First off—if you read the title and thought, “I’ll never be an artist,” Hi—you’re wrong! Everyone has the ability to create.

Here are 3 things that all beginners get wrong, so you know what not to do!

1. You think you don’t have “talent”

This one drives me nuts! Talent is a word that has killed more dreams than anything else. Art is a practice. Like any skill, you develop your artistic ability with practice, consistency, and time.

Almost no one wakes up one day and begins creating beautiful art. Instagram has fooled you into thinking “overnight success” is real and I’m here to debunk the myth: anyone you admire worked their absolute BOOTY off to become skilled + admired enough for you to have found them.

2. You buy cheap supplies

“But Kristina, I just want to learn as a hobby! I’m not a professional!” If you wanted to learn how to cook, would you only use canned meats? Yeah—the quality of what you use matters. 

You may not have your sights set on selling paintings in a gallery, but if you buy student-grade supplies, you’ll never get results that showcase your true skills.

Let me explain:

•If you use cheap, thin paper as a painting surface, it will buckle + tear, leaving you with an awfully screwed up home for your work.

•Cheap brushes break, shed, and make irregular marks—not what you want when trying to capture lines and details!

•You want to learn about colors, but the paints you bought seem to get muddy and dull the more you try to mix. Student grade paints are full of fillers and binders to make up for the lower quantity of pigment they use. Their colors aren’t brilliant, clean, and resilient.

These are just a few examples. Buy high quality supplies in small quantities. You’ll be glad you did!

3. You skip learning the basics

Look, I’m definitely not saying you need an art degree to make a beautiful piece of art. I am saying, it’s worth learning the foundations of drawing/painting if you aspire to grow as an artist:

•composition

•value (light + dark in a picture)

•perspective

•color theory

•different materials like charcoal, graphite, oil paints, watercolors, etc

Understanding HOW to make your materials work for you and not against you is so valuable. Remember, this is skill development, not naturally-derived ability. Taking the time to educate yourself on the basics will help you grow as an artist. 

Not sure where to start? Grab my Art Supply List for Newbies here! I’m going to be working on how-to tutorials on a variety of foundational art topics, so stay tuned if you want to learn from me!