I’m almost 80 and I’ve been a professional artist my adult life one of my favorite paintings that I’ve ever done is a small painting. I did from a photograph that I held upside down and I literally just copied the spots of color with without any thought of what the object was, that was so rewarding so fun and probably my favorite Painting
Thank You❤ I am legally blind and I am an artist. I have been an artist all my life. When my eyesight took a sharp decline a few years ago, I went into a deep depression because I couldn't do what I always did. I loved Surrealism, but when my eyesight got worse, I couldn't do that anymore. Even still, my family kept encouraging me to keep doing art. Before my mother died in 2020, she made me promise that I would never stop doing art. It was hard because I was so used to painting what I saw with great detail, and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get it right. Until one day, I came across Picasso cubism, and for some crazy reason, his cubist art made sense to me. I learned that he and other artists went blind at the height of their careers. I thought, what if I just painted what I saw and booooy did it give me new life. I learned how to paint pop cubism, and I love it so much❤ I paint women with big beautiful eyes, no straight lines, and beautiful pops of colors. I love what I do now more than ever before. I will never forget what you said to think like an alien. With my eyesight, I already feel like an alien, and what I see is beautiful. Thank you so much for this video.
The Zen people call this "Beginner's Mind." I also know people on the spectrum who are very good at this because they don't acclimate to seeing without seeing. The impressionists were also into this kind of seeing. But knowing structure and doing work like blocking and painting with a large brush first gets you out of the fiddly habits like spaghetti hair. Good video!
As a late diagnosed autistic/ADHD I spent all my childhood and most my adulthood so far feeling like I'm an alien, just waiting for someone to come and rescue me 😑 earth sucks, being human is horrendous, but society is what makes life hell. Some of us don't have a choice with beginners mind because of our working memory is constantly changing and forgetting even things we know.
This advice is golden. I think at some point every art teacher said to me, "draw what you see." But never did anyone explain exactly how prejudiced my eye could be made by what my mind thinks I am seeing. A lot of struggle could have been eased by understanding and working with this lesson much earlier on. And now the new challenge is not to try to paint exactly what I am seeing, but to design a composition that best depicts the point of the painting infused with my experience of the scene. I'm afraid one lifetime just won't be enough, but that's what keeps art so fascinating.
I love that there are always new things to learn, and that even if you paint the same scene more than once, you’ll notice different things each time. 😊
@@genestone4951 First off: Are you suggesting that all art must be public art done in protest? All the artists on TH-cam (and those not on YT) who create art using a variety of mediums should stop sketching and painting and sculpting etc. as a hobby or career and should what?…quit if they aren’t interested in or able to make public protest art? 🤨 As for support leading to all art being controlled, the opposite is true. Those who would seek to control art in the way you mean it are working hard to make sure art isn’t supported. One of the US’s two major parties has been defunding public schools for decades, with the main goal being an undereducated citizenry easily manipulated by propaganda. That’s how a wealthy man who regularly stiffed the working-class contractors he hired convinced people he was “one of them” or that he cared about them when no one else in government did. These folks have been voting against their own interests for decades, but this is hitting its peak right now. With public schools struggling with funding, they have to whittle down the curriculum, and the arts were the first classes to go. Who is this most greatly affecting? The marginalized peoples of the US, including the poor and people of color. And this same party is hostile to the arts - all arts, not just painting. For instance, they don’t like the literary arts either. How do you convince Americans that book banning and even book burning is ok? Devalue education in the eyes of the public. Portray books as tools of liberal propaganda. Discourage children (and adults) from developing a love of reading because reading leads to people learning on their own what has been removed from schools. What is meant here is living in a *society* that supports the arts, not support from some sort of Big Brother.
Okay so thank you for finally breaking down the “draw what you see not what you think you see” concept. This was tremendously helpful. I noticed right away I could start applying this to my practice. ❤
I'm a musician and I'm here because I find each artform can teach you about every other as well. I end up learning a lot about writing, drawing, painting, etc because of that and this advice is a PERFECT example! It's easy to get trapped in formulas and habits, and forgetting what's so amazing about your expression of choice- the thing that you loved in the first place🙌✌️
Yes, I think this definitely applies to all of the arts. The educational component is essential, but part of that is learning how to allow the beginner’s mind to inform the art.
This is excellent advice. We all tend to be too much “in our heads” and get tripped up by our preconceived notions. Thank you for the reminder to keeping trying to see the world through fresh eyes.
Great advice. When I was a child I liked to play that game and I remember watching the tv off like I had never seen it before,..it was so funny.After years, I still do it..😊 and it fascinates me!
Great advice. When I was in High School in the 70's. 1974-1977. The first thing my drawing teacher taught me was "to draw what I see.". This advice has never let me down. I am glad that old advice stands the test of time. Thank you for reminding me.
