The Artist’s Most Important Skill: Learning to See Again

Well, welcome back to the studio and happy new year. I thought I'd start the year off with some reflection on the previous year, 2025, not the easiest year. And going forward, I think there's a major challenge to all of us. Something I was observing over these holiday period as well is just how modern life, you know, there's talk about AI, but without even getting into that subject, let's look at technology. And it was quite a thing observing how technology was getting in the way of everybody just relaxing and having a good time, and if relaxing and having a good time is difficult enough, how difficult is it for artists today to focus on their art, their creativity, getting things done in the studio? So I thought maybe I'll start a new series of chats. Something about creating art in the age of distraction or maybe just art and modern life. How we try to balance these two things out. Well, I think it all comes down to attention. What is vying for your attention? It's a very noisy world. There's a lot going on all the time. I think this gets in the way of our ability to see things as an artist, close observation and noticing things, actually noticing and slowing down long enough to get something meaningful out of your subject, absorb it, think about it and then create. Robert Henry is a famous artist and teacher, and he wrote a very influential book called The Art Spirit. One of his quotes says the object isn't to make art, it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable. And I suspect that being in that state requires us to see clearly and to be present, and especially today when our attention is constantly being pulled and shaped and monetized. And there's all these agendas going on which keeps us distracted and divided. And it really does build up your anxiety as well. If you let the media world get into you or get in your way, it's going to leave you exhausted and, as I said, anxious and distracted, maybe even fearful. And then we start talking to other people and we share these ideas and these things that have been thrown at us. And they've also seen them. And it becomes this massive loop of ranges from outrage and the borderline hysteria, in some cases, into just a sense of hopelessness. And you go along thinking, you know, what's the point? So we've got to get away from those things and get them out of our life because they're doing nothing for us. And here's another extract I want to read out of Robert Henry's book on the idea of seeing like an artist. Let's have a look at that. So in his book on seeing, he says, it is harder to see than it is to express. And now he's talking about, let's say, working from a model. He says, the whole value of art rests in the artist's ability to see well into what is before him. This model is wonderful in as many ways as there are pairs of eyes to see her. Each view of her is an original view and there is a response in her awaiting each view. If the eyes of a Rembrandt are upon her, she will rise in response and Rembrandt will draw what he sees. And it will be beautiful. Rembrandt was a man of great understanding. He had the rare power of seeing deep into the significance of things. And then he goes on to also discuss technique and the part that plays. And he says, to study technique means to make it, to invent it, to take the raw material each time anew and twist it into shape. It must be made to serve a specific purpose. The same technique must never be used again. Each time it must be made new and fresh. A stock set of phrases won't do. The study is a development of wit. So I think it's important there to realise that every person has a different way of seeing and that is going to help them express something different, we can all look at the same subject and express it differently if we observe it closely. Also technique. Technique is not the objective. It is just the means to express what we see. Ideally, the technique remains invisible. The viewer only has to appreciate what the artist sees. So we must see the relationships of light and shadow and colour and temperature and mood and gesture. And this leads us to a connection with the subject and our own art spirit. Seeing is an active choice. It's not a passive act. Things that are passive that get in our way are doom scrolling and just flicking through channels on the TV. All of that is distraction. Don't just look at the world. We've got to actually see and seek it out, seek the essence, understand it. It's become harder and harder to do this because, as I said, we live in an age of constant interruption and screens are training us to just skim over things, to get that soundbite, to react, to make us either feel outrage or fear. And all of this is dividing our attention and dividing us, keeping us all off balance. Who really needs more drama in their life? Did you go through a drama-filled holiday season? Did you notice how people find it so difficult to concentrate and focus, have a decent conversation? Do people sit down and instead of having real conversation, do the cell phones come out and everyone's scrolling? And then you've got to show somebody a real or a meme and expect that to be conversation. I want to get us seeing these things, the things that are getting in our way and to develop the insight and just the, you know, the self-discipline to put that aside, switch off the phone, put it on mute and get to focus on your creativity, your painting. Observe the subject. What do you want to say about it? Take this opportunity to start the year and recommit to getting your time back and your attention back into your control. It's not about multitasking. It's about unitasking. That should be the goal. So when you paint, you're training your mind to stay with one thing. Work on that idea. Tie your mind and your thoughts into the subject. Explore it. Paint the same subject many times. Like Robert Henry was saying, just running through a few stock phrases isn't enough to have a meaningful conversation or maybe write a book or an essay. What you need to do with your studies is it helps you to develop your wit, in other words, your understanding and to be able to communicate in what may seem like even an effortless way, something fresh. Just another thought as well is the issue of fear. We know how fearful we can be if we let perfectionism and things like that get in the way. But also the fear of what's going on in the world. What might happen this year? It's all going to be doom and gloom. No, it's not really. The world will carry on the way it carries on. All we can control is ourselves and our response, how we react. And our job as artists is to just calm down a bit and show the world that beauty and meaning and seeing things is just as important, maybe more important than it's ever been, some inner clarity. So we don't just react. We can remain quiet, contemplate, be calm. Give that sense of calmness to others. Let that calmness help other people as well. So New Year isn't about grand resolutions or maybe just this change is quite a big step for you and for others. But I think if we just take a bit of time and step back and and put those distractions aside and recognise them for what they are, let's have more analogue moments. I just want to say we had an analogue moment on Christmas morning when the Wi-Fi went down and people were a little tense about that. They wanted to check their messages. Oh, Christmas messages coming in, we sending messages out. But what about all of us that were in the room? That's where the focus should have been. So we had an analogue moment and could put all of those messages and alerts aside and focus on real people, real conversation. It was actually a really nice little moment. So self-awareness, observation, being aware of what's going on around us is more important than ever. And decide, are you happy with the way that you are dealing with your circumstances? Is your art getting the attention it deserves? Is there something you can improve just by taking things a little calmer and making some time? So that's the thought. Less drama, less distraction. And I hope we can get back into some great painting this year. So if that sounds like a good idea, make sure you subscribe to this channel as well, because I'm going to be doing a few things differently this year, bringing in a bit more watercolour as well. I also want to invite you to join me on my membership channel where we can get together each month and do some focused painting, really get to know a subject. And you can find out more about that on my painting school as well. And finally, don't forget, tomorrow, 2nd of January, 2026, the third edition of the Create Art magazine is being published. If you haven't heard about that yet or haven't got your copy, have a look at the free subscription. Yes, it's free and it'll always be free. You can subscribe and get your digital copy every second month. So check that out in the description, the Create Art magazine. I know you'll enjoy it and it's packed with inspiration. So with that thought, I wish you all the best for the year and a little more creativity in the coming 12 months. Until next time, happy painting and cheers for now.