Have you ever thought about how the curve of your artistic journey looks like? (or you might think of it as a “learning to paint curve”).

Curves of different artists are all unique, as lines on the palm of the hand or a signature or lines you draw.

A great mentor has this ability to sense the difficulties and see the opportunities you face  in different parts of your own curve. And to react accordingly, facing you with the just right next challenge.

Sometimes, a challenge feels like “learning”. I then hear people say: “it is hard” or “this requires full concentration” and so on.

And sometimes, a challenge feels like “playing”. It requires the artist to enter the state of unconditional openness and play with the material. But make no mistake: while playing, you are discovering new possible developments for your art (so you are learning indeed).

Or a challenge can feel like “researching one’s inner world”…

In order to keep the curve of the artistic journey dynamic, it is good to interweave different learning modes (these and others). The most common mistake people eager to learn make is to forget to play (or underestimate play). So, always nurture your inner artist and never forget to play;)