When others offer art criticism or fashion criticism, they usually only talk about the weak points in your art, or your taste in ties. Okay, I’ll concede on the ties, though why I can’t wear my Muhammad Ali tie to a formal affair still baffles me. Here’s my secret: Recognizing your strengths is even more important than figuring out where you need to improve.
Yes, this is heretical point of view. But so was Copernicus’ idea of the solar system. And by the way, Copernicus was a heck of a good cartoonist.
He could have made something of himself if he hadn’t wasted all his time with that “earth revolves around the sun” stuff!
When you focus on your natural strengths, you improve faster. Why? Because you have a natural facility in that area. It helps you to overcome inertia, because you see results faster. And since you see results faster, that in turns inspires you further. This lifts your skills, though somewhat unevenly. That’s when it’s time to address your weaknesses.
By lifting your level in the area of your strengths, you can then turn to your weaknesses and attack them from a higher level, which allows you, once again, to improve faster. This approach also helps you set higher goals for yourself, because you will naturally want to bring your weak points up to the higher level where you’ve brought your strong points.
Focusing exclusively on what needs to be improved is like flagellating yourself, except that it’s not the Middle Ages, and you probably aren’t walking in a weird procession. https://www.247locksmithfinder.com/residential-locksmith
The question is, how does one recognize his strengths? Everyone – every single aspiring artist – has certain things that they draw better than other things, or they simply have an easier time drawing certain subjects. Perhaps you have a tough time drawing hands, but you like drawing eyes. You’ve just discovered a strength. In the beginning, you may want to focus more on headshots than full body shots.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. But artists who are in demand are desirable because they excel at something. They specialize. They’re known for doing something better than other people. So here’s the takeaway for today:
No one ever got famous by concentrating solely on their weak points.
See you next week!
– Christopher Hart