should artist be experienced in different mediums of art?

[Vay]

if i only like to draw in pencil or maybe paint in watercolor, why should use pastel or collage? especially when someone tell you to do it and you don't feel like doing it. This happens in my art class, where i am slacking off (mostly from the gym period "slimnastics" before this art class) and drawing only in graphite and passing up my project on collage. Also i learn nothing and the teacher just tells you to do this and that without explaining techniques of different mediums.
Is this a bad teacher? or is this how most art teachers teach? (though i would guess not)

So is it necessary for artist not interested and without passion for a certain medium be forced to do it and be experienced in it?

Also the class that i am in is a portfolio class, a class that shows your work to art colleges and i don't plan to major in collage or pastel work and etc. in college so i don't find any point in showing the college administrators the collage work or pastel work if i am going to major in animation...

also should i drop this class or will it look bad for my transcript for art college?

[PieterV]

Classes aren't only about learning to master one particular style or medium, it's also about trying new things and finding your own voice trough experimentation.

Sure there's stuff you like less, I hate collage and pastels with a passion myself. But you should be open minded about it I think, you never know when you might pick something up. In the best case you'll find another medium or style you enjoy.

Instead of resisting opposing views try to follow them trough.
People sometimes tell you that you should surround yourself with likeminded people. I don't think that's always true, I often learn more from people with different ideas then me, because they can make you look at things you never even tought about yourself.

In the end you're still the creator, and you should have your final say (in a school enviroment! not in a relationship with a client ofcourse... )

Did you try talking about it with your teacher? Show willingness and interest, try discussing it. Otherwise your teacher will just think you're one of those uninterested and stubborn students which he or she isn't willing to put in time anyway. If you show that you are interested, even if you have different ideas they're usually much more willing to appreciate your personal vision. A good idea is to go to the library and seek some art books with the kind of stuff you're doing and the kind of stuff you'dd like to be doing, and have it lay near you so when you're discussing work you have something to talk about. This makes it easier to get your point across.

[Eric Young]

You're young and still learning. Try not to be so simple minded about art and what you like a dislike. As your art training continues you'll discover new things that you never even thought of. You may be thinking now "I hate college and pastels" but if you go about learning them anyway you may end up liking them. Or even if you try them and still don't like them, then try and learn something from the experience, like how color works or maybe you can use watercolor and a little pastels together for some cool texture. You're taking art classes to learn, don't think that you know better and disregard the teachers lessons just because you don't like the medium.

[Flake]

It's just more stuff in your toolkit, you don't have to use it but you may as well know how to, just in case.

I don't eat a lot of pizza but when I do that pizza cutter I bought becomes really useful..

[dpaint]

Most people teach full time because they can't make it as artists in the real world. If they could they would be doing it. So you get a lot of teachers who know a little about a lot of mediums and style, but can't really do it well enough to be good at any one. I say do what you like, get really good and forget about collage. If you learn to draw and paint really well then the medium is just another tool. Sargent was good at all mediums because he understood the mechanics of good drawing and painting; the medium becomes irrelevant. And remember if you can't get really good you can always teach:-)

[CKLamb]

dpaint....I find that highly offensive. I have every desire to be a teacher, and I'd like to think I know a thing or two about painting.

BTW, these guys teach ...

Steven Assael
Carl Dobsky
Wade Schuman
Alyssa Monks
David Brody
Ann Gale
Zhi Lin

How do you measure up to them?

Get your head out of your ass.

[dpaint]

CKL
I offered some advice and an opinion based on the fact I make my living as a full time artist and have done so for the past 25 years. Do you? What I didn't do is call people names or single anyone out. If you want to read about me pick up an issue of the November 2009 American Art Collector Magazine they did a four page article on me. My seventh article in a national art magazine in the past ten years. Your comment is out of line and I don't care if you are offended by an informed opinion.

Ask most professional artists and they will tell you they learned nothing or very little in art school, mostly because of bad teaching and bad teachers. Most drop out.
While it is true there are some good teachers who are also good artists it is definitely not the norm given the thousands of colleges and attliers in the country.

[CKLamb]

You made a huge blanket statement about a complete profession. If you don't see the problem in that then I hope the next 25 years will help you see that.

EDIT: Okay I've calmed down. I understand what you're saying, but I think your grossly underestimating the profession in general. I would say your statement is much more apt for lower level education, secondary and two-year colleges. At the higher echelons, it's a very different story.


BTW It's that last statement that got me riled up.

[Ivory_Oasis]

I think the biggest thing to learn is the understanding behind art. Composition, perspective, color theory, lighting, value.... these are what make an artist.

The medium doesn't really make a difference. Some can do things others can't, some are less restrictive, some are forgiving and some not so much, some are cheap and easy to get ahold of, some take a long time to setup and need an entire workspace and special tools to start doing.

There are sooooooooo many mediums out there. Trying to "taste" all of them during education just seems strange. It seems the number 1 thing to learn is the knowledge I was talking about before. The number 2 thing to learn is the medium which you will most likely NEED to use to make a living at your work (which, is going to be digital now aday, unless you are a fine artist and doing gallery work).

After you have the skill and knowledge with the main tool of the craft....well...you have the rest of your life to play around with stuff. You can try out oil paints, try out acrylic, even try out painting with blood and mud on a pumpkin canvas. The school level should be about getting you prepared for a job so you can do it for a living, that is the number 1 priority (unless you want to get out and go work at starbucks or go teach english in japan ><).

[JeffX99]

Unfortunately Vay, most art teachers do teach that way - at the lower levels. They lack the experience or drive required to become professional artists, or to even continue to grow for themselves. Instead they take the easier path and teach. This is not true for all of course, but far too many, which is a huge disservice to students hungry for learning the fundamentals. Others in this thread have offered good advice however - I suggest doing your absolute best with any assignment and continue working on drawing on your own. I highly recommend a book called "Drawing Essentials" by Deborah Rockman - somewhat advanced but if you plan on becoming an artist it is the best you'll fiind.

