Instruction vs. Teaching
the Art of Improvement
Teaching: the learning that happens internally through thoughtful and dedicated study
Instruction: the externally provided techniques to arrive at the teaching
Why is it important to differentiate the two?
it is difficult to gain the skills needed to paint and draw, regardless of whether or not it is representational or non-representational. The difficulty lies not in the actual technical application, but in the mystery that surrounds SKILL in the first place
Artistic Skill in painting and drawing
is the ability to voice a visual statement
so really it comes down to two things
How big is your visual vocabulary
How well are you using it?
Our concern when learning should never be about acquiring step by step method i.e. How to paint a rose. These are all paths that have been taken before by other artists.
The difference can be easily understood in the analogy of
learning another language
there are two ways to approach it:
learn predetermined key phrases (Hello, How are you? Where is the Restroom? etc.)
learn the sentence structure and lexicon (verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc.)
the first example is similar to learning a method
which is great for the quick fix but hard to apply individuality
The second example is the journey of an artist
the ever evolving ability to express your individual voice
everyone has the ability to express themselves!!!
we are constantly and continually doing this
The ART of expression has to do with not only the conscious choice to express a concept or idea, but how clear it comes across to the viewer
Learning is honing the already inherent tools that we posses
sharpening the blade
Someone can show you the technique for making the knife sharper