Two Words That Will Take You Far: Anne Abgott on Learning and Goal Setting
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.
Canadian-born Anne Abgott, Ep. 6, maintains a studio in Cortez, Florida. Florida became home in the late 90s and it’s the same time she began working in watercolors. Today she teaches and paints full time.
On an Hour a Day:
If a student could commit to an hour a day for their art .
I would advise them to take a couple of months to learn about design and composition. After your skills and techniques are established, it then becomes most important to get the image on the paper in a compelling way.
“Painting every day is a gift. Painting every day is a joy! But having the best success in painting is having a plan. So I believe the drama and the WOW factor all comes down to design and composition.”
- Anne Abgott
Spend that hour a day for several weeks reading about design and composition. Then study the successful artists in your media and check off all the ones you find you like the most! Negative shapes, center of interest, color triangles. All are very important.
Painting every day is a gift. Painting every day is a joy! But having the best success in painting is having a plan. So I believe the drama and the WOW factor all comes down to design and composition.
Setting Art Goals:
I set goals for myself every week. I plan the “have to” stuff all in one day. The teeth cleaning, the hair cut, the grocery store trip are all planned for one day and that allows me the freedom to hit my goals.
Here are some examples of my goals:
I have been teaching a lot of Zoom classes online and a great deal of planning goes into them.
I set a goal to spend 2 days getting all the information and instructions to the students.
“There is nothing like the excitement and challenge of starting a new painting! I always want to get out of bed with the feeling that I have to have a brush in my hand!” -Anne Abgott
I set a goal to finish 6 cradleboards, a painting, or a commission.
I take all my unfinished paintings and put them in a pile (with the ones needing the least work on top) and attempt to finish at least 3. It’s a dreadful job because after about 3 you are just bored with it all! Another goal!
There is nothing like the excitement and challenge of starting a new painting! I always want to get out of bed with the feeling that I have to have a brush in my hand!
You can learn more about Anne Abgott at:
WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM
Get new episodes and articles like our End of Year Advice series sent straight to your inbox by joining the newsletter list below.