Finished work vs practise?

[Punk-A-Cat]

I'm kind of stuck in a rut right now, looking for some other points of view from people who've figured this out already.

When I started out, I was doing finished pieces - they were pretty terrible, but I was spending a lot of time and effort on them, mostly portraits, they could take me days to complete. However, I couldn't see the mistakes in them - I knew they weren't right, but I had no idea why or how to fix them.

When I started to get serious about art I got into the "draw daily" "study figure drawing" "study study study" mindset, and I created many more unfinished/ rough sketches.

Now I feel like I can't take the time to finish anything - things that I would have spent a week on I do in a couple of hours. I feel like I'm consumed by the thought there isn't enough time, and not actually /working/ much, more time is spent in procrastination than drawing. I have started to feel like painting and rendering are time wasting, because they come easily, and drawing doesn't.

I love painting, it's my happy place, and if I could skip the drawing part - because I'm never happy with my accuracy, proportions, or any of it, - and just paint, I'd be really stoked. But of course the drawing part is the most important. So I feel like I should ignore finishing pieces in favour of getting drawing nailed, and as a result I feel like my ability to finish anything has slipped.

How important is it to be doing studies and pumping out drawings? I'm pushing myself to do so much, but generally not maintaining the momentum, and not finishing anything to a point I'm actually happy with means there is no self reward happening even.

For example - figure drawing, I do 30 mins daily, but they are sketchy, should I be then focusing on one figure and rendering it out fully? My people drawing skills are frankly terrible, I can't get faces, I don't know how to get expressions, and when I draw from imagination they look stiff  flat and lifeless, even when I start with an action line.

I'm just feeling really frustrated with myself and kind of burnt out and stretched in too many directions at once. I have works in my gallery that I look at now and I don't know if I could reproduce, it's like I've gotten worse rather than improved.

I get this is probably a common thing  with self learners - the 'am I learning right, what should I be doing?' but I guess I'm looking for some validation that it'll make sense at some stage, and things will.. if not get easier, at least get less confusing and frustrating.

I'm so grateful to have found Crimson Daggers, the supportive atmosphere is really freeing, and I am starting to remember art should be fun, not self flagellation, I love art, it's my passion, but recently it's become more of a task master and a source of guilt and frustration.

[vlada]

Hey hey!

I'm stuck in a similar position, I feel your pain. Finishing things is tough for sure, especially if they are personal pieces/done for a portfolio.

First of all, if you are already drawing every day you have developed better habits that will help you continue growing. Second, more good news -- when you are feeling frustrated by your work, when the stuff you produce doesn't seem to live up to what you were intending, it means you are on the cusp of even bigger improvement!

I feel like you've hit the nail on the head already: you need to give yourself smaller bites so you can chew them properly. So if you are struggling with anatomy, go back to learning figure structure. Michael Hampton, Loomis, and Proko all offer methods for visualizing the figure that are vital for building believable poses. If you have trouble with structure, go even further back: do you know how to translate simple forms in space? Do you understand basic perspective? Gesture?

All study is good study, but studies are only as useful as your focus, and will only be as successful as your previous knowledge allows.

You need to start allowing yourself time for "fun" pieces if you aren't already, and not go into anything with the mindset that it needs to be perfect. It will never be perfect, no matter how much you study, you will always be growing like a beautiful artistic amoeba. If finishing pieces and painting makes you happy you need to keep doing it or studies will be rendered* useless!

I hope this helps, and I really hope you find some way out of the plateau-- because that's where you are right now, and you see a wall ahead, but I am confident that you will make your way over it :D

*pun not intended

[VoodooMama]

hey!
I think both practice and finished should be important. Practice should help further your finished pieces. And if imagination work is what got you interested in drawing in the first place then don't stop those if it's fun for you.

From what you write it seems the most frustrating thing for you is that you can't get the accuracy right.
So you can focus on that, make a drawing where you really push yourself to get the likeness of what you're drawing.

