Misconceptions about practice

One of the biggest misconceptions about improving one's artistic skills is that all you need to do is practice. Many people tout the phrase "practice practice practice."

However, I've come to the conclusion that artistic growth is not about doing the same exercise again and again until you become proficient, and artistic growth doesn't come from making 10,000 brush strokes. It comes from understanding how to interpret visual elements. In other words, you need to focus on improving your visual skills. Technique is useless if you cannot see the subject properly.

It's not about who can make the finest line

I often see artists overemphasizing technique when training. While some technique is necessary, it is not the most important quality needed for superior results. Many times, I've observed artists who possess great airbrush control, yet had mediocre paintings, because they had failed to develop their observational skills.

Quality matters

Practicing bad technique does an artist no good. They end up reinforcing bad habits and compromising the quality of their work. It's more important to train for shorter periods correctly than for extended periods with bad form.

How to train

For the fastest growth, you need to train to failure. It's not unlike going to the gym. You won't experience great gains unless you push yourself further, even to the point of suffering a bit.

Instead of practicing the same exercise over and over, take on a challenging subject. Yes, you will fail and screw it up, but in doing so, you will learn so much more than if you repeated an easy exercise over and over. 

Try taking on an "impossible" project that is beyond your current skill level. You'll experience many failures, but in doing so, you will arrive at new revelations. In my early years, I attempted paintings that were, in my mind, impossible, but every mistake I made (and there were many), came with the gift of understanding.

You learn more from your failures than your successes.

It's not pleasant to fail, but in doing so, you learn more than you would from succeeding. Think about how you never forget those costly lessons in life. The same goes for airbrushing. 

Playing it safe retards growth

The next time you find yourself saying, "I'll paint that when I get better," or "I'll take that workshop after I improve," stop and realize that your best path towards rapid improvement is to shoot for the moon. If you only make it halfway there, you've still gone further than you would by not trying. It's really just a matter of how fast you want to grow.

Don't fear failure. The worst thing that can happen is that you will learn something.