What if you could improve your artistic eye in just 10 mins a day?

Would you do it?

You might think that it's not enough time to make a difference...

"don't I need to spend hours and hours?!"

Well, yes if you are creating a big project you need hours.

But if you want:

1) to keep your hand in the game during a busy season of life ..or

2) stay engaged while traveling/away from your studio ..or

3) a daily practice to help you boost your ability to see 

You can do it in less time than you imagine. Think about it.

10 mins a day is an hour a week. (10 x 6 days... you can take 1 day off ;)

Don't you think an hour of deliberate practice will make a difference?

 Why not put it to the test this week?

Here are 3 simple ways to practice SEEING anywhere, with very little equipment:

1) Drawing/ sketching from observation

This is an excellent way to train your hand/eye coordination.

You could stop right now and spend 10 minutes sketching the shape of something around you (choose something simple if you are new, like an apple)

Focus on capturing the large shape (not the details).

Notice how much you discover that you weren't noticing before.

2) Analyzing a work of art

Just passively looking at art won't improve your eye... but analyzing can. 

Why do you think sports teams study the recording of games of competition?

How often do you pause to analyze a sculpture that you see? 

You can look for: 

What techniques did they use?

Why might they have chosen those techniques?

Notice if you have an emotional response and ask yourself: what specifically about the composition, shapes, or narrative is conveying that emotion visually to you?

Image: Camille Claudel, Age of Maturity, 1899

3) Looking around you (in a new way)

Spend a few minutes developing your spatial awareness by looking at your environment through fresh eyes.

Can you notice the objects around you...

What material are they?

What volume do they take up in the room?

What is their relationship to the space around them? 

How does their visual form suggest their function?

Spending time engaging your brain in seeing, observing and analyzing the world around you through the lens of FORM will not only improve your artistic eye... but it will also give you a greater appreciation of the moment.

Isn't that the point of it all, anyways - to enhance your experience of life? 

What to Do Next

It's easy to choose to spend a few minutes each day enhancing your artistic eye!

Here's how to get started:

1) choose one of those techniques 

2) pick a consistent time of day to practice

3) commit to spending 10 mins a day this next week!

It's not about the amount of time you have, it's about the dedication you have towards using the time available in the best way possible.

So start with just 10 minutes!