If you find figures too hard you could practice with simpler things like still lives of simple shaped objects, apples, oranges etc. And do them from life too. This will help develop your observational skills and how to translate a 3d object into a 2d surface. 
Don't rush through them , spend the time you need to make it look real.

It's ok if the first ones aren't as good as you'd like them to be, as long as you keep pushing for accuracy. You dont even have to post them anywhere, these are just for learning. As you get better at accuracy you move onto more complex shapes.

If you have time I really recommend to do one still life a day, doesn't have to be a drawing, it could be  a painting of a simple object since you mention you like to paint, and remember to go for accuracy, if it's the main thing you're trying to learn at the moment. In a few months you will see improvement , or maybe faster depending on how you learn ^^

This would be a complementary exercise by the way, everything you already enjoy doing, (your own works, gestures, figures, etc) you should keep doing if it's important to you.

[Punk-A-Cat]

Thanks, the insight is really helpful. I've made myself a to do list for each day so I procrastinate less, knowing what to do seems to help, and going back and hitting the basics again actually feels really good, it's less stressful - guess I need a bit of downtime without stopping drawing.

[PurpleScissors]

Hi Punk,
I now this is a late answer but I still want to share this with you.
I have been there too. Because of all the frustrations and discourage I quit drawing for a long time. That was a big mistake. But I am sure you wil not do the same thing because even writing in here is an evidence that you care enough.
I think all the greatest artists once experienced the feeling you are experiencing now. It s a common trap but as Vlada has said you are on the edge of a wall that you will pass through in some way.
I also dig in studies and feel like I am not doing enough finished works. My advice to you and to myself is to carry on the studies especially the one you are weaker (for example I do environments for now) , and try to finish some personal work/project which you will enjoy while doing it. As the time passes they will be close enough to be perfect.
To sum up, continue to do the studies and try to accomplish a finished work whenever you have an idea (do not delay it). Lastly, you are not alone and you can always contact with me on this or any other problems.

[Punk-A-Cat]

Thanks, good advice is never too late :)
I hit the wall pretty hard, but most of it, was just me expecting too much of myself, once I realised it's not going to happen as soon as I want and started being kind to myself the wall kind of crumbled away.
I'm trying to do a mix of studies and finished work now, but the finished stuff is only things I /want/ to do.. so in a way they are rewards for myself, because I love painting.
And I'm not looking at my timed figure drawing etc work, I do them, I see the mistakes, I try and fix on the next one, but beyond that, they go in a pile and I forget about them, because I was getting really down on myself over them.. and it's not helpful to beat myself up, I'm just a beginner, I can't expect stuff to look good!

[JonHop]

Hi Punk,

You've received some good advice here, I would like to just add something, I can see you said you've already started doing what you enjoy, keep doing that, people will see in the piece that you enjoyed doing it. I also want to mention that very fact you are beginning to see all the mistakes shows vast improvement in your eye (ability to see incorrect proportions etc), that may not have shown itself so much yet in your work but you are building a foundation where all the other skills will be built on top, no-one puts the roof on a house first ;).

I've had a quick look at your deviantart and sketchbook and one thing I noticed is that your values tend to be very similar, your last watercolour painting is very nice but I believe an exercise that will help you is to make a piece where you intentionally experiment try another layer where you add in darker value and hue shifts etc these things may be seen as 'mistakes' but you will begin to learn very fast from doing this type of thing, don't be afraid to 'ruin' a piece, and most importantly have fun with it!

Hope that helps :).

[Punk-A-Cat]

Thanks Jonhop, yes I have real trouble with value, I haven't figured out why I'm so afraid of taking darks really dark, a tiny bit with the watercolour is that everything dries lighter, which is why I'm trying to get ink in on the mix - at least there is some darker values added by that. I guess when I think it's dark enough, I still need to add in at least one more layer. I'll have a go at what you said, it sounds like a fun exercise anyway :D