Painters, sculptors, and printmakers I talk to say that the only way they got anywhere with their art was through plain hard work. Don’t paint to perform, but pain to learn. Or even better, don’t learn to paint, paint to learn.
People talk about talent and expression and creativity, but most of the time, it’s about getting up in the morning, going into the studio when you really don’t feel like it, picking up the tool and making that first mark. Talent and expression and creativity will be there but none of it will grow if you don’t simply do the work.
Al Gury”Alla Prima, A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Direct Painting”