Vanilla Beans: Tail the Tiger

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WHAT’S NEW ‘ROUND HERE?

At 7 weeks, the goslings don’t follow me around quite as closely as before.

But if I sit in the grass and wait, I’m sure to get a few cuddles and lots of nibbles.

I purchase most of my art supplies from Dick Blick. Shop using my affiliate link to support this free newsletter.

So I guess it’s official, we’re talking about learning for a while.

Thanks so much for the feedback and interesting stories!

Last week, we talked about the four quadrants which IMO need to come together at the same time to boost you from couch dreaming or weekend coloring to full-on artist.

If you missed it, read the article here.

This week, let’s follow the leader.

_____

And BTW, I know zippedy-squat about golf. My humble apologies if I’m 42 strokes over par with today’s analogy.

TAIL THE TIGER

Keep in mind, I’ve never been a colorist.

I’m here, teaching the kind of classes I teach, because your hobby started to overlap my profession, not the other way around.

I’m not a hater; I absolutely love hobby coloring. It’s a splendid way to explore your creative side.

Which is why I want to help you do it more efficiently and with greater skill.

But I’m prefacing this with the ol’ “I’m not a colorist” for a reason…

Sometimes the coloring world confuses the heck out of me.

“Why would anyone ever do it THAT way?”

So let’s pretend you were just handed a gift certificate to the Tiger Woods School of Golf.

I’m choosing Tiger because that’s a name even non-golfers know well. There may be better golfers on the circuit today but I certainly can’t name any of them.

It’s safe to say we’d all hang out with Tiger Woods, if given the opportunity.

Okay, put on your plaid pants and let’s head out for a day on the links with Tiger.

(yes, I just looked up “links” to make sure I used the phrase correctly.)

But there’s a wrinkle to this golf experience— You’re not the only student.

There’s about 50 of you there, waiting to learn from the master. And there’s a camera crew because they’re filming this lesson to sell later.

So you’re standing in a crowd, with a partial view at best, and you’re waiting for Tiger to tee-off. Suddenly his caddy calls out the brand and the number of the club he’s about to swing.

“Callaway Titanium 3!”

Which sounds important, right? So you and 49 other people pull out your notebooks and write it down.

Tiger says nothing. He hits the ball and you all silently move down the fairway to continue play. Once again the caddy calls out the brand and number.

“Cobra 7!”

And you write that down too.

This continues throughout the morning. The caddy announces the club and Tiger hits the ball.

Sometimes, Tiger tells an anecdote about the time his dog chewed a hole in his golf bag and the moment he realized he liked Adidas socks better than the socks he was contractually obligated to wear.

Fun stuff. Nice guy.

But somewhere around the 7th hole, you realize you should be taking more notes than just club numbers, so you start to make observations.

By the end of the day, your notebook is full of numbers and little tidbits like:

“Wear a white glove.”

“Buy Adidas socks!”

“Look east for 30 seconds and blink twice before swinging.”

“He dips chicken tenders in BBQ, not honey mustard”

And this was your Tiger Woods experience.

Right about now, some of you are sensing the problem with the Tiger Woods School of Golf.

We spent all day with Tiger and didn’t learn how to golf.

What a rip off!

Except wait a minute…

The same thing happens with Copic and when it does, you’re not mad.

Most of you are over-the-moon thrilled because you learned so much.

B21, B23

R24, R27, R35, R46

RV11, RV13, RV17

V15, V17, V20

Huh. It’s almost like my caddy is calling out markers for you.

But can you color the daisy?

Maybe.

But probably not as good as mine which is why it helps to buy the forever access video so you can replay every stroke 14 times and freeze frame at just the right spot to see the full pink petal which the footage some how skipped.

See, a lot of you enroll in a coloring class and what you get isn’t a class. You get the Tiger Woods experience. Someone tells you what they’re using as they use it.

Which isn’t a class, that’s a demonstration.

You watched someone do something.

But you didn’t learn a darned thing about how or why.

I have a theory.

