3 Common Problems beginning artists face

1. Confused by the 1000s of free art videos on YouTube.

Out of curiosity I entered “How to paint” into the google search bar. An astounding 3,580,000,000 results populated! Yes, that is over 3 billion results!  So I decided to narrow my search to “How to oil paint.”  That helped some.  Only  626,000,000 results this time.  How do I know where to begin?

About 7 years ago one of our customers, John,  decided to learn to paint.  He did just what I did, though there were fewer results back then, there was still a staggering number of people to follow and techniques to use.  After spending thousands of dollars and many months trying to follow artists on YouTube, he discovered Bill Alexander.  He could see the genius in Bill.  He recognized Bill’s artistic ability and enjoyed the simplicity of Bill’s technique.   He also believed Bill when he said, the paint you use makes a difference.  We will talk more about that later.

So John decided to buy ALL of Bill Alexander’s DVDs.  He just knew that would be the way to go!  After all, Bill was the Master!

He anxiously awaited the arrival  of his DVDs.  When they arrived he carefully unwrapped each one and decided to put them in order.  Only problem is he didn’t know which order to put them in.  There were almost 200 of them!  So he reached out to us and asked a basic, but profound question, “Where do I begin?”  We had never really thought about that before!  “Just follow Bill’s technique DVD and choose which projects you want to paint.” I said.

I kept hearing his question in my head. “Where do I begin?”  It occurred to me that after all these years of teaching people to paint, Alexander Art didn’t have a clear path to follow.  So I decided to do something about that!  I reached out to Master Artist, Tom Anderson because of all the people I knew, Tom studied Bill’s work more than anyone I knew.  Tom had painted on television in the past so I knew that if he could develop a course for beginners, that we could film it and we would finally have a path forward.  So I asked if he could create such a course.  His response was, “Oh you mean something like my “You Can Paint Course?”  Not knowing what he was referring to he emailed a copy of his flyer that showed a clear path, not only for beginners but for intermediate and advanced artists as well.  I was so excited!  That night I stayed up nearly the whole night shining a flashlight, under the covers, on that flyer. Didn’t want to wake my husband!   Could this be the answer to John’s question?

You see, Tom had the same dilemma.  He had an art studio and store front for 20 plus years where he taught over 10,000 people to paint.  Many of his students went on to be professional artists.  How did he get them to that level? By following a clear path that he developed and refined over the years.  Just like we all had to learn to crawl before we could learn to walk, Tom applied the same principles.  Through trial and error he discovered what worked and what didn’t.

So thank you, John, for asking that question!  As a result, thousands more continue to learn following the same proven path only now, it is even better!  Who would have thought it would be better for someone to learn from an artist while not being in the same room?  Have you ever taken a live class from an artist?  They show us what to do and then we are suppose to follow by doing the same thing to our canvas.  Have you ever walked back to your easel, after watching the teacher demonstrate only to forget what you were suppose to do?  Have you ever been so frustrated in a class that you just want the teacher to do it for you?  Well with video learning that isn’t possible.  How is that helpful?  First we can watch the video over and over if we want and secondly we can’t rely on our teacher to do it for us.  I remember when I was learning to fly.  Craig was my instructor and he wouldn’t verbally tell me what to do but his body language would.  When it was time to lower the flaps, he unknowingly  moved his knee to the right which would be my cue.  That was all well and good until my first solo!  With Craig on the ground and me in the air, I was on my own.  I tell you this story for two reasons.  First, the obvious reason,  is as a student I relied too much on my instructor.  Secondly, was the satisfaction I felt when I landed that plane safely, without him.

Our Master Class students must feel the same joy to know that every single stroke on their canvas is theirs alone.  That by following Tom, step by step, they can create a beautiful painting all on their own.

2. Don’t know what art supplies to buy

Have you ever walked into an art store only to be overwhelmed by the choices you must make?  All you want to do is to learn to paint!  Instead you have to make decisions such as, what am I going to paint on?  What brushes do I need?   What is the difference in paints that are available?  It is important to know that some are oil based and some are water based.  It is true, oil and water DON’T mix!  How do we know which is which?  Why are some brushes soft and others stiff?  Why do some have long handles and others have short handles?  Why does it matter?  What kind of canvas do I buy? Why does it matter?  Why are there so many colors of paint?  Aren’t all colors made from primary colors?  What are primary colors?  Sorry to tell you this but in many instances there are so many colors because the paint manufacturer is in the business of selling paint.  The more colors they make, the more they can sell.   We can get dependent on having the paint manufacturer mix colors for us that we don’t learn to do it ourselves.

Many of the artists you see on YouTube are affiliated with paint manufacturing companies.  They paint with and promote a certain line of colors.  Even on our YouTube channel you will find artists that used the colors we produce.  Our question is do we do our customers a favor by premixing colors for them?  We have decided we can serve you better if we teach you to do it yourself.  “If you give someone a fish…they eat for a day.  If you teach them to fish…they eat for the rest of their lives.”  Same idea.  If we teach you how to mix color, you will always be able to mix exactly what you need.  You will no longer be reliant on a paint maker to do it for you!  Never will you have to be afraid of making a mistake on the canvas because you will know how to change the color to be what you want it to be.

2. Tired of Wasting Money on Art Supplies

Another mistake people make while being overwhelmed by art supply choices is they think that because they are starting out, they should by the cheapest paint and brushes they can find.  We can’t disagree more!  Bill Alexander used to talk about how important the paint and brushes are to an artist’s success.  You see, many times we’ve seen this before.  Someone buys cheap paint and brushes, they give painting a try and just get frustrated with the results.  Then they decide that they just can’t paint!  When really, they just didn’t have the right materials to be successful.  So they throw everything a way and give up on the idea of becoming an artist.  Unless they don’t give up and reach out for help.  Many people have come to us with this same story, “I tried, I am just no good”.  We love to hear this because we know that with 40 years experience we can teach anyone to paint.

A good quality paint does cost more to buy but it will last much longer which saves you money in the long run.  Just keep in mind the higher the quality of paint, the more pigment it contains which means you need to use less of it.  We aren’t a fan of student grade paint because we think that everyone deserves to paint with the best quality of paint available.

One of our students, Danielle started painting with us about a year ago.  You should see what she is painting today!  More on that later.  She shared with me that she was just finishing the first 1.25 oz tube of Phthalo Blue that she received with her products when she registered for our course.  She learned to paint in oils and has painted 55 paintings this year.  All with one small tube of Phthalo Blue.  How is this possible?  We will share this secret with you in a future email but it has to do with learning the proper way to load a paint brush and how to mix color as you go.  So when you have the right stuff, you save money in the long run.

In a future email I will share how with you the solution to these problems.  It is much simpler than you think!  Anyone can learn to paint if they have a desire and the right guide!

Happy Painting!

Laurie Anderson

Like to know what the top three “sins” of experienced artists are? Click here to find out!