“I can’t paint right now, but what else could I do to help me develop the skills I need to become an artist?” I didn’t want my lack of painting practice to derail me, so I was trying to think what I could do. One of the things I landed on was that I could try to work on developing my artistic vision.

As I talked about in my very first blog post, I don’t have the artistic vision I see in so many others. On top of that, I have an inability to form mental images. I can’t see things in my mind, at least not while I’m awake. I only recently learned there’s a word for it — aphantasia.

Does that mean I can’t develop artistic vision? I certainly hope not! According to various sources, it’s something that can be developed with consistent work, even if I can’t actually envision things the way others do. The Google AI overview had this to say about it:

Yes, you absolutely can develop your artistic vision through consistent practice, self-reflection, studying other art, and intentional creation, which helps you define your unique perspective, style, and purpose, transforming raw ideas into expressive, recognizable work over time.

This is actually a great template for developing my vision — and skills — as an artist. I would also add being more intentional about observing the world around us as well.

Paying close attention to how things look, interact with each other, etc. can help us develop our artistic vision and hone our skills when it comes to actually making art.

Sharpening Observational Skills

When we talk about developing the skill of observation to enhance our art, what are we talking about? In a nutshell, it’s about noticing things about the subject we want to capture with our art.

“Okay” you may say, “we’re supposed to be noticing things, but what, exactly, are some of the things we’re looking for?” I’m so glad you asked, ha ha! Here are some types of observations that can help us as we’re making our art:

1. Notice the big shapes.

If, instead of looking at individual elements, we look at our subject as a series of shapes, it can help us to recreate that same ‘look’ in our artwork. When you look at the subject as a whole, what shapes are you seeing? Do you see squares? Triangles? Parallel lines?

Once we notice which shapes seem to dominate, we can start to look at smaller shapes, and figure out how the various shapes fit together. That brings us to the next observation that can be helpful:

2. Take note of how the different shapes connect and interact with each other.

Noticing how the shapes connect and interact with each other helps us create a dynamic composition. It can also ensure we get proportions right.

Are shapes standing alone, or are there groups of the same shape? Are some groups of shapes larger than others? How large is one thing compared to another in the scene? What connects the various shapes?

Paying attention to these things can help us decide how we want to approach creating our work of art, what we want to include or exclude, and the feelings we want to evoke by creating this piece.

3. What values do you see when you look at your subject?

Value is how light or dark something is. Where are you seeing light spots? What are the darkest areas of your subject?

Figuring this out before you start painting is especially important in watercolor, because you want to preserve the highlights in your painting from the very beginning. It’s pretty easy to darken things up, but it’s really difficult to put highlights in later. Yes, you can lift out some paint, but it can be hard to get it as light as needed if you’ve gotten it too dark to begin with.

If you’re working from a reference photo, it can be really helpful to copy the photo in black and white. That really allows you to see the darkest, the middle, and the lightest tones (values), allowing you to preserve your highlights and get your darkest values dark enough.

4. Notice where the light is coming from, and how it hits your subject (and where it doesn’t show up).

I don’t know about you, but the first thing I notice when I look at anything is the light. I spend a lot of time in the early morning looking out my kitchen window. I can see the sun as it starts to come up and watch that purple, pink, and orange glow spread across the sky.

Watching where the light is, and where the shadows are cast, can give a touch of realism to your work. Skillful use of light and shadow can give your work depth and help evoke strong feelings in the viewer.

Once we’ve observed everything we do see, it’s time to notice what we don’t.

5. Make note of any negative space.

Just as important as noticing what is there is noticing what isn’t. As a newer painter, negative space is something I struggle with sometimes. In real life, not every inch of space is filled up.

For instance, if you’re looking up into the tops of trees, you’re going to see a lot of space that is nothing but sky. Trees don’t really look like those “lollipops” they taught us to draw in first grade, but learning to just leave some blank space can be hard.

Paying attention to where the ‘blanks’ are in our subject can be extremely helpful for this.

One other observational skill that can be helpful, though hard to pinpoint sometimes, is knowing what caught our attention about the subject to begin with.

6. Ask yourself, “What made me want to paint this in the first place?”.

What initially attracted you to this subject? Was it the way the light hit it? Was it a feeling it evoked? Is it a gorgeous landscape you want to try to capture?

Knowing what attracted you to your subject can help ensure you capture what it is that made it so special in the first place.

Observing closely and learning to see things in different way can help us develop our artistic vision and capture the beauty of the things we see around us in our artwork.

These are just a few of the things I’ve been noticing over these last couple of months as I worked on sharpening my observational skills, and I hope you find some of them helpful as you work on your art.

What are some things you’d add? Please share!