Want to Learn How to Paint? Learn to Draw First!!!

How will you know where to paint a brushstroke if you don’t know where it goes? Those who can draw, know how to see proportions and this skill is invaluable in art, whether you are a sculptor or a painter. Painting is simply putting down the correct color/light/dark brushstroke in the correct area on the canvas. It sounds simple when you think about it like this but we all know it is actually very difficult. When you learn to draw, that doesn’t simply mean that your hand can move gracefully with a pencil. Rather, it means your mind understands what it is drawing and is able to correctly record that understanding on paper. Painting is an artist’s understanding of that subject recorded on canvas. Can a painter paint a good painting if he or she doesn’t understand what they are looking at? No but If by some chance the painting is good, there is no question the painting would be a hundred times better if the artist knew how to draw. Drawing is simply a language that enables us to paint correctly.