I think this video of yours it's a sign from the universe to my artistic journey in this oncoming year. I'm really glad that I landed here and thank you, it's a really good excuse for drawing our surroundings.
Great advice! I especially like the idea of drawing what you see not what you think you see. Something I struggle with all the time. Thank you for sharing what you have learned. It truly helps me to be a better artist.
I am so glad you spoke on this subject today. I've been thinking recently about the way small children draw with an open creative mind, a freedom most of us lose when we get a little older and the world tells us what's what. That person is still in us, if we could tap into that again as grown-up think, how awesome would that be? There's a term in Zen Buddhism: "The Beginners Mind". The teaching is that Knowledge and understating are two different things. Knowledge without understanding can be a block to learning. The trick is to move away from the preconceived views and notions we have about the world and approach everything with a beginner's mind. Think like an alien! 😊🙏
Yes! I love trying to tap into the Beginner’s Mind. As a lifelong teacher it’s one of the best ways to be able to explain concepts, but also as an artist it’s infinitely useful. 😊
I think I might teach on the beginners' minds in a Buddhism class I'm teaching in July. Can I use your phrase, "think like an alien" ? That would be awesome. 😊
Thank you for this advice it has opened things up for me. My personality tends to be quite literal not just with being taught the sky is blue…. This is so relatable. I’ve been a dog groomer for 35 yrs and after attending a seminar many moons ago, I walked away with some simple but incredible advise. Pretend! As a groomer we know the breed style and standards etc. She simply stated pretend the hair is there, pretend the angle exists and keep going. I use this everyday in the salon. Now being an alien sounds like my world will once again look so different. Thank you for all that offer us. Your videos are such a pleasure to watch and learn from!
That was great advice, thank you! When I painted more in younger days I noticed how landscapes had so many colors I wasn't expecting, and it was good to mix up a landscape painting with bits of colors from all around the painting. Gosh, this makes me want to pick up the brush! Painting is such a great way to get lost in time.
Just thinking how lucky is to have a mom artist and art teacher. I keep scavenging books and the internet for art knowledge, art courses are so expensive. I even thought about doing a A level thinking it would be affordable but it isn’t.
A-level won’t teach you to draw or paint, sadly. Neither will most art schools. Ateliers will teach you how to you. Many good local art classes will teach you. Good instructional books/videos will also help.
I did an a level. My teacher kept getting annoyed at me for not paying a fortune on this or that. I was on less than minimum wage. Completely out of touch
😅👏 this is really a funny but fantastic way to explain "how to see" , it took me "blood, sweat and tears" as we say in a matter of speaking during my study at artschool before I really got it but once you know you finally "see" , I really enjoyed this video !
Fabulous advice! I realized something very powerful about myself while watching this, to let color and shapes guide me more than details. I intend to practice this in my paintings more, thank you!
I think this is the phrase I need to remember! I know I should just draw or paint what I see, but my brain definitely takes over and tries to fill in the details. Now I have anew mantra. Thank you.
Thank you for this advice. When it comes to drawing I have understood to spend 70 percent of my time observing and 30 percent drawing. I just still battle to see colors as an artist does. Hopefully with practice it will come to me.
I couldn’t agree more. It was my first time ever hearing such an advice and it helped me a lot. Thanks Leslie for opening this channel and help other future artist to be a better of themselves ❤
Wow… love this advice. I have dabbled with art for many years and have experienced all you mention. Be an alien is by far the best thing I have ever heard❤❤❤❤❤ Also I am setting up a series of tiny paintings using the equipment you suggest. Had a go today… a beach scene…Wow much better result now that I have found you.❤❤
What a well done video. Perfect really. Ms. Storz experience teaching, shines in this video. Drawing From The Right Side of the Brain, but condensed and with a nice face and voice.
As I’m riding along a street here in Georgia and looking at the beautiful foliage, I’m taking in what you are saying and am surprised to see all the variations in the sky, trees, etc! ❤TFS ❤❤
You are a wonderful person and an excellent teacher! That is what my intuition is telling me! Thank you for your advice! I have always felt like an alien, and when I paint, I often disregard all the dogmas about what I can't do! But I pay attention to my opinion/intuitive feeling of what is aesthetical! ❤🙏
Great advice Leslie. I teach art too and this is similar to what I tell my kids about Seeing VS Naming. We see the world by the things we can name- branches, leaves, bird etc and this is how beginners draw... they draw the branch, then a leaf, then another. They have to learn to break down what they can name into what it is- shapes and lines- 3 vertical lines, 2 wavy diagonals. It takes a lot of practice.
