How to be a Great Artist
A Lesson from Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Diary entry
Hey dear reader, first I’d like to thank you for taking the time to open my very first newsletter. I’m Tammy, the creator of the bi-monthly newsletter Sketchbook Diaries.
In this newsletter, you can expect various topics from the artist perspective. We take inspiration from everything. Life, music, people and art in all its forms. Twice a month l share with you my thoughts and reflections on the artists’ perspective.
This week we begin with one of the greatest artists l am truly inspired by; Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Being a Great artist is knowing how to bend the rules
What do l mean by this?
Being an artist is all about rebellion and expression. Being able to voice out your opinions in some way. An outlet! we can call it.
Sometimes what we want to express can’t be done conventionally. It requires something new and bold. Creative and outside of the box.
Structure and rules have their place in art but it’s also important not to let those restrict us from being bold, from being great artists.
I began to bend the rules a little bit too with art. In cases where l told my-self, “oh it should look like this”, l tried not to listen to that voice and divert from it. Allowing my sketches to be loose and more experimental.
For example in this piece :
I chose not to color the skin but still add purple shade and a few other facial details. I thought it might look unnatural and odd especially with the hair color. However, this digital painting grew to actually be one of my favorite.
Great artists acknowledge the rules but break them when necessary to get the message across.
When Basquiat began drawing figures inspired by the book “Grays anatomy”, He made the choice to divert from the life drawing as they were and add his own spin to it. His own essence to these sketches.
You can break the rules to make it fit the purpose of your message.
That’s what great artists do.
Now l will share a video that helped me learn more about Jean-Michel Basquiat from the perspective of the people close to him, who grew up with him.
This video captures the essence of Basquiat as an artist. He was a man with a message, a voice, and a passionate drive to create.
I will be writing more on him soon and many other artists that inspire me and why. Expect all things art, inspiration and reflections from this newsletter. Hope you will stick around to watch how this grows.
Thanks again for reading my first newsletter dear reader!
What artist has inspired you to break the rules?
Let me know what you think of it and what l could write about next 🫶
Stay happy and healthy
~ Tammy 🌌
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