Historically, art emerges when man goes beyond the satisfaction of his immediate physical needs, practical-utilitarian interests and goals and gains the opportunity to create. Thus, art is a special form of human exploration of the world, in which the world is presented in art through the forms of human activity, communication, self-realization. It gives a momentary reflection and unfolded projection of human existence (see Genesis), its spatial and temporal unity with the world. Art understood as a conventional whole can be interpreted as a picture of the world or a peculiar ontology focused on the dynamics of object and sensual existence of people. Being a special form of human activity, art combines in its images object, communicative, and individual aspects of activity, so it preserves the stimulating, transforming, and cognitive principles, as well as collective and personal representations. In different epochs and in different directions of art, the accents in the correlation of these principles differ considerably, yet they are always present, and their correlation remains a constant subject for discussion about the purpose of art, about its role in the development of society.

Consideration of the phenomenon of art presupposes a complex division of human activities, when each of them is quite clearly isolated and then established in technical means; accordingly, the specificity of art is revealed against the background of other types of activity: material and spiritual production, religion, morality, science. The problem, however, is that art preserves in itself the synthetic character of human activity, although at different stages of history and in different types of culture there are noticeable differences in the dominant images of art, the ways of their creation, the schemes of their functioning and translation. Solving the question of the specificity of art “in general terms” generates many difficulties. It would be more productive to examine the specificity of art on a particular social “background”, in particular systems of society, since each historical epoch has had its own understanding of the phenomenon of art, which is determined by the place and role of the artist in the system of social division of labour and his position in society. The question of the preservation of the specificity of art in the changing systems of division and cooperation of human activity is then essentially linked to the question of how art retains its specific position by shifting accents in the use of figurative means of human exploration of the world.

Contemporary art is a complex system of communicative forms and directions, often united by the so-called “postmodernist project. The peculiarity of various “modernist” artifacts has become the direct presence of the author-performer in the implementation of the artistic act, which is aimed at public provocation, which ends with the performance. As for the artistic (aesthetic) concept, it is realized in modernism in the form of a program, a manifesto and anthropological reflections. In general it can be stated that the phenomenon of “modern AND. – is rather a humanitarian-anthropological project, sharply, sometimes aggressively directed against the totally dominant systems of social self-reference – political and economic. Because of this, the communities that emerge in the process of the art act are marginal and temporary. However, “contemporary art” in its avant-garde forms is far from exhausting contemporary art culture, which is held by the classical paradigm formalized in the form of classical art education, the concept of the museum, academic institutions, which are included in the system of mass communication and in relation to which contemporary forms of artistic activity identify themselves in aesthetic and artistic terms.

The process of art’s awareness of its representational and expressive possibilities creates a significant number of concepts and terms related to the structure of art, such as “form” and “content”, “artistic image”, “symbol” and “allegory”, “artistic imagination”, “genius” and “talent” and others. These concepts are important for understanding the essence of art. Along with the study of artistic creativity, the study of the laws and principles of aesthetic perception plays a significant role. Along with aesthetics, such disciplines as art psychology, art theory and history, sociology of art, and culturology play an important role in understanding the essence of art and its social role. Modern cultural studies consider art in the system of other cultural phenomena and global changes of different types of cultures (“national – global”, “high – low”, “mass – elitist”, and the like).

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Many students write me that they have never drawn before, so they are afraid to start, some of them are worried because they have no art education, and another one drew 10 years ago and now he feels that it is too late, that he forgot everything, lost his talent, etc. In general, people who are creative by nature are often afraid to start, afraid to go back to drawing, afraid that nothing will work out. On the other hand, they realize that time passes and no action is taken. It also often happens that someone thinks they are not creative at all, but in their dreams this person draws, paints, creates and builds. What to do with all this and how to move from a “dead point”? So, let’s break it down in order.

“I’m afraid to start painting, because I have no prior art education.

This is fear number one, according to my students’ letters. Really, this fear is one of the most popular and paralyzing creativity fears I met with beginners. Especially for him I have a very strong and compelling argument. Did you know that most famous artists did not go to art schools as children, and many simply could not enter the Academy of Art at the first, second or even third time, while many who did enter were kicked out of the same Academy for “talentlessness” or “inadequacy”.

“I’m afraid it’s too late for me to start.”

This is fear number two in frequency, perhaps. It’s a waste of time to think, “Oh, my time is gone, my parents didn’t let me go to art school when I was a kid, now it’s too late, I’m already 20/30/40/70 (insert your own) years old and time is gone, opportunities are gone…”

A bit surprising comments “you draw so beautifully, I would like to draw as well” or “I will never learn to draw as you do”, and also always put ellipses at the end. I don’t really understand people like that, why draw like me when you can reveal your individuality? Yes, copying is useful (especially the old masters) for mastering your hand and working on your technique, but you have your own style, you just need to develop it. Maybe you’re too lazy to spend time on drawing and fill those minutes and hours when you could have been drawing by falling down the rabbit hole of social media, losing an hour or so there every day? Start drawing instead, you won’t miss anything particularly important if you don’t look at your newsfeed, the whole secret is to take the time to draw, you know? Take Your Time. Regularly.

You need to take a sheet of paper and a pencil and immerse yourself in a different state, in a state of creativity and creation, rather than consuming an endless stream of information. Why draw like some other artist? Why be like him, like her? It’s something out of adolescence, when you want to be like that actress or singer. Being yourself is the most interesting thing. Still, one day you’ll miss the real you and “come back” to yourself

“I’m afraid I’ve forgotten how to draw.”