The most valuable advice about drawing I got was when our art teacher took us out of the class to draw the houses adjacent to the school playing field. We completed the task and the teacher walked around and told us none of us had drawn what we could see. We studied each other's drawings, they were obviously of varying quality, some doors and windows were a bit wonky or the wrong size but there was no glaring error that we could see. He took us back outside and said "What colour are the windows?" Of course they were black because the room interiors were much darker than the daylight. We had all got the preconceived idea that glass was transparent so that's what we 'saw' and drew. We need to realise that we are not always seeing what we are looking at.
Great advice, reminds me of a book I once read called "Drawing on the right side of your brain" and one of the big takeaways from that for me was, if you have trouble drawing a particular object, say a hand for instance because your brain is getting in the way , then draw all of the negative space around it instead. Try it, it works.
Yes, I have loaned that book to several beginning artists over the years.If drawing or painting from a photo, another way to help keep your mind at bay is to turn the photo and drawing upside down.
Thank you so much for this! I am a stickler for details which was helpful in my career but not so much when trying to learn to paint. I have always heard "just paint what you see" but likening it to "paint like you're an alien" really resonated with me. Thanks again!
Great advice .. my art teacher at school used to say if you can see.. you can draw. I loved art and it was my best subject.. middle aged and still drawing! X
To view like an alien sounds like a great idea. I will try and adopt this in future, especially when I'm painting Plein-air. Another artist I know, suggested the phrase "paint what you want to see" as opposed to "paint what you see" thanks for your video. It has caused me to approach my subject differently.🙂
I’m a hand quilter so that’s my art form, but the art I collect is mostly watercolors, Qing dynasty paintings on silk, Qing dynasty embroideries and rank badges, vintage and antique American watercolors, and I even have a Russian oil painting. I buy what I like and in quilts, I make what I like since I know how to make my own patterns and I have good color sense.
I've probably said this a couple of times before but you really do upload videos of topics I'm currently thinking about 😅 I'm making very rigid sketches and paintings with fixed colours when I know I need to be just looking at the reference and drawing instead of letting my brain dictate. Going to try your tip this week.
That’s great! Yes, just saying “draw what you see” isn’t always enough to silence our rational brains. We have to get them out of the situation altogether. 😊
This is such good advice, it is so easy to get caught on whatcha know about the scene like loads of leaves and hairs and not look at it as the shadows and lights as a whole this is somthing i struggle with and trying to change to be more looser with my painting. And get more accurate results without trying to paint how i think things should be since my brain knows what individual things look or 'should look like' lol
Getting deeper into seeing, It's not the small details that are attracting you to paint. Rather it's the shapes. Start with painting the largest shapes with a toned down version of the color you see. Then the next size smaller shapes within the larger shapes and next smaller and next smaller. Never put in the darkest or brightest values at first. Paint them toned down or you will get lost and confused. Bring it to life gradually. Too much contrast will cause you not to first get your shapes right. The most mundane basic shapes need to stand alone as art before anything else. That is your base for the entire work.
Ian Roberts teaches to see in shapes. It really helped me see as an artist. Your advice is also of great value before i return to my home planet. Only 150 years to go so id better get painting 😊🙏
This was joyful to learn from you. Betty Edwards book was the best advice I learned when my drawing really started to change for the better. I will try to draw and paint with fresh eyes. Like I've never seen it before. Thank you. Sincerely.
So true! Many years ago, I worked my way through Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. The single greatest benefit of this book was developing the ability to really see the world around me … a literal eye opening revelation. Suddenly I found myself seeing the everyday world around me in a whole new way and observing so much more information! So definitely, learning to draw is a useful endeavour for any creative person whether they be painters, poets or filmmakers. These days I draw less and photograph more but seeing is everything! Thanks for this excellent video and here’s to hoping that more people (not just the aliens) begin to truly appreciate the wonder that is planet earth.
Hello from Fra😅nce.You make perfect sense. I was also taught to block preconceived ideas and trust my eyes. Good luck with your channel I look forward to following you.
I more commonly hear this as "Draw what you see, not what you know," and I couldn't agree more. While I do have a giant basket full of shortcomings and challenges, perspective isn't one one of them. It's funny to me that there are so many books and videos on how to understand perspective and how to construct it on the page. Look - it's a building. You know it's a rectangle. But that's not what your eye is seeing! The vertical lines are pushed together toward the top... Draw what you see!
this is a great summary of how I try to explain to my friends what I do when I try to make art. I learned it from reading Dr. Betty Edwards' books, my favorite art author. this video inspired me to subscribe to your channel. I look forward to seeing more from you.
