Now, that’s a hard one to answer, but let’s try.
The easy way to learn to paint is to follow tutorials and complete as many paintings as you can and pray to G-d that He bestow you with an insane talent that will help you make unbelievable paintings when you realize that you actually have no clue why your paintings just aren’t coming out looking like a professional artist.
The real way to do this is to follow these steps:
- Understand how to mix color– this means you know how to name a hue, determine its value and its intensity
- Know the process for creating a painting– how do you work with layers to get the maximum effect without muddying colors
- Study under a professional artist, so they can give you guidance and critique your artwork which will make your journey to a professional artist that much faster
I truly believe that with this journey, you can become a professional artist. Once you have this foundation, you can practice and work on your skills and develop your own style.
But this takes time and it’s a process of going from an artist who is a hobbyist, to an emerging artist to a professional artist.
But the thing is, the adage that ‘practice makes perfect’ doesn’t work with painting, if you don’t have a solid foundation and understanding of what you are doing. That’s why it’s so important to learn the correct process for mixing colors and layering and creating depth and balance in your paintings.
Plus, when you study under a professional artist, they are giving over the years that they have spent refining their skills, which is an immeasurable gift and opportunity.
Now let’s get detailed: How does one get to a stage where they have their own style?
So firstly, you’d need to go through the three stages of understanding color, the process of completing a painting and studying under an artist. Within this process, you can use paintings of other artists and recreate them. This will help you work on your color mixing skills as you are going to have to mix colors as in the picture. The more you practice your color mixing skills, the more intuitive it will become for you. Mastering color well will take your artwork to another level, and I feel like it’s the most important step to becoming a professional artist. So don’t worry about spending time on this part-it’s the most important.
Once you feel like you’ve gotten to a level where color mixing is starting to feel intuitive and you can easily mix colors from a painting you are copying, it’s time to move on to using photographs.
Translating a photograph into a balanced painting is the next step, as here you are the one who has to mix the colors and create a harmonious painting. This is also where you will begin to play with your style and start feeling a bit more freedom when you paint.
The next step is to keep on painting. The more you paint, the better you will get, providing you seek help from a professional artist if you get stuck or get some critique.
Once you start to feel like you have a good grasp on the process of creating a painting that works, has depth and truly reflects your style, you are on your way from becoming an emerging artist to a professional artist.
Now, there’s no set timeline for going from an artist who’s a hobbyist to emerging to a professional artist, except that it requires time. And the more you allow yourself to go with the process and let yourself exercise your painting muscles, the more easily it will come.
Now, I know it’s easy to wish that G-d just gave you an inborn talent to complete artistic masterpieces, but the reality is that everyone can follow this process and become a master artist.
Personally, the more work you put into something the more rewarding it is. So if you feel like you are ready to start your painting journey, realize it’s a process but it’s immensely fun and satisfying.