Earlier in my life I was a musician. When I was in graduate school at Michigan State University studying clarinet my teacher was very demanding. All 12 of the graduate clarinet students were excellent and from all parts of the US and Canada. It didn't matter how good you were when you arrived, when Elsa Verdehr was done with you, you would be amazing! I can attest for that! She had a practice regimen she required which took some getting used to! I would practice in 3 hour time blocks with a little break in there. The first 45 minutes were breath control and finger exercises. How boring! But let me tell you, when it was time for your master's recital you had plenty of stamina and could play really fast with the light touch we learned. She also had a clarinet repairman to set up our clarinets to play faster by lightening up the mechanisms!! I learned a lot that year and it has paid off not only in my music career, but my real estate career, and now my art career!

As an artist I always have sought out teachers and mentors who inspire me and whom I believe can take me to the next level. After 12 years of painting I now have a new mentor who reminds me of Elsa. She has made me go back to some basics of color study and I have warm up exercises to do before I start really painting! Some artists would find this boring or even think it was beneath them but I think if you know what you are looking for in a good teacher or mentor, they will also know what you need to do to get to that level.

So every painting session I start by painting a small piece of fruit in 25 brush strokes. That just gets my brain warmed up. I use my color charts to determine the colors I need to make for that piece of fruit. Again, getting my mind warmed up. After that, it's easy to quickly look at whatever piece I am currently working on and see what needs to be done next. And I love making color charts! You know how we all buy all these tubes of paint because we like the color, but do we really know all the colors you can make from that tube! It's just fascinating to me!

Another thing Elsa made us do was to record our practice sessions regarding music we were working on to perform. That's the equivalent of stepping back from your painting and looking, or using a mirror over your shoulder, or taking a photo. Taking a photo at the end of the day and putting it away for a while before looking at it again helps me determine what I want to work on the next session.

Hope these tips help you make it to your next level!