Why Painting is Like Golf...Part 1

My husband plays golf, and in his library of golf instruction manuals is a little gem that I have read from cover to cover... more than once.

The book is about playing golf well and the author David Graham, has an impressive golf record with many wins, including: an Australian Open , a PGA title, a US Open title and career earning of over 4 million dollars. (I have never heard of him). It is called: Mental Toughness Training for Golf.

I have no intention of taking up golf -  I did try to play on one occasion many many years ago - but frankly, I can't see the appeal. I am certainly not short of reading material, I very seldom read a book a second time, so what is it that appeals to me about this innocuous little book.

Let me take you through it:

Chapter 1: Learning from My Personal Struggle 

 Skip that for now - move on. 

Chapter 2: Why is Golf So Hard?

Bear with me you non-golfers - this will all make sense in a bit... 

Graham says

"What makes golf so challenging, so maddeningly difficult? How can the game turn you inside out emotionally, make you feel euphoric one minute and completely frustrated the next? Why is it so easy on some days and impossible on others?"

Sound familiar?

You're getting this now, aren't you?....For 'Golf' substitute 'Painting' ...

Why is Painting so hard, so challenging, so maddeningly difficult? How can you feel euphoric one minute and completely frustrated the next...

"The answer, I feel, lies in the nature of the game. It is impossible to master...As I see it, amateurs would benefit by understanding how difficult the game is. It is hard for them to accept bad shots, tough luck, slumps and the slowness with which they improve. They get discouraged. They scold themselves. They take it out on family and friends. Sometimes they quit playing altogether." 

Can you see why I was hooked?

Graham says that it is important to

• recognise the inherent difficulty of golf (in our case, painting) and to learn how to respond with enthusiasm and determination. 
• When you can identify the different ways that golf (painting) works on you emotionally and psychologically, then you can move on to the more advanced techniques for acquiring mental toughness that he discusses in the book.

So, difficulty number one:

Golf is time consuming - uh, I mean - Painting is time consuming

And because it takes so much time, there is plenty of time to think, and not all of that thinking is productive or helpful. So here are 4 strategies to manage that time - straight from the golf pro:

1. Keep your emotions in check

The first pitfall related to time, is the tendency to experience extreme highs and lows. Ideally you should remain on an even keel regardless of how the painting session is going. Don't get despondent if the brush strokes won't fall in the right place, or the colours are getting muddy - chin up! Keep going. Sometimes you need to work through a difficult patch to get to a better place.

2. Maintain your inner rhythm

Golfers (and other professional athletes ) have pre-shot routines, deliberate repetitive actions that they perform each time they are about to make a shot. The pre-shot routine sharpens focus, enhances rhythm and loosens tension in the body. 

Now it may seem silly to suggest that an artist should adopt a pre-shot routine, but chances are that you already have one without realising it. I find that setting my paints out not only prepares my equipment for painting, but it prepares my mind for the task at hand too. It is one of the small repetitive actions that I take to help me get my creative juices flowing.

In her excellent book The Creative Habit, acclaimed choreographer, Twyla Tharp talks about the importance of establishing 'rituals of preparation':

"It's vital to establish some rituals - automatic, but decisive patterns of behaviour - at the beginning of the creative process, when you are most at peril of turning back, chickening out, giving up, or going the wrong way."

A pre-shot routine - a creative ritual, removes the question - Why am I doing this? It reminds me that I am doing the right thing - I know what I am doing, I have done this before - and it helps to establish the inner rhythm essential to start creating.

3. Don't try to concentrate for the entire round

When we take up painting, we imagine that we will spend many hours in front of the easel knocking out our masterpieces. In reality, it is difficult to sit and paint for long periods of time and not feel fidgety, irritable and bored.  There must be artists with excellent powers of concentration who can paint for hours, but the rest of us need to take breaks (and eat snacks).

Break your paintings sessions up into manageable amounts of time, and take a break, a coffee or a walk between these. Start with short bursts of painting and work up to longer sessions when you have built up your painting stamina. If the task seems manageable, it will feel less like a chore and be much more enjoyable.

4. Expel negative thoughts

Because painting is time consuming, and as novice painters, we tend to paint as many bad paintings as we do good ones, there is a lot of free time for negative thoughts to creep in. Managing this is difficult, and even experienced painters struggle to be positive about their work all of the time. You can't prevent negative thoughts but you need to have an overall positive attitude that will help to expel those negative thoughts when they pop up.

Setting a positive mood might require a little self trickery, but it might be a good idea to repeating positive statements in your 'pre-shot routine'. "Gosh I feel good today."..."I love these new brushes."... "That is a fabulous still life that I have set up." Positive statements, even if you don't mean them, have a way of making you feel upbeat and confident.

David Graham says

"In all the years I have played with Jack Nicklaus, the cruellest thing I ever heard him say to himself was, "Oh, Jack!" He knew he could do better and he resolved to give himself a chance to do better. He didn't resign himself to feeling badly about himself or his game."

And so, to summarise:

• Painting is difficult.
• Novice or beginner painters would be better off knowing that painting is a difficult skill to master.
• One difficulty is that painting is time consuming allowing too much time to think.
• Combat this with 4 strategies:

1. Keep your emotions in check

2. Maintain an inner rhythm with a creative 'pre-shot routine'

3. Don't try to concentrate for the whole session

4. Expel negative thoughts

Who would have thought that painters could learn so much from GOLF!


Watch out for Why Painting is Like Golf...Part 2 where we will be looking at: The Elements of Mental Toughness.

