EXCUSES ARE YOUR ENEMY
An amazing photo from this past weekends workshop, (The Art of the Figure: Fearless Acrylic Techniques & Creative Color Mixing). Thank you Jordan for all of your beautiful photography. (And for all of the other amazing things you do to make these workshops happen). Thanks to Spencer ( in photo), and Amber for their incredible modeling. Thanks to Mike and Leslie for their beautiful barn. And thanks to all of the hardworking and wonderful students for your participation. You all helped to make this past weekend a special experience. © 2019 David Limrite
“The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Author
Excuses Are Your Enemy
There is always going to be something to do that we think is more important than making art.
Oh, I know there is important life stuff like family, health and making a living, (just to name a few), that take precedent over creative time.
But, what I am talking about is the little stuff that we choose to do instead of choosing to make art. Which we justify with an excuse that sounds good to us, but which is actually very detrimental to our creativity.
I am big-time guilty of this and I have to call myself out on this all the time. It is ridiculous. Many times I will choose to wash the car, mow the lawn, do the dishes or clean the house. Instead of choosing to go paint. None of those things needed doing at that moment, and they would all still be there for me to do when I was really ready to do them.
I have never once regretted choosing to take the time to paint. But, I have more often than not, regretted cleaning the house, instead of going into the studio.
And, the more excuses I make for not going into the studio, the easier and easier it is for excuses to roll off my tongue and come out of my mouth.
This is why I say that excuses are the artists enemy. The house, dishes and car may be clean, but that painting in progress on my easel has not been worked on for weeks. UGH!!
If making art is a real passion of yours, choose studio time.
I think I actually wrote this as a confession, and as a reminder (to me) to beware of the excuses trap.
Best,
David
[SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA]
Santa Monica:
MIXED MEDIA FIGURE DRAWING WORKSHOPS
Click the date(s) below that you would like to enroll in:
Sept 12, Thursday | More Details | Enroll
Sept 13, Friday | More Details | Enroll
[CENTRAL CALIFORNIA]
Dynamic Figure Drawing:
10 ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS & TECHNIQUES
San Luis Obispo Museum of Art
October 4-6, Friday - Sunday | More Details
Learn 10 essential concepts and techniques to create dynamic, emotional and expressive figure drawings and paintings.
Working from a live model, you will put these into practice to create your own dynamic figure drawings. The workshop will be geared toward drawing; however, pastel, acrylic, watercolor, ink, and mixed media (including collage) will be welcomed. If you are a beginner, drawing only is encouraged.
All levels welcome: beginner to advanced.
Praise from a Summer 2019 workshop:
“[I enjoyed] the whole weekend! Each lesson was fantastic. This was the best of all past [workshops]. Wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you.” ~ Jane F.
“[The] demos were great. [I enjoyed the] invaluable tips [and] David’s kind, supportive, teaching style. I cannot think of one thing to [change about the workshop]. Pretty much perfection. You’ve got this down!” ~ Lori W.
“We covered a lot, but I felt the lectures/demos all held together as a ‘suite’ and built on each other in a really useful way. Thought it was the best [workshop] yet. Looking forward to the next one…” ~ Cynthia A.