A subscriber asks: “I love hearing about how and why artists chose to become artists, what motivates them and what they studied/do everyday to further their art?”

I always had a lot of curiosity about painting, but I didn’t really start to explore it until I was 30, when I bought a small oil painting kit.

The first paintings were truly awful, but I knew right away that I would be doing this for the rest of my life.

Years of painting on weekends and evenings followed, and eventually I was fortunate enough to make it my career as well as my passion.

The most important thing I do on a regular basis to further my art… is paint, as many days a week as possible. 

If I can’t paint, I try to draw.

If I can’t draw, I look at a few great paintings.

More disciplined studying of great paintings is also extremely important, and I integrate that into my regular practice as well.

But it’s during the hours at the easel that all those things come together into something meaningful, so that’s where my focus always is.