Going back to drawing is even more psychologically difficult than starting. The advantage of a beginner is that he progresses quickly, he sees his immediate growth. With returning is much more difficult, as here you used to draw very well, probably even went to art school, everybody praised you, admired you for the talented child, and then, returning to drawing after such, to put it mildly, “long break” (sometimes in some tens years), of course, there is a huge lack of confidence in yourself. Believe me, all artists have a “fear of coming back” to drawing, and I am no exception. And the longer the period of “not painting”, the harder it is.

The fear that “it’s not the right time yet”, the fear-excuse “later, later, when we move/if my daughter passes her exams/if summer comes, then I’ll start painting”, etc. Also very popular is the fear of comparison and condemnation of others. The answer to all these fears is the same, and it’s simple and complicated at the same time – just start painting and don’t stop at the first failure. Keep going and keep going.

It is very dangerous to put off creativity “for later,” to put off your interests for later, yourself for later, because the further and longer you put it off – the weaker your faith in yourself becomes, but the stronger your fear becomes and the harder it will be to overcome later.

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Who is an artist by profession An artist is a creative person. Inspiration and the desire to create lives in him. But if a person calls art his profession, it means that his goal is to earn money with his talent.

There is no definite source from which this talent is drawn. Art is not mathematics, where you can sit down and solve a problem according to a certain scheme. Every artist sees the world differently, and inspiration visits as instantly as it leaves. Artists come in different forms and are also engaged in different directions. Let’s talk briefly about each of them. What types are artists?

Painter. Draws, as a rule, from nature, working on their own or in the workshops where paintings are written to order.
Copyist. Creates copies of famous artists’ paintings, works in studios where such works are commissioned.

Caricaturist. Creates caricatures of different people, life situations or political situations. Most often works in newspaper and magazine publishing houses, in advertising.

Illustration artist. Engaged in creating illustrations wherever they are needed. Can work in book publishing, advertising, cartoon and computer graphics.

Graphic Artist. Creates graphic images, mostly using a computer. Works in publishing houses, more often referred to as a designer.

Artist-restorer. Specializes in restoration of art objects. He is sometimes counted among the staff of museums and scientific organizations.

Fashion designer. Is engaged in creation of sketches of clothes and footwear. Works in factories, fashion houses, ateliers.

Jeweler. Makes various jewelry and bijouterie. Works in jewelry shops and jewelry factories. All artists are united by talent and unconventional outlook on life. Some may be inspired by an evening sunset, while others may be inspired by a carelessly hung rag on a chair.

How does the artist see”, “where does the inspiration come from”, “how does the creative process take place” and “what emotions does the artist feel when creating a work of art” each of the artists will answer in their own way. And we will try to find out together with our experts. How does an artist see? Many artists say they see with lines, shapes, spots, tones, light, shadow. Our expert sees “beauty.”

Where does an artist draw inspiration from? The answer to this question is as ambiguous as the previous one. Every artist has his or her own sources of inspiration: Inspiration for an artist, as for any creative person, does not always come, so there are long stagnation periods. You can look for it in music, literature, or be inspired by famous painters. But I think it comes all of a sudden: you’re walking down the street, you see something unusual, an idea appears and you develop it.

What and how does an artist work? First of all, an artist works with his soul and hands. Not everyone can take a brush and create a masterpiece. There should always be something inside that pushes you to paint a picture. But in the first stages, if you have not yet discovered the talent, you need to start with the materials. Let’s break down what materials an artist uses.

1. Paints. There are four kinds: oil, watercolor, gouache and acrylic. Usually an artist finds himself in one thing and works with this material. Watercolor is painted only with a lot of water. Without it the colors won’t give the effect of lightness and finesse of the image. Gouache is thicker than watercolor and lays down more densely, so less water is used when creating a picture. Acrylic combines the properties of oil and watercolor. It can be used dry by simply squeezing it out of a tube or diluted with water. Oil paints are used with a thinner. They do not need water and take a long time to dry.

2. Brushes. Brushes can be synthetic or made of wool: pony, goat, squirrel, pig, sable, badger and columnar. You can choose one for yourself according to the type of paint you want to use. “Pig” and “badger” are most suitable for oil paints. “Squirrel” and “goat” work best with watercolors. Synthetic brushes are used for acrylics. “Pony”, “sable” and “columnar” are universal. They are used to paint with all kinds of paints.

3. Pencils. There are simple and colored pencils. With colored pencils there are usually no difficulties, and artists buy a set of the most famous companies, such as Faber-Castell, Koh-I-Noor, Lyra.

How to become famous as an artist? In the 21st century, almost all creative people’s fame comes through the Internet. To start with, you can try to create a page on Instagram. This is the most suitable way of self-promotion and earning money by selling paintings. Look for contests for artists on the Internet – there are quite a few of them now: free and paid. Somewhere for the victory are awarded an impressive cash prize, and somewhere give interesting and valuable gifts, such as certificates for training in various art and design schools.

An artist’s earnings are linked to his fame. Of course, you can always sit down with paintings in the passage of the avenue. But it is better to follow the traditional methods and become known first in small circles, and then expand these circles. The primitive way – to put an ad on ad sites (avito, yula and others) and try to sell paintings there. Another way is through exhibitions. If you decide to make your own or participate in someone else’s, then there is a chance to find a buyer there. A third way is to do custom work. This can be both large, long works and spot orders that need to be done at an accelerated pace. Sign up with a recruiting service or freelancer exchange and expect your first orders. Don’t worry if you are just starting to gain experience – your client will come to your level.

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