The #1 Skill Artists Must Develop and 5 Exercises to Achieve

Whether you call yourself an artist, musician, writer, crafter, actor or other type of creator, there is a skill that you must practice daily. A musician practices their scales, and an actor rehearses lines. A writer does a lot of reading, but what is the skill that visual artists must perfect. It isn’t how to draw or apply paint. It begins before you even pick up a brush.  

It is the skill of observation. I began my artist path as a realistic painter of landscapes, people and still-life, but gradually moved to more textured and abstract work. When painting or drawing realistically I observed all the details of what was in front of me. The angles of lines, perspective, shadow and highlights, colors, down to the tiniest details were recorded or discarded, but every detail was noted. 

As my work proceeded to change from realism to impressionism, abstracted reality or pure non-objective abstraction, the skill of observation became even more important. No matter which genre I work in the first thing I do is to observe. What is the light, the color, the shapes or even the feeling. If I am painting abstractly my observations may be more internal or intuitive. If you are an intuitive painter and not planning your project, then observation is of the essence.  

Think of this skill of observation as a conversation. First, get in touch with the idea or concept of what you want to paint. Try drawing or painting some shapes on your canvas. How do those shapes feel? Are they big and bold taking up most of the space or are they small and detailed and hiding in a corner? Is this in line with what your idea was telling you? Observe how you are reacting to the movements and colors you are applying. Remember to rotate the work and look at it from all directions. Viewing the painting in a new orientation may suddenly speak to you. Pay attention to these conversations. 

What about color? I love to keep color notes or journals. I will clip pictures from magazines or online and pin them to my idea board. Exploring new color combinations is my favorite observation exercise. Everyday I will take a photo of an unusual color combo or one I find interesting. When I am working in collage and throwing papers around, I often discover new combinations from my pile of overlapping papers. 

Observing the internal process during intuitive painting is a learning experience that can also be therapeutic. When I apply a paint layer or shape, I observe how it interacts with what is already on the paper, then I observe my internal reaction to what I just did. Did it make me feel uncomfortable, excited, afraid? This feeling informs my next move, and it can move the piece in a whole new direction. That is the beauty of observation. 

Here are some exercises to help you develop your observation muscles. 

1 - Take a photo of a composition you find interesting or crop an existing photo to create a completely new image. 

2 - Take a photo of a color combination or clip parts of existing images to create a color idea board. Pinterest is great for doing this and saving your color combos. 

3 - Spend 5 minutes staring at something other than your digital device. Look away and try to recall as many details as you can about the object or scene you were observing. 

4 - Try your hand at contour drawing. Grab a piece of copy paper and a pencil. Curl one hand into a fist and draw what you see without looking at the paper OR raising your pencil. Time yourself for 3 minutes. 

5 - Practice replicating textures. You may do this by using a pencil or pen on paper or paint. Choose an image that shows heavy gritty texture like rocks or needles on a pine tree. Find a texture that captures your attention. As you are doing this observe how you are feeling. 

When you want to explore more begin keeping an observation journal.