Excellent advice, I must admit learning to really see and switch my brain off has taken me a very long time. I realised looking at clouds recently that I may have managed it when I was registering colours and shapes rather than thinking that’s a cloud 😂. Thinking like an alien would have saved a lot of time. Thank you for all you share with us x
As an artist who is also teaching my own children to draw and paint, I have always told them to look at shapes, but now I will tell them to pretend to be an alien 😊
I had an argument with a teacher once. “The ears should be at eye level.” “But that’s not what I see!” “That’s incorrect!” I ended up erasing it and following her instructions. The next day, she came over, apologized, and said I was correct. I was very upset to fix it. Again. There are few (art) teachers I respected more than her. It takes guts to acknowledge a bruised ego. Took her electives a couple more times before I graduated.
OMG LOVE THIS. Definitely going to use this concept Im an Alien 👽 Ive studied art + colour, drawing and painting fundamentals + your formula is so realistic and dynamic. Thanks so much for sharing your tips and advice. Im hooked already. Have a awesome day 😊🌈🙏
This really nicely articulates something I've always done, but could never put into words! I love the idea and am definitely going to pretend to be an alien next time I paint!
I make cards and I always try to make mysef do this and it’s unbelievably hard. I'm just learning how to draw/paint and this is Its very hard to retrain what you've learned. Thanks for this
Hello ! True I've tried drawing what I was really seeing instead of what I've thought because of you on a old video and it's way better ! I've noticed it too in the drawings of my 7 yo boy no interpretations just straight to the point 😳😁 and it's truly more easy.Simple and better 👍 Nice sunny sunday, bises 😘
"The Natural Way to Draw" by Kimon Nicolaides, also "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards are good resources in training your eyes to see.
I’m almost 80 and I’ve been a professional artist my adult life one of my favorite paintings that I’ve ever done is a small painting. I did from a photograph that I held upside down and I literally just copied the spots of color with without any thought of what the object was, that was so rewarding so fun and probably my favorite Painting
Good tip!
I love this idea. Sounds like so much fun. I really appreciate things like this that help reduce attachment to the results.
Love it. Going to try this. Thanks!
Fabulous tip, I’m going to try that too….our brains get in the way.
Great tip thank you!
"You're from an advanced planet that supports the arts!" - I loved that line 😀
Thank You❤ I am legally blind and I am an artist. I have been an artist all my life. When my eyesight took a sharp decline a few years ago, I went into a deep depression because I couldn't do what I always did. I loved Surrealism, but when my eyesight got worse, I couldn't do that anymore. Even still, my family kept encouraging me to keep doing art. Before my mother died in 2020, she made me promise that I would never stop doing art. It was hard because I was so used to painting what I saw with great detail, and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get it right. Until one day, I came across Picasso cubism, and for some crazy reason, his cubist art made sense to me. I learned that he and other artists went blind at the height of their careers. I thought, what if I just painted what I saw and booooy did it give me new life. I learned how to paint pop cubism, and I love it so much❤ I paint women with big beautiful eyes, no straight lines, and beautiful pops of colors. I love what I do now more than ever before. I will never forget what you said to think like an alien. With my eyesight, I already feel like an alien, and what I see is beautiful. Thank you so much for this video.
Beautiful
@@cocoanashe Thank You
Such an amazing and beautiful story, Barbara - you have such courage to carry on and find a totally new way of seeing - thank you for sharing.
@ajwaines695 Thank You so much
Well done for not giving up and adapting to your new situation and finding the beauty in this new phase
The Zen people call this "Beginner's Mind." I also know people on the spectrum who are very good at this because they don't acclimate to seeing without seeing. The impressionists were also into this kind of seeing. But knowing structure and doing work like blocking and painting with a large brush first gets you out of the fiddly habits like spaghetti hair. Good video!
So true. 😊
As a late diagnosed autistic/ADHD I spent all my childhood and most my adulthood so far feeling like I'm an alien, just waiting for someone to come and rescue me 😑 earth sucks, being human is horrendous, but society is what makes life hell.
Some of us don't have a choice with beginners mind because of our working memory is constantly changing and forgetting even things we know.
This advice is golden. I think at some point every art teacher said to me, "draw what you see." But never did anyone explain exactly how prejudiced my eye could be made by what my mind thinks I am seeing. A lot of struggle could have been eased by understanding and working with this lesson much earlier on. And now the new challenge is not to try to paint exactly what I am seeing, but to design a composition that best depicts the point of the painting infused with my experience of the scene. I'm afraid one lifetime just won't be enough, but that's what keeps art so fascinating.
I love that there are always new things to learn, and that even if you paint the same scene more than once, you’ll notice different things each time. 😊
'You're from an advanced planet which supports the arts'😂😂😂
I couldn’t resist 👽
@@genestone4951 First off: Are you suggesting that all art must be public art done in protest? All the artists on TH-cam (and those not on YT) who create art using a variety of mediums should stop sketching and painting and sculpting etc. as a hobby or career and should what?…quit if they aren’t interested in or able to make public protest art? 🤨
As for support leading to all art being controlled, the opposite is true. Those who would seek to control art in the way you mean it are working hard to make sure art isn’t supported.
