Learning an art form

Some thoughts I have on learning an art form, as I was practising calligraphy the other day.

When we first learn an art form, we start from the basics, learning the basic techniques of the art form, such as how to hold a brush, how to write the different basic strokes. Then we move on to learn about how to string these together, into something more complex, and also how to compose it such that it looks nice. We learn about positioning, about composition, about presentation. We learn about the different tips and tricks to make our art form look even better. Once we have mastered these, we then move on to learning about style. First we imitate the style of others. Then, we move on to give our works our own unique style, which we derived based on our understanding of the different styles and our own personality, our own likes and dislikes.

If we only focus on learning the techniques and the tips and tricks, we will never move beyond to the next level of having our own style. And having our own style is very important in an art form, because it means you have achieved a certain level of understanding and is now able to apply that understanding to create something unique. You are able to apply what you have learnt to something that suits yourself. And that is what sets an artist apart from an artisan.