practice....

I had an interesting conversation with a friend a few days ago. It is a photographer friend, and he sent me a link to a very good article about practicing and exploring. In the article, the author spoke about photographing a mailbox for an assignment, and having to take 35 photos of the mailbox, all different in the quest for that perfect perspective. It was a great article that got me to thinking.

Have you ever read The Artist's Way? I have started the journey so many times, and stalled... But, even with not really finishing, I have learned a great deal.

For instance, a few years ago, I set out to learn to draw faces. I just wanted to. No particular reason, it just sounded interesting. I took a few online courses, did some reading, bought a nice mechanical pencil, and started. Tamara LaPorte's classes have influenced me the most I think. When i draw a face, I usually go back to her ways, and even, sometimes,hear her sweet voice in my head.... Ah, anyhow, I quickly became addicted to drawing faces, and found myself drawing every evening. Guess what? The faces got better and better.

As I keep mentioning, I am doing DDP yoga. It is a program that requires practice in order to build flexibility and balance. Six months in, I am still falling over. But it is fun, and my health has improved exponentially.

Why bring up yoga in the middle of this? Because, after the conversation this morning, I realized that pretty much everything requires regular practice to build skill. Everyone else in the world probably knew this already, but, for me, I think it just clunked into place. It is all coming together!