“In the conceptually obsessed climate of the late 1970s, [Mr. Messner] stood apart because he believed passionately in the discipline of drawing.”
~ Rupert Beswarick-Asser
During the course of my career as an artist I’ve received a lot of advice. Some of it I asked for, and some of it was given whether I wanted it or not — an accumulation of the good, the bad and the downright ugly. But as for the best bit of advice I’ve ever had, well, there is one thing that has really helped me as a painter that I’d like to share — something that may be similarly useful to anyone who is just setting out on their artistic adventure.
It’s a pearl of wisdom given to me by a professor while I was studying at art school. He (bless him) was actually an anomaly in time and space: a refugee from Nazi Europe, with a comic book accent and a cloud of white hair that simultaneously pointed upwards and outwards. And in the conceptually obsessed climate of the late 1970s, he stood apart because he believed passionately in the discipline of drawing. “Look, think and look again before doing anything,” he’d say, which is an assertion that has held me in good stead ever since.
But what was even more helpful was that he introduced me to the old-fashioned trick of using a mirror while you’re painting, or to be more exact, holding up a picture in front of a mirror as a way of viewing it afresh. The surface of a picture can become too familiar as you look at it intently, hour after hour, that seeing it in reverse is like removing a veil from your eyes, and suddenly what’s working well and what isn’t can snap into focus and become obvious.
So, thank you, Mr. Messner, for your mangled vowels and great advice. And it makes me curious to know if there is a tip which, over all others, has made a significant difference in your art? Comment below.
Rupert Beswarick-Asser is a professional artist from England. See his work at www.rupert-ba.com.
