How to USE Your Materials with Stan Kurth
Have you ever had the feeling that you wanted to start a new painting but when you reached towards that new piece of watercolor paper or canvas, you felt yourself pause?
Ep.9 guest Stan Kurth, says that if you find yourself hesitating at using your materials, that’s a problem.
Here’s why: To be an artist, you HAVE to USE materials.
Use them to make great paintings and not so great paintings. Use them to experiment and try new things. Use them to get familiar with your materials and learn the type of painter you want to be.
These aren’t things you can figure out in theory. You have to do it in practice. And that practice means using your materials.
So if you are hesitating BEFORE you even pick up that new sheet of paper, you are putting a road block between you and getting better.
But there’s a solution.
Kurth says you’ve got two options.
First, buy and use less expensive materials.
If you are hesitating to make a big puddle of paint or pull out that next sheet of watercolor paper, less expensive materials may lower the barrier between you and painting more.
Yes, cheap materials may be harder to use in some cases, but the only way to get better at painting is using your materials, often.
So if buying the less expensive big tubes of student grade paint means you won't hesitate in squirting out a big blob of paint, buy them. And use them.
Second, give yourself permission to spend money on your art…including good materials.
At some point, you’ll need to spend some money on your art. Art Is an expensive pursuit. And that’s OK.
Part of learning to be an artist is learning to give yourself permission to buy (AND USE) the good stuff. Practice giving yourself permission to grab a piece of watercolor paper and not have the painting turn out like you’d hoped. That isn’t a waste of expensive materials. That’s EXACTLY what you should be doing to get better at painting.
In fact, it’s the only way to get better at painting.
Put it to Practice:
There is no way around this: You have to use materials - and a LOT of them - to get better at painting. So if the only way to use a lot of materials is to buy the least expensive stuff, absolutely do that.
You’ll often hear guests say, “Buy the most expensive materials you feel comfortable using.”
Where that line is will be diferent for everyone.
But do a gut check. Are you hesitating to use your materials because of cost? Then maybe it’s time to go down a level and get to a point where you feel free to use (use use use) your materials.