How Practice Doesn’t Always Make Perfect

Or… Getting Good at Bad

How many times have you heard the old saying “Practice makes perfect”. We’ve all been taught this from the time that we first learned to play piano, played softball or learned our times tables. But, what happens when we don’t learn all the baby steps, the proper form, or the rules, we only practice skills that are less than perfect. We can get really good at being bad in what we do.

I’m a firm believer in education. We first must learn to perfect our practice to become proficient at a skill. Education can come in different ways, reading about a subject, visual education, and workshops and lessons by instructors. Become informed. Practice intelligently. Every time we practice something without learning the proper skill sets and knowing what we need to learn, we ingrain those bad habits even more.

Learn from success. Find people that are successful in what they do. Find artists that are successful in their creations. What do your favorite artists do? What makes their work successful? What are the shared patterns between them? Learn intelligently from them.

To be successful in art, you must first understand intellectually and then create art with passion. Learn core principals in art to create powerful, strong works. Better understanding will empower you in your practice for perfection.