Art School

Art School with Paul is for the young or beginning artist.

School is really kind of a misnomer. This is art training or art working out! I will be training right along with each young or beginning artist.

The goal is to help the artist be confident and enthused about their art journey.

Agenda

Art School with Paul is three one hour sessions where we’ll learn and do art with three items on the agenda.

1. What does it mean to be an artist?

The answer is simple. It is to make art. You can decide you’re an artist, but you have to make art. You may have never once in your life made art, but once you make art you are an artist!

2. What is a successful artist?

The answer here might not be what you think. It is to enjoy the process or to be present while making the art. Making the art is the success. It doesn’t matter how expert you are or how great your art is. It really doesn’t. Once you have made the art, you are an artist. That is success.

3. Detachment.

Once you have made art and become a successful artist, and you continue on this journey, you will notice your art improving. Others may notice as well. This is great!! Right? This is exactly where the work of the true artist is done. You must allow that art to go and live its own life. You must guard against basking in the glory of all your adoring fans, for this is not what it means to be an artist. It is time for the true artist to detach from their art. The artist must immediately return to step one and make art.

Sessions

1. Introduction

In the first session each young or beginning artist will present what kind of art that interests them. They don’t even need their own art to begin with. We just need to determine what kind of art they will be making. At this point we will review the three items on the agenda: 1 – Be an artist. 2 – Success. 3. Detachment. These agenda items will be instilled into the young or beginning artist so they can carry them throughout their rich and fulfilling artistic life. As we leave our first session each artist will be tasked with identifying at least one artist they like or admire. This should be an artist they may want to emulate or learn from. They can find the artist in a comic book or a children’s book. YouTube and Instagram are great places to look. Anywhere will do, as long as the art can be shared with the class.

2. Let’s Make Art

We will have a look at the art each artist has identified. I will also identify an artist I think the young or beginning artist will like. We will discuss the art and the techniques used to make this art. We will figure out a way for each artist to make their chosen art. As we leave the second session, each artist will be tasked with making some art and bringing it back to our third session, all the while keeping our second agenda item in the top of their mind – SUCCESS! Enjoy the process. It doesn’t have to be perfect or even “good”. Just be present and mindful during the work of making art.

3. Artist Statement

By our third session each young or beginning artist has successfully made some art. I will praise and encourage them. I will be their biggest fan! Then, it is time to learn the art of detachment. One thing that can help an artist move quickly back into making art is to have an Artist Statement. This is sort of a mission statement, a goal, and “about the artist” all wrapped into one. These can be fun to write or exceedingly painful, depending on the artist. Once they are written, they can continually change. But, to have one is a milestone. It allows our young or beginning artist to proceed and continue their journey with passion and confidence, knowing they are in fact, a successful artist!