To others in this thread...keep it cool. The criteria I use with the whole teacher or professional artist issue is how do they make their living? If it is through teaching they are a teacher - if it is through art they are an artist. Is a biology teacher a biologist or a teacher?

Good luck Vay! Work hard - art is the hardest thing I've ever encountered.

[dierat]

Personally I think it's important to try out new mediums simply because

1) you may actually like this medium once you figure out how to use it correctly, and
2) it will teach you more about the mediums you've already used and come to love

Every medium has strengths and weaknesses, and you typically learn these through experimentation. Graphite's strength is in lines and control, but it's weaknesses are that it cannot produce color and it's slow to build up value over large areas. So what if you want to do a large gestural color piece? You'll have trouble pulling that off in graphite, but pastels would work really well. If it's a really small, detailed color piece, you'd probably want to use colored pencils. If it's a whimsical landscape, maybe watercolors.

It's fine to get comfortable in a medium you like and rely on it often, but you really don't know what mediums you do and don't like if you don't get out and try some new things.

[Shehaub]

There are worse ways to waste your time. - in case none of the other responses inspire you to do the assignments.

On the subject of teachers, our grade school teacher is awesome. My kids come home talking about color theory, perspective, shadow patterns and negative space in 3rd and 4th grade. I WISH our JR/SR High teacher followed up as well as he primes them.

Art is the red headed step child of our school. When the budgets get cut, they will pull money out of art and music to buy new bleachers for the football field, indirectly. I think the lack of funding has something to do with the burnout. I think lack of enthusiasm for her job is another factor. I have never seen her own work, so I can't say anything about skill level.

I can say that most of the parents in our community assume their kids will get an A in art unless there is a behavior issue. This attitude is passed on to the kids. If they had standardized testing on this subject, I believe there would be a completely different attitude about it.

When my kids go into both of those classrooms with books off our bookshelf and show a genuine interest in learning, both teachers perk up and give a little more of themselves. Try giving your teacher the open minded - genuinely interested in learning - approach and see what it does for you. Do these assignments. Do them well. Then ask lots of questions relating to the basics. At least in our school, the worst that can happen is that you will get an A for not being a problem.

[Ardescoere]

I haven't been out of highschool that long and I clearly remember when I started my portfolio class. It was also the same time as I did a "peer helping" class which allows you as a grade 12 to help teach a class (alongside the teacher) of grade 9s. I chose to do art. The teachers of both classes were professional artists who did small freelance work outside of school. The one who taught grade nine had actually been a professional of high caliber and had had many galleries and articles in magazines. She was fantastic. She was animated. She was a great teacher for grade nines. But a lot of people thought she wasn't fair because she made them work in a lot of mediums and even do art history which they didn't like.

Now - was she mean? No. Half the time she let me teach the class because I showed drive. At first the kids were completely unruly and wouldn't listen. But they were mostly young boys who thought they took art just to get an A. I got sick of their attitudes and talked to her about it. She was burnt out because all anyone ever did was act like young, hormonal idiots in that particular class.

So... she let me set an assignment. I made them do a painting. So it was nothing spectacular. But I let them choose the painting they were doing. And they had to write a small paper with it as to why they chose it and why ti meant something to them. While they were working on it... I noticed one of the kids was always acting up and distracting the others. So i took him aside and asked him why he was doing it. He told me that he was bored. I asked him why and he said he was afraid of sucking and people laughing at him. That was a 14 year old boy. I was pretty stunned. So I sat down with him and helped him. And he went from hating painting to loving it when he saw what his determination could do.

In my portfolio class, the teacher didn't really teach. Just like yours. She set us assignments and basically let us do our own thing. I asked her why she did that once and she said because art was a personal thing and that if we wanted to learn colour theory or all the other smaller skills, we should have picked that up by paying attention in the previous three years of art classes. And that her goal was to give us the TIME and PLACE to work hard on our portfolios so she could see us live our dreams. At first I thought "she isn't a good teacher" but then I realized, that she offered little bits of help to those who showed the most desire. And a lot of us started coming in on our lunches to finish our work. She became our friend. And she was THE most inspiring, helpful teacher I had ever had. All it took was really showing an interest and putting my all in to the art.

Portfolio classes are for building a portfolio. Art classes are to learn the techniques. But even with that line drawn, I bet you your teacher would help you more and be open to listening to your opinions if you showed them you really wanted to try regardless of the situation.

[RyerOrdStar]

You're quite young to know FOR SURE what you want to do in life. I wanted to be an animator when I was younger, I thought for sure that it would be awesome and for me. But I eventually decided it wasn't for me and settled on illustration. But even in illustration I started out wanting to do editorial, and eventually that's changed too. Who knows what the future will bring. There are so many different pathways to take.

Different media is great. Take that time you have and have fun with the assignments. Many storyboard artists use pastels/charcoal to do their work. It's fast, fun, and expressive.

Don't shoot yourself in the foot so early in your life; you never know when you might need it.

[CKLamb]

To others in this thread...keep it cool. The criteria I use with the whole teacher or professional artist issue is how do they make their living? If it is through teaching they are a teacher - if it is through art they are an artist. Is a biology teacher a biologist or a teacher?



What if they make their living from both? My painting professor, Robert Kinsell, earns as much from selling his work through McMurtrey in Houston and Ann Nathan in Chicago as he does as a professor. So, if I were to make a rough estimate, he makes about 80-100k a year, depending on sales.

BTW- If this clarifies anything, I'm not preoccupied with becoming a commercial artist. I think this is where the conversational gap may be occurring.