Want to draw or paint anything you can imagine? It all starts with this.
The dream of being able to draw or paint anything you want is shared by almost every artist. It’s the creative freedom to bring any idea to life without feeling limited by skill or technique. But here’s the secret: the path to achieving that freedom isn’t necessarily about mastering every subject or copying every style. Instead, it starts with the most essential and often most difficult part, which I’ll tell you about in a minute.
Hi my name is Carrie. Here on Artist Strong, I help self-taught artists with home studios who feel stuck with their art move from wondering what’s next to confidently expressing themselves through unique, original art. To date, thousands have joined the community.
👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽 If you feel like gaps in your learning hold you back from making your best art, sign up and watch my workshop, “How to Create Art from Your Imagination.” It’s completely free, and a great way to get a taste of my teaching to see if I might be the coach for you. The link is in the description below.
Today, we are talking about developing a regular practice of making art. It is a hugely overlooked but important first step in being able to draw or paint anything you want.
The Foundation of Daily Practice
Let’s be honest, the idea of making art almost every day sounds simple in theory but feels like one of the hardest aspects of being an artist in practice. Life gets in the way, creative blocks happen, and sometimes the idea of making “bad” art feels unbearable. But this is precisely where the magic lies. When we commit to practicing regularly—whether it’s five minutes or five hours a day—we are doing more than just putting pencil to paper or brush to canvas. We’re showing up for ourselves and our craft, gradually integrating art into our daily lives.
I sound like a broken record, but it’s because the book Atomic Habits is game changing. Author James Clear talks about how having a daily minimum practice is way more valuable than having a larger goal that is hard to meet everyday.
Think about it. If your goal is 5 hours of studio time a day when you’ve been working maybe once or twice a week on your art, how will you feel the first time you do “only” 4 hours and 30 minutes? Or, worse, 1 hour?
Despite making more than you were before setting this goal, you’ll feel like you failed, because it wasn’t 5 hours. That seems pretty counterproductive to me.
When I read about James Clear talking about putting in 1% of effort everyday I literally cried. At the time I had an infant without any village during a pandemic, wondering when I’d ever make art again. But I could pull out those colored pencils, or an embroidery, and put in a little time.
That idea saved my practice and helped me have a hand in my art even with life being really full on.
His other suggestion is to never miss two days in a row. I am committed to making art most days and give myself 2 skip days a week. It’s been a great way to build in some flexibility and help me show up for my art. I KNOW I make way more than I would had I taken the larger time commitment.
Without this regular engagement, the larger artistic goals we set for ourselves—like the ability to draw or paint anything—remain distant dreams. Why? Because those dreams require time and repetition. You can’t bypass the hours of exploration and refinement that come with practice. The good news is, all the time you spend making art brings you closer to realizing those goals. It’s an investment that compounds over time, building your skills, refining your ideas, and deepening your artistic voice.
👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽How can you apply this idea of working on your goals each day by giving 1% of your time and energy most days to your art? What would 1% look like for the life you currently lead? Tell me more in the comments below.
Breaking Down the Essential Skills
Now, it’s not enough to just make art regularly. There are specific skills that must be nurtured, and they form the bedrock of your ability to paint or draw whatever you imagine. In my experience, these skills fall into three major categories:
1. Drawing and painting from two-dimensional references: you look at something two-dimensional and can copy it.
2. Translating three-dimensional objects and environments into two-dimensional surfaces: in this situation you are looking at a model, still life, or landscape and aim to capture its form on a two-dimensional surface.
3. Drawing or painting from your imagination: this is when we can communicate the idea/vision/emotion in our mind’s eye in our preferred medium.
Each of these skills is essential to drawing or painting whatever you want, and they are deeply interconnected. The ability to capture a still life from life, for example, will enhance your attention to detail and understanding of light and shadow—skills that will also serve you when drawing from imagination. Conversely, experimenting with imaginative drawing might open up new ways of thinking about composition or line quality that you can apply to observational work.