One of the US’s two major parties has been defunding public schools for decades, with the main goal being an undereducated citizenry easily manipulated by propaganda. That’s how a wealthy man who regularly stiffed the working-class contractors he hired convinced people he was “one of them” or that he cared about them when no one else in government did. These folks have been voting against their own interests for decades, but this is hitting its peak right now.
With public schools struggling with funding, they have to whittle down the curriculum, and the arts were the first classes to go. Who is this most greatly affecting? The marginalized peoples of the US, including the poor and people of color.
And this same party is hostile to the arts - all arts, not just painting. For instance, they don’t like the literary arts either. How do you convince Americans that book banning and even book burning is ok? Devalue education in the eyes of the public. Portray books as tools of liberal propaganda. Discourage children (and adults) from developing a love of reading because reading leads to people learning on their own what has been removed from schools.
What is meant here is living in a *society* that supports the arts, not support from some sort of Big Brother.
Yes we need a planet like that!^ Also, "See like an alien"...not just for painting but for life 😊
Okay so thank you for finally breaking down the “draw what you see not what you think you see” concept. This was tremendously helpful. I noticed right away I could start applying this to my practice. ❤
That’s wonderful! 😊
I'm a musician and I'm here because I find each artform can teach you about every other as well. I end up learning a lot about writing, drawing, painting, etc because of that and this advice is a PERFECT example! It's easy to get trapped in formulas and habits, and forgetting what's so amazing about your expression of choice- the thing that you loved in the first place🙌✌️
Yes, I think this definitely applies to all of the arts. The educational component is essential, but part of that is learning how to allow the beginner’s mind to inform the art.
This is excellent advice. We all tend to be too much “in our heads” and get tripped up by our preconceived notions. Thank you for the reminder to keeping trying to see the world through fresh eyes.
We all need that reminder every now and then. 😊
Hi. My name is Zork. I just started water coloring. Thanks for helping me. I support Galactic Arts Education!
Nanu nanu......oh wait, thats Mork 🤭
James???
Grand advice. Look at what is there, not what your brain knows to be there and too often fills in what isn't there.
Yes! Exactly. 😊
Great advice. When I was a child I liked to play that game and I remember watching the tv off like I had never seen it before,..it was so funny.After years, I still do it..😊 and it fascinates me!
Great advice. When I was in High School in the 70's. 1974-1977. The first thing my drawing teacher taught me was "to draw what I see.". This advice has never let me down. I am glad that old advice stands the test of time. Thank you for reminding me.
Sounds like you had a great art teacher! It makes such a difference having a good one! 😊
I think this video of yours it's a sign from the universe to my artistic journey in this oncoming year. I'm really glad that I landed here and thank you, it's a really good excuse for drawing our surroundings.
Great advice! I especially like the idea of drawing what you see not what you think you see. Something I struggle with all the time. Thank you for sharing what you have learned. It truly helps me to be a better artist.
I’m glad it was helpful! This will really make a difference. 🤗
I am so glad you spoke on this subject today. I've been thinking recently about the way small children draw with an open creative mind, a freedom most of us lose when we get a little older and the world tells us what's what. That person is still in us, if we could tap into that again as grown-up think, how awesome would that be? There's a term in Zen Buddhism: "The Beginners Mind". The teaching is that Knowledge and understating are two different things. Knowledge without understanding can be a block to learning. The trick is to move away from the preconceived views and notions we have about the world and approach everything with a beginner's mind. Think like an alien! 😊🙏
Yes! I love trying to tap into the Beginner’s Mind. As a lifelong teacher it’s one of the best ways to be able to explain concepts, but also as an artist it’s infinitely useful. 😊
I think I might teach on the beginners' minds in a Buddhism class I'm teaching in July. Can I use your phrase, "think like an alien" ?
That would be awesome. 😊
Definitely NOT clickbait!
Thanks so much for this insightful advice.
Great advice. That's exactly how I started thinking after a few drawings. Shadows and light !
Thank you for this advice it has opened things up for me. My personality tends to be quite literal not just with being taught the sky is blue…. This is so relatable. I’ve been a dog groomer for 35 yrs and after attending a seminar many moons ago, I walked away with some simple but incredible advise. Pretend! As a groomer we know the breed style and standards etc. She simply stated pretend the hair is there, pretend the angle exists and keep going. I use this everyday in the salon. Now being an alien sounds like my world will once again look so different. Thank you for all that offer us. Your videos are such a pleasure to watch and learn from!
