There are no rules in art.
Did you want a list of rules?
Did you think that if you had a list of rules to follow your art will be good.
And what is good? Is your art good because someone said, “I like that?” Is your art good because you sold it? Or is your art good because you copied exactly what the teacher said and she gave you an A? Is my art not good because the teacher gave me a C?
Your art will be good because you made it, not because you followed a set of guidelines.
The only rules in art are the rules you make yourself. [ Please click here if you want to tweet. Tweet, tweet.]
We have been brought up to expect rules and to obey them.
When you want to fly there are rules. If you jump off a building, there are rules. For example. The law of gravity. If you jump off of a building you will go down and not up. You can’t be Superman with a red cape. Don’t jump off the barn.
When you draw or paint a picture, there are no rules.
You don’t have to keep a sharp pencil, you can press hard or softly, you can draw fast or slow.
If you mix blue paint with red paint you will always get purple. Blue and yellow makes green. Red and yellow make orange. That is science, not a rule.
Yes, your teacher told you in grade school to color in the lines. She may have shown you how to draw an owl.
My teacher in grade school taught us how to draw an owl. She showed us the owl she drew and we were suppose to draw our owl exactly the same.
The rule was to make our owl look exactly like her owl.
She drew an oval shape. Like an egg standing on its end. We were instructed to draw the same shape. Then she drew the other shapes. The rule was to make our owl look exactly like her owl.
First this, then this.
The teacher was wrong. There is more than one way to draw an owl.
Make your own rules.
I read a list of three art rules and then I broke every one of them.
- They said not to press too hard. I pressed as hard as I could and indented the paper.
- They said to always keep my pencil point sharp. I rubbed my pencil lead down so it was dull.
- Their third rule was to draw quickly. I moved my hand slowly.
Go ahead. Find a rule and break it. Make a rule and keep it.
Be you. You can’t be anyone else.
What do you think?
Are there rules in art?
Please tell me in the comments. I would love to chat.