This post is the second part of our ‘Get Passionate About Art’ series. In the last post we discussed why you need a deep passion for all art when you are looking to become a painter. Without this one essential ingredient, you will be lost.
So in this post we will be looking at a few techniques to increase your interest in art and ignite a burning passion to view and, even more importantly, to create great art.
- Nurture the love of that piece, then that artist, then that genre. Now that you know you like what that one artist does, find out if there are more paintings he or she has done. Find an online gallery and spend some time with those art works. Now your interest is growing. You can also find out who else paints like the artist you like. Expand your interest to that community of artists. All of a sudden, you don’t just like one painting, you like a whole genre of artwork.
- Visit art galleries, just a little bit. With what you know of the art works and artists you like, go to art galleries and see if you can find other art works like the one you like. But keep an open mind and look at least one section of the museum that you would never have gone to before. Deliberately expose yourself to more art with each visit.
- Grab a hold of one new piece you like each time. With each visit to a museum or art show, find one new artwork and new artist that you find interesting and like. Study that artwork and ask yourself questions about why you like it. There are no wrong answers.
- Repeat. By continuing this growth process, before you know it, you will be passionate about lots of kinds of art. Don’t look now, you are an art lover.
The important thing to remember is there is no wrong way to go about starting your journey into a greater appreciation of fine art. Unlike opera or ballet, you don’t have to go sit in a fancy hall at big prices to try to get an appreciation for the finer things in life. By just starting with what you like now, you can branch out step by step and before long you will be a fine art enthusiast, in spite of yourself.