I think that was great advice- pretending in general opens up a whole world of play for our creativity to go wild. ❤
That was great advice, thank you! When I painted more in younger days I noticed how landscapes had so many colors I wasn't expecting, and it was good to mix up a landscape painting with bits of colors from all around the painting. Gosh, this makes me want to pick up the brush! Painting is such a great way to get lost in time.
Just thinking how lucky is to have a mom artist and art teacher. I keep scavenging books and the internet for art knowledge, art courses are so expensive. I even thought about doing a A level thinking it would be affordable but it isn’t.
A-level won’t teach you to draw or paint, sadly. Neither will most art schools. Ateliers will teach you how to you. Many good local art classes will teach you. Good instructional books/videos will also help.
Very helpful expansion of draw what you see. Hard to shut the brain off. This will help. Thanks!
Why not look into subscribing to skillshare? Isn't an annual membership like $10/month USD?
I did an a level. My teacher kept getting annoyed at me for not paying a fortune on this or that. I was on less than minimum wage. Completely out of touch
Meditation is how I tap in and create as if no one is looking, keep doing that and you will evolve if art is your intention and passion.
😅👏 this is really a funny but fantastic way to explain "how to see" , it took me "blood, sweat and tears" as we say in a matter of speaking during my study at artschool before I really got it but once you know you finally "see" , I really enjoyed this video !
I’m so glad! Yes, a lot of these life sayings that are excellent advice aren’t always easy to understand/implement. This trick helps. 😊
Fabulous advice! I realized something very powerful about myself while watching this, to let color and shapes guide me more than details. I intend to practice this in my paintings more, thank you!
I tried pretending to be an alien, and the little watercolor I did was much better than any of the other ones I did before. Thank you!
Wonderful! That makes me happy. 😊
I think this is the phrase I need to remember! I know I should just draw or paint what I see, but my brain definitely takes over and tries to fill in the details. Now I have anew mantra. Thank you.
Thank you for this advice. When it comes to drawing I have understood to spend 70 percent of my time observing and 30 percent drawing. I just still battle to see colors as an artist does. Hopefully with practice it will come to me.
Absolutely the Best Advice for Artist and the most important Advice for new Artist. Thank you for sharing 🤗
You’re welcome! 😊
Great advise, thanks! Presently I am stuck on and with my painting travels!🤗
I bet you were the best art professor ever!!! This was such great intel!!
I couldn’t agree more. It was my first time ever hearing such an advice and it helped me a lot. Thanks Leslie for opening this channel and help other future artist to be a better of themselves ❤
Wow… love this advice. I have dabbled with art for many years and have experienced all you mention. Be an alien is by far the best thing I have ever heard❤❤❤❤❤ Also I am setting up a series of tiny paintings using the equipment you suggest. Had a go today… a beach scene…Wow much better result now that I have found you.❤❤
What a beautiful art lesson. I will be back to watch more of your videos. Thank you!
What a well done video. Perfect really. Ms. Storz experience teaching, shines in this video. Drawing From The Right Side of the Brain, but condensed and with a nice face and voice.
As I’m riding along a street here in Georgia and looking at the beautiful foliage, I’m taking in what you are saying and am surprised to see all the variations in the sky, trees, etc! ❤TFS ❤❤
You are a wonderful person and an excellent teacher! That is what my intuition is telling me! Thank you for your advice! I have always felt like an alien, and when I paint, I often disregard all the dogmas about what I can't do! But I pay attention to my opinion/intuitive feeling of what is aesthetical! ❤🙏
I think a lot of artists feel like aliens. 👽😊
Great advice Leslie. I teach art too and this is similar to what I tell my kids about Seeing VS Naming. We see the world by the things we can name- branches, leaves, bird etc and this is how beginners draw... they draw the branch, then a leaf, then another. They have to learn to break down what they can name into what it is- shapes and lines- 3 vertical lines, 2 wavy diagonals. It takes a lot of practice.
Perfect advice. Your students are lucky to have you. 😊
The most valuable advice about drawing I got was when our art teacher took us out of the class to draw the houses adjacent to the school playing field. We completed the task and the teacher walked around and told us none of us had drawn what we could see.
We studied each other's drawings, they were obviously of varying quality, some doors and windows were a bit wonky or the wrong size but there was no glaring error that we could see.
He took us back outside and said "What colour are the windows?" Of course they were black because the room interiors were much darker than the daylight.
We had all got the preconceived idea that glass was transparent so that's what we 'saw' and drew.
We need to realise that we are not always seeing what we are looking at.
Great advice, reminds me of a book I once read called "Drawing on the right side of your brain" and one of the big takeaways from that for me was, if you have trouble drawing a particular object, say a hand for instance because your brain is getting in the way , then draw all of the negative space around it instead. Try it, it works.
