Learning a foreign language was one of the requirements when I went to college.
I had Latin and French in high school – I hated both. The reason was simple. Most of the kids in my class came from the local private school. They already had two years of both Latin and French, so I was already behind.
College, though, would be different. It would be a new start. I’d be on the same playing field as all the other students.
My interest in German was practical. I was a big fan of war movies. I’m not sure why. I grew up in the early fifties, so World War II was not that far away.
I wanted to understand the German soldiers. German sounded like such a “manly” language. I have to admit, though, Greta Garbo made the language sound like song.
I decided to take four years of German. The first year was a bear — so much vocabulary. The syntax was strange. Germans arrange words in the most unusual ways.
Conversation in class was challenging. The instructor asked a question in German. I translated German into English. I thought up my response in English and converted it into German. My head ached at the end of every class.
About mid-way through the first semester, though, something remarkable happened.
The instructor asked a question in German; I understood the German, I responded in German. I was speaking and thinking in German. I’ll never forget that experience.
I ran back to the dorm and looked for a World War II movie. I understood every word that was being spoken. I could grasp brief snatches of conversation before, but this was different. I hadn’t mastered the language, but I was on my way.
I was listening to my audiobook this morning on Creativity. The author interviewed many creative people from many disciplines. He said that creativity could not occur without first mastering the domain in which the creative person works. In other words, unless you know your subject, you cannot add to it.
It’s the same thing with painting. You can’t master the discipline of art without knowing the principles that make art great. The “go-with-the-flow” idea doesn’t work when it comes to creativity. Can you imagine Einstein “going with the flow?” Or Edison?
The process required for mastery is why going to a workshop is not going to teach you to paint. Mastery won’t come from watching someone show you how well they can paint on YouTube. You won’t learn to paint in a wine bar.
There is only one way to learn to paint.
You must find a master teacher who is also a master artist. That teacher must be a master of the principles of art along with the techniques of painting.
You, then, must practice those principles and techniques over and over until they become a part of you. There is no other way to mastery.
Do not think this process is a burden. It’s this process of mastery that brings its own joy and satisfaction. It’s the disciplined hours at the canvas that is its own reward. The only real happiness is in the pursuit of a worthwhile goal – not the goal itself. It is the process of creating a work of art that is more rewarding than the finished piece.
We use this process in Master Class. We teach you the same principles that Leonardo and Michelangelo learned when they were teenagers. We use the same teaching principles that the Old Masters used to train their apprentices. And — you can learn in the comfort of your own home — at your own speed. We even give you the art supplies.
Become a master of your future. Learn to paint the right way from the start. Join us in Master Class.
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