How to get better at painting without painting anything (2015)
Maybe this is just sticking out for me because I'm currently working on my visual art skills, but -- making an illustration or piece of visual art involves a lot of separate skills. It's like if someone did a million algorithms problems in Python, then went back to Java and touted the headline "I got better at Java without writing Java". You got better at executing on the whole thing you're trying to do in Java, sure, but your Java-specific skills didn't get better, so -- what are we impressed by?<p>For any given person those algorithms problems might or might not have been the <i>most</i> helpful thing to sink effort into. I know a <i>lot</i> of artists struggle with issues that are <i>best</i> addressed by scrimmage-type practice, not drilling. "It’s the most effective way to build your skills" is totally defensible for <i>specific skills</i>, not overall success. A lot of artists <i>misidentify</i> what the skills are they need to improve. Executing on whole pieces forces you to reckon with your weak points, not just iterate endlessly on the skill you think would be cool to be super good at.<p>> Constantly performing without ever practising is how amateurs approach things in other fields. Amateur golfers never drill, they just play. And being an amateur is fine. Painting for a hobby is fine.<p>This is honestly not true IME. Maybe realist oil painting draws a different sort than the more illustrative creators I know of -- but I know so many people who sketch constantly but never step beyond into more polished works because they're terrified of their weak points.<p>Finally, "repeated mistakes" as a distinction between performance and practice is just straw man nonsense. Wanting to improve efficiently involves continuous iteration on what you're doing, no matter what methods you're going about. Find me someone who agrees with the idea that it's better to execute on whole works <i>and</i> that this constitutes accepting repeating your mistakes, <i>or</i> defend with some data the idea that drilling necessarily involves more reevaluation of your progress (hint: I've known pianists ruin their tendons with technical exercises done wrong).