(3 pack) SunWorks® Orange Construction Paper, 9” x 12”, 50 Sheets

1. Buy better art supplies

Premium art supplies, such as Strathmore® papers can be just the kick-start you need to get your creative juices flowing.

2. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Improve your drawing skills. Draw every day. Keep a sketchbook and use it daily.

3. Study the experts

Take workshops. Watch how-to videos. Read art books. Visit art galleries. Join an art club. Subscribe to an art magazine. Look up art sites on the Internet. Take a life drawing class. Copy an old master work for study. Explore art movements in history. Read biographies of other artists.

4. Make use of composition and design

Design your composition before painting. Plan a color scheme. Plan and use a value pattern. Use thumbnail sketches. Make sure to include a center of interest. Obey the laws of perspective in realistic landscapes. Take the image all the way to the edge of the paper. Use thick and thin and broken lines. Make more gradation. Make no two shapes the same!

5. Improve your technique

Layer paint. Change colors every inch. Use economy of brush strokes. Add interesting shadows. Leave some white paper for sparkle. Observe light and shadow.