I may be wrong but somehow, I know I’m on to something.

A lot of you are ashamed of your coloring skills. You feel like you’re not progressing even though you keep taking classes, watching videos, and coloring new projects.

And you wonder: Is this your limit?

Like maybe you’re just not physically or mentally capable of coloring any better than you do right now?

And that’s the sucktastic part of coloring.

In the beginning, you’re this great big ball of excited energy.

Coloring is going to be so totally amazing!

Then you get into it and realize coloring is harder than it looks— even though everyone keeps using the word “easy”, it ain’t.

Pssstttt… It’s not you.

It’s not your skills. It’s not your lack of potential.

And I’m not just saying this to make you feel better.

It’s really, really, really not you. It’s the coloring education system.

How to color a daisy is NOT a lesson!

Demonstration is not education.

And yet coloring class after class offers you little more than a materials list and a series of step by steps.

We’re demonstrating people right out of this hobby.

The only skill you’re growing is how to guess what she did without replaying the footage.

So it’s no wonder people quit and join a hobby which actually teaches its members instead of telling ‘em to buy better colors and practice more.

You can follow Tiger Woods around every day, all day, for years and not learn a single rule of golf.

And as much as people like to sing-song otherwise, there are rules in art too.

Whether you’re using markers or pencils or hand milled rare-earth luxury paints… all artists follow the same basic rules of composition and rendering.

Some of you are hearing this for the first time.

You didn’t know.

Your favorite coloring demonstrator never mentioned the academic part of art.

And they get away with it because you think you’re a visual learner. Sure, it helps to see something done but that’s less than half the story.

How. Why. What happens if you try it a different way?

That’s the stuff that helps you feel less stupid at the end of the lesson.

How and why are what leads to artistic growth.

Now here’s the good news…

Every time I bring this up, someone tells me how hard it is to find quality instruction.

And I get it. I studied art before the internet existed. You don’t have to tell me how hard it is to find good teachers. That was the first half of my life.

But there’s hope on the horizon.

Coloring was really trendy for a long time but it’s dying back now. Sure, we saw a small spike during the Covid Pandemic and the Cult of Ohuhu made a few waves, but on the whole, fewer people are coloring now.

Which is good because that means fewer people are waking up on Tuesday, deciding to make big bucks demonstrating mediocre marker techniques online.

There are fewer marker instructors out there but those who remain are on average sooooooo much better than when everyone and their dog had a coloring blog.

And honestly, it’s good that fewer people are teaching markers because the information you need most has very little to do with markers. Same for colored pencil.

Art lessons aren’t about the specific product on your desk—

Art lessons are about the creative connection between your eyes, your brain, and your hand.

So what I teach in my monthly classes applies to watercolor, oils, pastels, and even pixels.

And vice versa. Can’t find a marker class? Take a fine art watercolor class. You’ll still learn about form, value, and composition.

If you feel stuck and stagnated, it’s time to drop the demos.

Tailing the Tiger gets you nowhere.

IF YOU LIKED TODAY’S ARTICLE, SUPPORT FUTURE FREE LESSONS

So many floral lessons focus on the color…

Let’s color a pink flower! Let’s color a yellow flower! Let’s color a purple flower.

Painted Daisy reveals the futility of color thinking. We’re working our way through every color of the rainbow to learn how and why the important things never change.

And for added fun, we’re not blending anything!

Our monthly Wonkstream broadcast covers the entire coloring process.

Video archive saves projects for one year; learn when you have time.

NEW IN THE WORKSHOP

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ATTENTION BEGINNERS

ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT!

My beginner marker and pencil courses have a 6 month enrollment window.

Marker season is January - June. Colored pencil season is July - December.

Once enrolled, you have lifetime access and can work the lessons any time. When you’re in, you’re in forever. I simply block new students from joining the off-season course.

The Blend closes to new students on June 30th. The Blend will not reopen until 2026.

THIS WEEK IN COLOR

CURRENT PASSWORD: RubberDuckie

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