one time an artist needs a little bit of push, is to try new things. New tools are great for this, and are very encouraging to artists. Even a nice new notebook is a wonderful little push as well as an encouragement.
Get your artist more than one sketchbook, and have them label one of them, “experiments”. They may incorporate their experiments into all their sketchbooks, so there is no rule or single way to do things, but the idea is simply to provide ways to explore new things through experimentation.
Portfolio
As your artist develops, they will need to think about creating a portfolio of their best work. This becomes even more important when they’re thinking about higher education in art, or getting an art-related job.
A portfolio can contain anything that sheds light on an artist’s abilities. Different institutions will sometimes require specific items to be included, and a specific number, or range, of works.
In general, a portfolio should contain no fewer than 6 and no more than 12 works. The best two works should be first and last, with the third best in the middle and others filling in-between. Presentation should be as clean and neat as possible, and you can’t really overdo that, as long as it isn’t so flashy that it overshadows the work itself.
Congratulations!
That’s it. You finished your course. You have everything you need and are ready to lead your artist on the journey of a lifetime.
I hope this makes you and your young artist(s) very happy.
Because the world needs happy artists – and happy artist’s parents.