35 Ways to Radically Improve your Paintings.

1. Cultivate a sense of wonder about your work and your ability to make it.
2. Don't entertain negative or disparaging thoughts about your paintings.
3. Throw yourself into the process and enjoy it.
4. Be a learner at heart.
5. Paint things that really excite you - not what you 'should' be painting.
6. Plan your paintings before you start, but be open to the 'happy accident'.
7. Choose a format that suits your subject matter.  You don't have to settle with a standard size.
8. Practise as much as possible.
9. Improve your drawing skills.
10. Keep sketchbooks, journals and notebooks and use them regularly.
11. Read about art in books and magazines.
12. Buy good quality materials.
13. Learn about your materials and experiment with them.
14. Choose the right medium for the subject matter.
15. Look after your brushes and they will work better for you.
16. Know the difference between transparent and opaque colours, and know when to use them.
17. Keep your water or turps clean when you are working.
18. Don't mix too many colours together - keep them fresh.
19. Use perspective correctly, but don't let it be mechanical and boring.
20. Group objects in interesting ways.
21. Use light and dark to establish mood.
22. Make the negative spaces interesting and varied.
23. Use more detail in the focal point of the picture.
24. Balance the dark areas and light areas so that the painting does not seem lopsided.
25. Stand back from your work to gauge its overall effect. 
26. Check your tone, tone is more important than colour.
27. Paint what you see, not what you know.
28. Find a teacher that inspires you.
29. Make friends with other artists and share ideas.
30. Visit galleries and museums and look closely at the work.
31. Paint often.
32. Paint every day.
33. Think about and write about your work.
34. Store your finished works carefully so that they don't get damaged.
35. Be grateful. That painting never existed before you made it.

The Top 10 Reason Why We Make Art

When we want to make art but don't know where to start, or feel stuck in a rut or a slump - it can help to think about why other people make art.

Thinking generally about why humans make art, can help us to clarify specifically why we want to make art ourselves.

Humans are driven to create and there are probably as many reasons to make art as there are people, but here are the top 10 reasons why people have made art throughout all time.

1. We make art to tell a story.

Art is primarily a powerful form of communication, a visual language - we speak to our viewers through our work and we tell them things. The stories we relate may be other peoples' stories, our own stories, those of our family or culture, or even universal stories. The desire to communicate is an overwhelming human need that has found expression in all forms of creative work throughout history.

2. We make art to honour the gods.

Western art was once dominated by images of Christianity. The Church was a huge patron of the arts, commissioning countless important religious work. In times when few people were literate, the walls and ceilings of churches were painted with scenes to tell stories of the bible.  Wealthy individuals also commissioned devotional objects from artists. Prior to Christian times, art of pre-history and of the Greek and Roman periods incorporated religious and mythological themes. In modern times, with the decline of organised religion, many artists make work to meet a personal spiritual need.  

3. We make art to mirror our external reality.

Artists have painted nature for centuries, but until the Dutch artists of the 17th century started to paint landscapes and still life for their own sake, it served as only a backdrop to more 'important' subject matter. Since that time, we have been captivated by the people, objects and natural wonders of the world around us and compelled to capture a likeness of them for posterity.  

4. We make art to clarify our internal reality.

Our internal world is rich with thoughts, feelings and emotions that we draw on to inspire our work. We can use our imagination to create elaborate fantasies.  Emotion or mood can be expressed in realistic work through poses and expressions and in non-representational work, through colour and composition. Some artists choose to emphasise the concept of the work as opposed to its physical expression, the intellectual idea becoming more important than the look of the work itself. 

5. We make art to keep a record.

Before the invention of photography, an important function of art was to make a visual document. Those in power wanted a record of themselves, their families and significant events. This was especially true if the wealthy patron was the hero or victor in the situation. Although art is not used in this way in society today, it can still be a powerful way to record and remember on a personal level.

6. We make art to influence.

 Some artists use their work to support a regime which they believe is best for their society or the world, and other use art to oppose a repressive or corrupt government. Art can be a powerful tool of propaganda. Large public works are often commissioned by ruling powers to encourage patriotism. As a form of communication, art can be used to influence those viewing it.

7. We make art for fun, to entertain, to lift our spirits.
Art can be a creative and satisfying pastime, it can be therapeutic and uplifting for the artist, and also a positive viewing experience. Some art is humourous and fun, incorporating visual puns and in-jokes, some is light hearted and deliberately entertaining.

8. We make art to demonstrate collective pride.
The art work of certain cultural groups can be identified by a unique style, the style becoming synonymous with the people and customs of that group.  In some traditional societies, dress, beadwork, ceramic wares and painting styles for example are attributed to the group rather than a specific individual.

9. We make art to decorate our belongings and our surroundings.

From the time man started to make tools, he has been compelled to make those tools beautiful as well as functional. From the day man sought shelter from the elements, he has been driven to decorate that shelter. Visual appeal has always been as important, and in some cases more important, than practicality. Art satisfies our inherent desire for beauty.

10. We make art because we can.

And that is the wonder of it all, through art, we are able to communicate, to express ourselves spiritually, to imitate the world around us, to disclose our innermost secrets; we are able to influence the thoughts and feelings of others, to entertain, to demonstrate allegiance and to add to the beauty around us.  Through art we can be totally ourselves and totally human.

These are the top 10 reasons why humans throughout the ages have made art, how many reasons do we have to not make art?

Perhaps that is a story for another day.