Most people think about drawing foundations or fundamentals being about the first two skills mentioned above and it is, but the third skill can also be valuable and worth incorporating into your practice. I created a workshop called How to Create Art from your Imagination because SO many people have unreasonable expectations of themselves and others that we should magically do this to make our best art. But think about it: how can you possibly draw or paint from your imagination if you can’t draw or paint the things you observe, both in photographs and/or from live observation?!
It’s a myth that we need to kick to the curb so we can start actually taking steps to communicate the ideas we hold in our hearts. And when you have strong drawing skills in place it will help you sketch out, envision, and ultimately create the art you imagine.
Practicing with Purpose
The key to developing these three foundational skills is purposeful practice, a phrase coined by researcher Anders Ericsson. It’s not about mindlessly sketching whatever comes to mind or following instructions without understanding their relevance. You don’t have to limit yourself to the standard art-school exercises like drawing boxes or spheres just because that’s what you’re “supposed” to do.
Instead, look for opportunities to connect your practice to ideas that genuinely interest and motivate you. Let’s say you’re fascinated by organic forms—like the flow of water or the texture of bark. Why not incorporate those into your practice? Or maybe you’re drawn to fantastical creatures. You could study animal textures you might want to incorporate into your imagined creatures. Work on translating those mental images into sketches or paintings. The more you can connect what you’re learning with what excites you, the more engaging and productive your practice will be.
But don’t neglect the basics entirely. Even though foundational exercises may seem tedious at times, they are crucial for developing your technical proficiency. The trick is to balance your practice between creative exploration and technical refinement. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
As a teacher, I often hear students complain that learning foundational skills is boring, but I think that’s because (1) they don’t tie the practice to their interests and (2) they feel required to learn ALL the techniques and skill before they are allowed to use them in an artwork.
You don’t have to do it alone, either. This is the kind of thing I do inside Self-Taught to Self-Confident, where I guide people through filling in any gaps in their skill so they confidently express themselves through unique, original art. We have regular opportunities for feedback from peers and myself, including our Weekly Check-In where people get feedback on their mindset, process and art.
👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽 If that sounds exciting to you, you can learn more when you sign up for my workshop “How to Create Art from Your Imagination” for free. You’ll enjoy a taste of my teaching, learn more about the program, and get a special 7-day enrollment offer when you sign up. Use the link here or in the comments below.
I think a lot of people treat drawing fundamentals as a prerequisite for making our “real” art. In a recent video debunking popular beliefs around art I talk about how one too many teachers has said, “you can’t paint until you know how to draw.” I disagree. Both practices can inform each other. Additionally, practice doesn’t have to take up your entire studio time. Purposeful practice is actually quite tiring. Doing it for short periods of time before or after your regular studio time is a great way to incorporate your studies while also allowing you to explore your preferred medium.
I like to think of my purposeful practice time as a musician’s musical warmups. No matter my skill level I can practice looking and training my eyes to “see” like an artist.
Understanding the Fundamentals of Art
Another essential layer to being able to draw or paint anything involves understanding the foundations of art—not just in terms of technical skill, but in terms of formal decision-making. Every choice you make as an artist, from the type of brushstroke you use to the colors you choose to emphasize, reflects your understanding of the formal elements of art.
These elements include:
- Line – A mark with length and direction, created by a point moving through space. Lines can be straight, curved, thick, thin, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or implied. They are fundamental in guiding the viewer’s eye and defining shapes.
- Shape – A two-dimensional, flat area defined by boundaries. Shapes can be geometric (like circles and squares) or organic (irregular, free-form shapes found in nature). They help define the space in a composition.
- Value – The lightness or darkness of a color or tone. It helps create depth and dimension by showing highlights and shadows, adding a sense of realism or mood to the artwork.
- Color – The element produced when light reflects off an object. Color has three main properties: hue (the name of the color), value (lightness or darkness), and intensity (brightness or dullness). Color can evoke emotions and set the overall mood of the artwork.
- Texture – The surface quality or “feel” of an object, whether real (tactile texture) or implied (visual texture). Texture can be rough, smooth, soft, hard, etc., and it adds richness and interest to a piece.
- Space – The area around, between, and within objects in a composition. Space can be positive (the objects themselves) or negative (the empty areas surrounding objects). It creates a sense of depth, perspective, and proportion.