Yes, I have loaned that book to several beginning artists over the years.If drawing or painting from a photo, another way to help keep your mind at bay is to turn the photo and drawing upside down.
Thanks for your advice, I’ve never thought about that so you’re helping me a lot 👏
I’m so glad. 😊
Thank you so much for this! I am a stickler for details which was helpful in my career but not so much when trying to learn to paint. I have always heard "just paint what you see" but likening it to "paint like you're an alien" really resonated with me. Thanks again!
Yes, “draw and paint what you see” can be really tricky to implement without tools to trick your brain into staying out of the way. 😊
That was amazing way to look at things. Thank you. I spend at least half the time on a painting studying the topic.
I love this. As a teacher i also told my students this. We referred to it as “Alien Vision”.
Unique advice and well explained. Going to try this mindset. You’re an excellent instructor 👏‼️
Thanks so much!! 😊
Great advice .. my art teacher at school used to say if you can see.. you can draw. I loved art and it was my best subject.. middle aged and still drawing! X
Fantastic! Thank you for the great advice. It will changed how I look at things when I create my art.😎
I love this way of looking! This is so helpful, thank you!
Think like an alien 👽!! That is wonderful advice for me & will definitely be using that for my artistic mantra from now on. Thanks for the advice 💕🎨
It’s a fun mantra. 👽
To view like an alien sounds like a great idea. I will try and adopt this in future, especially when I'm painting Plein-air. Another artist I know, suggested the phrase "paint what you want to see" as opposed to "paint what you see" thanks for your video. It has caused me to approach my subject differently.🙂
I’m a hand quilter so that’s my art form, but the art I collect is mostly watercolors, Qing dynasty paintings on silk, Qing dynasty embroideries and rank badges, vintage and antique American watercolors, and I even have a Russian oil painting. I buy what I like and in quilts, I make what I like since I know how to make my own patterns and I have good color sense.
Great advice! This reminds me of the book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards.
She’s one of the best. 😊
What an interesting way to think about it; I’m anxious to give this a try!
I've probably said this a couple of times before but you really do upload videos of topics I'm currently thinking about 😅 I'm making very rigid sketches and paintings with fixed colours when I know I need to be just looking at the reference and drawing instead of letting my brain dictate. Going to try your tip this week.
That’s great! Yes, just saying “draw what you see” isn’t always enough to silence our rational brains. We have to get them out of the situation altogether. 😊
This is such good advice, it is so easy to get caught on whatcha know about the scene like loads of leaves and hairs and not look at it as the shadows and lights as a whole this is somthing i struggle with and trying to change to be more looser with my painting. And get more accurate results without trying to paint how i think things should be since my brain knows what individual things look or 'should look like' lol
Yes, it’s a helpful way to notice shapes, shadows, and highlights. 😊
Getting deeper into seeing, It's not the small details that are attracting you to paint. Rather it's the shapes. Start with painting the largest shapes with a toned down version of the color you see. Then the next size smaller shapes within the larger shapes and next smaller and next smaller. Never put in the darkest or brightest values at first. Paint them toned down or you will get lost and confused. Bring it to life gradually. Too much contrast will cause you not to first get your shapes right. The most mundane basic shapes need to stand alone as art before anything else. That is your base for the entire work.
Unless it’s oil painting, where it’s helpful to start with the darker shades first. 😊
Thank you, what a fresh approach! I am definitely going to try your light, loose, shapes strategy and hopefully it will help me stop over thinking it.
Ian Roberts teaches to see in shapes. It really helped me see as an artist. Your advice is also of great value before i return to my home planet. Only 150 years to go so id better get painting 😊🙏
Thank you! This is some of the best advice I have received!!❤
This was joyful to learn from you. Betty Edwards book was the best advice I learned when my drawing really started to change for the better. I will try to draw and paint with fresh eyes. Like I've never seen it before. Thank you. Sincerely.
My pleasure! Best of luck! 😊
This is what separates artists from non-artists.
Thank you. This is best advice ever! 👍👍👍
Awesome awesome concept, can’t wait to get going❤️
So true! Many years ago, I worked my way through Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. The single greatest benefit of this book was developing the ability to really see the world around me … a literal eye opening revelation. Suddenly I found myself seeing the everyday world around me in a whole new way and observing so much more information! So definitely, learning to draw is a useful endeavour for any creative person whether they be painters, poets or filmmakers. These days I draw less and photograph more but seeing is everything! Thanks for this excellent video and here’s to hoping that more people (not just the aliens) begin to truly appreciate the wonder that is planet earth.
Betty Edwards is one of the best art educators of our generation. It applies to photography too. 😊
Thank you! Succinct and profoundly useful.
Great advice!! Thank you
Hi! Glad I found you! I’ve just started sketching and watercolor again, and your advice is excellent. 😅
Thank you! 😊
I love this perspective. I’ve always felt like an alien. It’s time to see things as if I am. Thank you!
