Farm Road: #12

Part of my “statement” I guess with this exercise (and why I am posting them on Facebook, especially the bad ones) is to illustrate how much time and effort goes into a craft.

I think a lot of people see someone do something well and it looks so effortless they think either “She is so talented, I could never do that.” Or “That looks so easy, anyone can do that.”

In reality, 98% of that proficiency is the result of hard work and practice. So, both sentiments are correct in a way. I could never do what she does, but it’s not because she is more talented than I am. It’s because I haven’t put in the same amount of effort as she has. At the same time, it is a really as easy as a talented craftsman makes it look – but only if you put the effort in up front to hone your craft.

That goes for anything – painting, woodworking, hanging drywall, programming, cleaning the bathroom, bagging groceries…

In this series, I start as a very green under-the-ears watercolor hobbyist. Every time I paint this, I am trying my hardest to make a painting I like. Hopefully, at the end of the month, I will be able to paint this well in about two hours. If I can achieve that, then that two hour painting will have required about 150 hours of practice, not including the hours spent reading up on watercolor, watching artists on YouTube, and doing drills to learn about values and washes and color theory, etc…

Anyone can be talented – with enough effort and practice.


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