The Discipline of Remembering to Have Fun: Julie Gilbert Pollard on Learning to Paint
This is part of the end of year advice series. Guests from the show offer suggestions on how to use an hour a day to get better at painting and share some of their own goals (and how they set them) for the year ahead.
Julie Gilbert Pollard (an upcoming 2021 guest!) is a painter working in watercolor, acrylic and oil. Pollard will be on the podcast in 2021. Add your name to email newsletter below to get all new monthly episodes.
An Hour a Day:
This is going to sound pretty simple, but it isn’t necessarily easy.
It’s pretty common to think of art as a reward for finishing a task. “If I get this report written, then I will have the right to paint - if I do my workout first then I will allow myself the luxury of painting for a while.” It’s hard to argue against painting as being a reward because it’s FUN. First we work and then we get to play, right?
The problem is that often work takes over and we never get to the painting part. Maybe we’re simply conscientious about our work ethic – to the point it interferes with our art.
So my advice is to schedule 30 minutes of painting as a necessary obligation that must be done. Put it on your calendar. Commit to that time.
“The problem is that often work takes over and we never get to the painting part. Maybe we’re simply conscientious about our work ethic – to the point it interferes with our art.”
- Julie Gilbert Pollard
Thirty minutes isn’t very long though and because of that, it may ask yourself what you can accomplish in that time.
In truth, you can accomplish a lot. Especially if you’re in the right mindset. I suggest trying to work through a study like my “4-step sketch” (click here to download) outlined and illustrated in the attached article.
This study can be immensely productive and takes less than 30 minutes IF you allow yourself to follow the prescription: DISCIPLINE yourself to have fun and not worry about the outcome. Just paint and enjoy. Follow the 4 steps ONLY. Trust that this study will lead to a “real” painting when you have more time. In the meantime, do your 30 minutes and check it off your “to-do list” – woo hoo!
Learn more about Julie Gilbert Pollard here:
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