Plein Air at Morrison’s Lodge, Merlin, Oregon
My husband and I just spent a wonderful weekend with friends at Morrison’s Lodge, on the Rogue River near Merlin, OR. I devoted one day to plein air painting in this beautiful spot… It was a fun way to interact with all ages, from kids to adult. They really enjoyed seeing the two paintings that I completed coming together, and changing radically from one hour to the next.
One of the analogies I made when talking to them about my art was that just like any other art form, painting takes practice. Kids can really relate to practicing piano, violin or guitar. I was able to tell them that I have been practicing my art for over 25 years, just as someone who plays in a symphony would practice. I have taken intensive classes, and solicited criticism of my work too.
Learning to paint has been a result of studying from the Masters of my craft and choosing to do directed practice. Two articles I read this morning really emphasize this idea of focusing your efforts:
Lisa Call, a highly successful textile artist, talks about how we use our 10,000 hours of practice on her blog. I would encourage you to read the entire article!
One of the keys to improvement and conscious practice is getting critical feedback. Lisa says:
- “Get critical and immediate feedback on your artwork. Better yet – learn to give yourself valuable critical feedback. Surgeons get better over time because they get immediate feedback to their work. Interestingly radiologists reading mammograms do not get better over time because they do no receive any sort of immediate critical feedback on their work. It can take years before their mistakes are discovered. This idea of critical and immediate feedback seems to be key in improving our skills.”
Donna Zagotta, one of my most influential art mentors, has produced an entire series of blog posts on Deliberate Practice. Her article “Heading in the Right Direction” points out some ways to direct your practice:
“There are 4 major components to a Deliberate Practice Program:
- Know precisely where you want to go
- Make a list of small and specific actions for getting there
- Work one step at a time
- Feedback and evaluation”
Donna keeps a list of artists whose work she admires so that she can study what ways she might improve her own work. She continues her series on today’s blog post: That Time of Year.
One of my goals for this year has been to improve my use of expressive line and mark-making. Interestingly, this goal came about because a painting received a compliment from an instructor! He said that my mark-making in an experimental painting was expressive. I actually felt that this element was the least successful part of the painting, and decided to try to focus more effort on making marks that were pleasing to me. In order to do that, I read books on the subject, including Steven Aimone’s book: Expressive Drawing: A Practical Guide to Freeing the Artist Within 
.
I also decided to do some experimenting with different materials for drawing and mark-making. Because I was open to experimenting, I found some new, more pleasing, techniques that worked for me. I also figured out which methods felt less natural for me. Zentangle was one style that immediately felt natural to me. I enjoy the meditative process and have incorporated several elements from this art form into my watercolor paintings. Look at my Down on the Farm series and see if you can spot some areas influenced by Zentangle. What works for you? I’d be interested to hear your comments.
If you are looking for some feedback or direction in your own work, you might want to look at signing up for one of my upcoming classes. Former students have some great things to say. October and November are great months to spend time in the studio with other like-minded artists! I hope you can join me.
I really enjoyed this contemplative post. It gives me something to consider in my own work. Thanks.
Very inspiring post, Ruth. I’ve long been a fan of the 10,000 hours of practice, but your additional steps from Donna Zagotta are priceless. Clearly, I need to set some new goals for myself in the coming year, and make a list of actions for getting there. It seems so obvious, and yet we painters can get so immersed in what we’re doing, we forget to come up for air. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks Margaret and Liz,
I hope you’ll take the time to read both Lisa and Donna’s posts too. They are full of extra information about directing your practice and are well worth the read!
Deciding “exactly where I want to go” is my challenge. However, I agree that we get there by baby steps and as we take those steps, the destination becomes more clear. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks Sue,
I have had the same challenge in recent years. Finally I just decided that I didn’t like where I was, so I was going to head in the opposite direction 🙂
Definitely an inspiring post. I have spent years doing nothing because I had no plan as to where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. Delving in was discouraging because within five minutes, I had so many possible directions, I didn’t know which way to turn. You and Linda are indeed inspiring people, both professionally and personally. I appreciate your influence.
Thank you so much Betty! I hope you recognized my nod to you & your fortuitous introduction of Zentangle when we were together at Welches! Just picking a direction and seeing where it leads can be very freeing…
I am so happy looking at your en plein air painting. Love everything about it! Beautiful!! Thank you for sharing and hope to paint with you someday!
Thanks Hyon! I would love to paint together too 🙂 I have always admired your plein air work!
Hi Ruth, Isn’t it funny that after 25 years, you’re still looking to improve? That’s what I love so much about art and painting in particular.
I enjoyed your article. Coincidentally, I’m working on a series of small, timed studies to improve skills. After about 12, an idea popped into my head, “what do I need to do to get better at this”? Now, I think I’ll go write down some steps!
Thanks Peggy! I love your idea of doing small timed studies, especially when you combine it with some goals for improvement. I appreciate your sharing!
Ruth, I just real all of Donna Zagotta’s “Heading in the Right Direction” posts. It’s perfect timing for me and I will enjoy adding these ideas to my art journey. Thank you for putting it out there for me to find.
p.s. I didn’t know you do Zentangles!
You are most welcome Margaret! I hope it smooths your path a bit. I started doing a few Zentangles at the Welches WSO convention when my hostess, Betty Johnson, brought a book and materials for our group. Since then I’ve been incorporating some of the ideas into my painting work. Thanks for returning my sketchbook to me this weekend 🙂
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