I want to paint again, be an artist. The first step of being an artist graphic design? Hmm… I wonder what James Victore would say. What would Corita Kent say?

In this post, we are going to answer what is the most important part of being an artist. I will share the answer that I gave someone who asked me this question. Then we’ll paint flowers because painting and making art always gives clarity.

Is learning graphic design the first part of being an artist?

Before I give my answer, I want to say that my response is coming from my heart, my expertise and what I have heard from other artists. The first most important part of being an artist is, what do you have to say. Yes, graphic design is valuable because you can use these tools to tell your story. The keywords here are tell your story.

There are many many artists who didn’t go to art school. These artists went to the school of creating art every day. Cat Coq did go to school and worked in graphic design. In her free time, she painted. These projects eventually became her full-time career. What a dream right? So, all we have to do is be ourselves and paint from that perspective. Yes!

Whatever your business is, draw that. I for example love nature. Going for walks and colorful flowers have always been my passion. I like animals too. My inspiration comes from nature. When I paint from that perspective, it’s beautiful.

Here is a quick to-do list for artists who want to be an artist

• Quit saying you want to be an artist. You are an artist. I am
• Learn what you can about graphic design. This is a wonderful free course.
• Being an artist isn’t about how much money you make. Think about Van Gogh’s Life. Yes, you and I aren’t Van Gogh, but we can create our beautiful art.
• Get a notebook and draw the stuff you doodled when you were bored.
• Observe the world around you. How does it make you feel? Let these colors and patterns influence your work.
• Forget about perfection.
• Kids make the best art. You were once a kid. Paint like it!

Now That We Are Motivated Let’s Paint!

I am using watercolor to paint flowers. I’m going to loosely reference a photo and paint. My goal is to observe different types of flowers and paint them. My inspiration is the textured abstract flowers I see on Anthropologie store merchandise bags and window displays. Sometimes we artists loose ourselves thinking we need to paint a flower exactly as we see it rather than the expressive form.

I swatched my colors and am ready to paint more flowers! I was on Redbubble admiring another artist’s flower doodles. I was like, wow, I can do that! Let me doodle flowers my way. It’s your turn to paint flowers. What do you think about graphic design?

With Love,

Mireya