If you have been reading my blog for a while or follow any of my socials you will see that I don’t, I cannot just stick to one thing. Some weeks I put out digital art and others I may be doing water colours. It can appear scattered and unfocused and it’s actually discouraged in art circles. However, I have discovered I need variety because sometimes I need ink and sometimes I need graphite. It’s just the way I am. Some of my friends call this “squirreling”. Not in a hiding my nuts away in a tree stump kind of way but in the way a squirrels distraction quotient is high. I see where they are coming from but to me it’s multitasking. I have several areas of interest that I work through at the same time. It may look scattered but actually each facet of interest is interlinked and development in one area often informs another. I like to think of it as a more holistic approach to my art practice.
One of the main reasons I can flit between media with some success is because of my dedication to learning how to draw. Really, that’s the key to everything. That and the number 42. (Any other Hitchhikers Guide fans out there?) If your foundational skills are strong or at least improving consistently, then switching between media is actually fairly easy. There are core elements across several media that connect them. For example, transparent media can be layered to create different colors. This is true for watercolor, wax pencils, pastels and digital art. The same can be said for high flo acrylics and wax crayons. The key is finding what properties each hold and which can be shared. The techniques can vary somewhat, but once you understand the mechanics these skills become transferable.
So, I encourage you, practice drawing in it’s most basic form. Even if you have spent a decade or more with a pencil in your hand. Practice is a constant not unlike an athlete keeping their muscles primed. Try different media and allow yourself to play. You can be a watercolorist who also enjoys ink. You can paint the most exquisite works of awesome with pastels and still take the time to explore acrylics. Who knows, you may find a way to use them both together in a way only you know how to do. You are only as confined as your curiosity allows. That said, if you are enthralled by gouache or are so deep into oil that nothing else calls to you, that’s ok too. We don’t have to conform to anyone else’s idea of what your art practice should be.
