Author: Karen (56 Articles)

Karen Rester's art comes from the world around her. Karen loves working in collage, acrylic, mixed media and weaving on her loom.

When I am working on a piece of art, there is a process I go through. First I determine what the image is that I want to create. What materials I will use, what back ground will work best, what part will be in paint and what part in collage. Just like the process of creating my art, there is a process to becoming a better artist.
1. If you believe in the premise that work is not work when you are working with passion and doing art work is your passion, the first thing you must do to become a better artist is set aside time to do your art. At the risk of stating the obvious, the more you work on art, creating, challenging yourself, the better you become! That time may be in the evenings, early in the morning or on the weekend. If you are one of the lucky ones doing art as your paying job, you have a full day to devote to the “art work”!
2. Have a mission statement. define what you hope to accomplish as an artist, what is your purpose in doing the art you love to do.
3. Create a vision for yourself. What will a better artist look like in the next year? What kind of art do you want to produce and how is it different from what you are doing now?
4. Set Goals, along with your vision, set goals on how you can achieve that vision. It could be a simple as, “I will work on my art for 30 minutes everyday” I am a firm believer in goal setting. Write the vision and your goals down, post them where you will read them everyday. Seeing is believing. Make your goals realistic and attainable but ones that require work, flex your creativity and imagination.
5. Now set up your strategy to accomplish your goals. “What 30 minute time period will you work on your art each day?” You may have to change some things around in your life to accomplish your goals, these strategies will help you define what you must do.

Becoming a better artist requires work, practice your techniques, work in new media; Let creativity and a passion for the art drive you!