Wow, that actually was an awesome tip! Thank you 🙏💖
Thank you, great advice and it's not hard to do.
An idea;
beautifully delivered
Ohh that’s such a good advice. This could become a series! ‘Best art advice I have received’ if you still have students around :) ❤ Thank you 🙏
Thanks! I teach online on Patreon these days, but my Patrons definitely have questions! 😊
Thank you, I feel better about my abstract art.
Hello from Fra😅nce.You make perfect sense. I was also taught to block preconceived ideas and trust my eyes. Good luck with your channel I look forward to following you.
Merci mille fois! 😊
I more commonly hear this as "Draw what you see, not what you know," and I couldn't agree more. While I do have a giant basket full of shortcomings and challenges, perspective isn't one one of them. It's funny to me that there are so many books and videos on how to understand perspective and how to construct it on the page. Look - it's a building. You know it's a rectangle. But that's not what your eye is seeing! The vertical lines are pushed together toward the top... Draw what you see!
Thank you so much for sharing. God bless.
this is a great summary of how I try to explain to my friends what I do when I try to make art. I learned it from reading Dr. Betty Edwards' books, my favorite art author. this video inspired me to subscribe to your channel. I look forward to seeing more from you.
Betty Edwards is a legend. 😊
Excellent advice, I must admit learning to really see and switch my brain off has taken me a very long time. I realised looking at clouds recently that I may have managed it when I was registering colours and shapes rather than thinking that’s a cloud 😂. Thinking like an alien would have saved a lot of time. Thank you for all you share with us x
You’re so welcome. And yes, it’s much easier said than done! 😊
As an artist who is also teaching my own children to draw and paint, I have always told them to look at shapes, but now I will tell them to pretend to be an alien 😊
I hope it helps them as much as it helped my daughter. 😊
Thank you for the advice!
Great lesson Leslie. Thanks.
Great idea, will give it a try, thanks!
I had an argument with a teacher once.
“The ears should be at eye level.”
“But that’s not what I see!”
“That’s incorrect!”
I ended up erasing it and following her instructions. The next day, she came over, apologized, and said I was correct. I was very upset to fix it. Again.
There are few (art) teachers I respected more than her. It takes guts to acknowledge a bruised ego. Took her electives a couple more times before I graduated.
Great way to explain the “draw what you see” concept!
Yes! It’s the manual for “draw what you see.” 😊
Well said❤ and important advice ❤❤❤
Always incredible cogent content. You always make it "just make sense".
I’m glad 😊
Brilliant!!!!
Great advice! The more I practice this the better I get!
That was so helpful. Thank you.
OMG LOVE THIS. Definitely going to use this concept Im an Alien 👽 Ive studied art + colour, drawing and painting fundamentals + your formula is so realistic and dynamic. Thanks so much for sharing your tips and advice. Im hooked already. Have a awesome day 😊🌈🙏
Yes, great tip. Keep your eye to the horizon. It's why travel is so appealing giving us fresh views on fresh new places.
Definitely. And why drawing and painting outside is so helpful. 😊
This really nicely articulates something I've always done, but could never put into words! I love the idea and am definitely going to pretend to be an alien next time I paint!
Great advice. Thank you. Now take me to your leader...
What a lovely video. Happy to be an alien. Ty ! ❤
"You're from an advanced planet that supports the arts"! Ha! Ha! 🤣 Funny!!!
What an inspiring video. Thank you, once again.
My pleasure! 😊
I make cards and I always try to make mysef do this and it’s unbelievably hard. I'm just learning how to draw/paint and this is Its very hard to retrain what you've learned. Thanks for this
Brilliant and fun. I use the alien idea when teaching people how to work with their dreams and describe elements in them. Fresh mind, fresh eyes. :)
Wonderful! ☺️
Hello ! True I've tried drawing what I was really seeing instead of what I've thought because of you on a old video and it's way better ! I've noticed it too in the drawings of my 7 yo boy no interpretations just straight to the point 😳😁 and it's truly more easy.Simple and better 👍 Nice sunny sunday, bises 😘
Yes, I thought this topic needed the type of elaboration I would have given it in a classroom. How lovely to draw your son. 😊
@@LeslieStroz thank you for all these awsome tips 😁😉🙏🏼
Yes it's a bliss 🥰😁
"The Natural Way to Draw" by Kimon Nicolaides, also "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards are good resources in training your eyes to see.
« From an advanced planet that supports the arts »😂 one can always dream!
I love your art studio ❤️
Thank you! I have a tour video. 😊
Good advice, probably won’t change my life, but has a good chance of improving my art practice
😂
You never know... change your mind, your life follows. 😉