So you wanna be a pro?

[Karin Wells]

I began to seriously draw with the Old Masters in 1994. I never painted a portrait or worked in oils before 1995. But by 1997, I had won first prize at an ASOPA competition for (my first) original oil portrait. So many people ask me "how I learned to paint" so quickly....I tell 'em, but they don't really hear me. So I keep repeating it...

If you SERIOUSLY wish to become a pro, I urge you to set yourself a course of study....copy (exactly) the Old Masters in all literalness, leaving nothing out and putting nothing in.

Primarily, drawing (and painting) is a CRAFT that must be mastered. Drawing (and painting) is all about light and its manipulation. Copying the "big boys" will help you build a vast store of well-organized and useful information at a much deeper level than "reading" or "talking" about it.

"Making things up" is a natural step that comes only AFTER you have mastered the tools of expression.

Luckily, Angels were the subject matter of much beautiful artwork during the Italian Renaissance. Please do not limit yourself to one paltry book...ever. AT THE VERY LEAST go to the public library and brouse through many books...or go online to a place that sells posters and purchase one by an Old Master that appeals to you. (I'll look up the URL for you if you need me to...let me know).

Do not expect that making a "serious copy" of an old masterwork to be a breeze. It could take many weeks (or months) of hard work to do one and thus learn what that particular work has to teach you.

I know that it is difficult to muster the self-discipline to study in isolation. The results always come more slowly than you wish...but they do come in direct proportion to the time and effort you are willing to put in.

It would be wonderful to be able to find a living teacher, but don't hold your breath...there is a shortage.