- Form – A three-dimensional shape, having height, width, and depth. Form can be real (as in sculpture) or implied (as in drawing, where shading gives the illusion of depth). Like shape, forms can be geometric or organic.
As you practice, ask yourself: how am I using these elements? For example, are you aware of how value (the lightness or darkness of a color) can affect the mood of your piece? Are you consciously using line to direct the viewer’s eye, or is it happening by accident?
These elements are like the grammar of visual art. Without a solid grasp of them, your work might still be beautiful, but it may lack intentionality. It’s one thing to create a striking image accidentally and another to do so with purpose and understanding. And, as with grammar, the more fluent you become in the formal language of art, the more freely you can break its rules.
Using both the elements and principles of art, which include:
- Balance – The distribution of visual weight in a composition. It can be symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial, helping to create a sense of stability.
- Contrast – The use of opposing elements, such as light vs. dark or rough vs. smooth textures, to create visual interest or highlight key areas.
- Emphasis – Drawing attention to a specific part of the composition to create a focal point. This can be achieved through color, size, shape, or placement.
- Movement – The path the viewer’s eye takes through the artwork, often directed by lines, shapes, and colors, creating a sense of motion or action.
- Pattern – The repetition of elements like shapes, lines, or colors within the composition, creating rhythm and consistency.
- Rhythm – A sense of organized movement created through the repetition of visual elements, leading the viewer’s eye in a fluid way.
- Unity/Harmony – The sense of completeness and wholeness in a composition, where all elements work together to create a cohesive piece.
- Proportion – The relationship in size between different parts of an artwork, helping to achieve balance and realism (or distortion, if intentional).
- Variety – The use of different elements and principles to create interest and prevent monotony within the artwork.
👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽Do you consciously work with the elements and principles of art? Consider using them as a checklist to help you review and refine your works in progress.
Composition
Composition, how you arrange the elements in your artwork—whether it’s a complex painting or a simple sketch—can make or break the final result. Even if you’ve nailed every other aspect of a piece, poor composition can leave the viewer feeling disoriented or disconnected from the work.
Start paying attention to the way you arrange objects within your frame. Ask yourself questions like:
– How does the viewer’s eye move through the piece?
– Where is the focal point, and how do the surrounding elements support it?
– How can I use perspective and scale to add depth and drama?
The principles of composition, like the rule of thirds or the golden ratio, are tried and true. They exist for a reason and should be part of your toolkit as you learn to master your craft.
Technique and Medium: Exploring the How
The last critical component in the journey to draw or paint anything is mastering your technique —specifically, learning how to apply different techniques to various mediums. Every medium, from acrylics to charcoal to digital art, has its own set of unique characteristics. Knowing how to handle these tools with confidence can drastically expand your artistic possibilities.
For example, think about how you create a sense of depth using acrylic paint compared to colored pencils. Acrylics might allow you to layer large blocks of color quickly and easily adjust values, whereas pencils require a more delicate, gradual build-up of shading. Both methods can achieve the same result—depth—but the process and techniques differ.
By gaining familiarity with the techniques of your chosen mediums, you can start to understand how best to convey your ideas. Are you trying to create texture? Build form? Suggest atmosphere? Each of these goals may require different technical approaches depending on the medium you’re working in.
👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽 What medium do you want to be more skillful in? What techniques do you need to learn to achieve your goal? Start your research now and tell me about it in the comments below.
Pulling It All Together: The Path to Creative Freedom
Ultimately, the ability to draw or paint anything comes from a combination of **regular practice, skill development, formal decision-making, and technical mastery**. It may sound like a lot to juggle, but the beauty of it is that each of these aspects supports the others. As you practice more, your skill improves. As your skills improve, you gain a deeper understanding of art’s formal principles. As you refine your understanding, your technical abilities grow, and with that, your creative freedom expands.
So, the next time you sit down to draw or paint, remind yourself: this is part of the bigger picture. Each piece, each practice session, is a step towards unlocking the ability to create anything you can imagine. The more you commit to this journey, the closer you’ll get to achieving the artistic freedom you’ve always dreamed of.
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As always, thank you for watching. Remember: proudly call yourself an artist.
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