What if you could see SIGNIFICANT improvement in your art skill in less than 40 days?
Or from a SINGLE lesson?
Confidently call yourself an artist
and improve ANY art you create
(without going to art school, depending on image references, or needing an extra day in the week)
If you’re a self-taught artist, a newbie, or art teacher looking to build your art foundations while creating unique, original artwork then you probably already know the importance of practice.
I’ll get off of my teacher soapbox.
There is no need to convince you of the value of practice because that’s something ingrained into our lives the world over: work hard to get results.
You’ve also heard about the 10,000-hour rule, which is how much time you need to spend to become really good at your art (or anything else for that matter).
You also know that practicing in the same way, over and over again, isn’t likely to get you the results you seek.
Here’s what you MIGHT not know…
Even if you’re lucky enough to take art classes, enjoy strong mentors, and already create art that can sell… building your foundations can:
Improve ALL the art you make
Developing a strategy of practice for foundational skills extends to well beyond drawing. You can apply the practice to all art media.
Keep making FUN
Stop doing the same thing over and over and instead have a practice strategy that keeps you thirsty for more AND gets you consistent results
Help you draw what you imagine
Stop feeling like photo references are a crutch (or just copying from them) and instead, confidently use them and lose them as you refine and develop your art
Showcase your unique voice
When you know the rules of making art, you can then choose to follow them or break them. You have control of the steering wheel. Or should I say, palette and paintbrush!
Help you proudly share your art with others
Post your art on Instagram and have people start to see it and know it’s your work without seeing your name.
Even though it seems like a no brainer
to develop your art foundations,
the path to doing this is less than clear
Build my skill – great, I’m in!
But where do I start?
You find yourself doing the same thing over and over to build your skill. And no matter how hard you try you feel stuck and sometimes, you think about giving up.
Here’s why many self-taught artists remaining aspiring artists:
Without a step-by-step project plan or outline, they stop when they get bored or it feels too hard.
They begin to think they’ve lost their talent despite being thirsty for more.
Sometimes, these are even art teachers who are uncomfortable calling themselves “artist.”
Here’s why this can create artist block:
Once you start doubting your ability to create, it’s even harder to show up and make time for your art. It’s a downward spiral that stops you from doing the very thing your heart calls you to do: create.
And the moment you stop making, it’s SO much harder to start again. Especially when you think about all the time it will take to catch up.
A clear system and strategy of practice and building skill makes sure you don’t waste the little time you have to make art getting bored, or practicing something you don’t want to be doing. It gets you the results you want so you can make more art, more quickly.
Which means… it’s NEVER too late to build your skill and make the art you feel called to create.
That is, if you avoid the rut of practicing the same way over and over again.
The 4 reasons most self-taught artists falter
(and how to guarantee YOU won’t)
The belief talent is god-given, not earned
(you are either born with it, or you don’t “got it”)
For some reason in the arts it’s expected you are either good at it, or you aren’t. Despite plentiful research that suggests otherwise, this belief stops your success in its tracks. Because if there is a finite opportunity to grow, if you can only grow SO much, why try at all?
Research by Anders Ericsson, Carol Dweck, Angela Ducksworthy, and more provide plenty of evidence talent is not god-given, it’s something you GROW.
Self-taught means you’ve missed out on something in art school
(art school gives you all the training you “should” have)
So many artists who describe as self-taught treat the word like it’s dirty or bad. There is shame associated with describing as self-taught. When I asked a group of art teachers to offer me some names of self-taught artists I faced judgment and resistance so clearly the word triggers many.
But for some reason, self-taught artists think this means they’ve missed out. They’ve missed out on some special piece of education that only art schools can provide. They’ve missed out on key lessons that would have allowed them to be better artists right now, today, only if they’d attended art school.
Yet countless artists we talk about in history books are self-taught. Van Gogh had only months of art study before he dropped out. Grandma Moses never went to art school at all.
Many thriving artists today are self-taught. CJ Hendry is a great example of someone with lots of skill, who did not attend art school.
Being self-taught only limits you if you think it does.
They don’t have a strategy of practice
(or worse, don’t practice at all)
A clear system of practice and feedback creates faster, more immediate results. And I have good news: you don’t need 10,000 hours of practice. That is a myth. Instead, knowing what to practice and how to practice is what separates thriving makers from blocked creators.
They think failure means Failure (with a capital F)
(because making mistakes means something is wrong with us)
When a self-taught artist makes a mistake they see it as a sign of lacking the knowledge and skills to do the right thing. They see failure with a capital F. The failure shifts from the artwork to the individual and becomes personal. We the individual become the failure.
The thing is Failures are a natural, regular part of the creative process. I recently spoke at a conference and I observed every single speaker, people who are on stage sharing wisdom about their art, had art they didn’t like, or that they thought was bad.
Instead of giving up, they continue to show up for their art.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret
There are lots of online art classes out there that teach you techniques and improve your skill.
A huge number of students benefit from those programs and see jumps in their skill. They are excited about the content and teacher and they make time to make art. But after a while, their skill seems to plateau and more classes don’t help…
Because at some point, making more art (like other artists) isn’t enough to take your skill to the next level.
As long as you can avoid the reasons self-taught artists falter, the path is paved for you and your skillful, original art.
You don’t have to wonder if people see your art and think, “she must be self-taught.”
Not only that, you happily own your skill level where-ever you are, because you know you are capable of more.
The key ingredient to all of this is a clear system and strategy to build your skill, which will improve all of your art.
And with your permission, that’s what I’d love to show you: how to build your skill so you can spend more time making the art YOU want to create.
Introducing…
I’ve taken everything I’ve learned from:
working on my own art, including being part of a group exhibition at The Smithsonian and The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts,
exhibiting art across the US, in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Canada,
celebrating a solo show of my art in Ottawa, Canada in November 2019, and combined it with:
my background in education, which includes winning several grants for my lessons,
decades of teaching experience, and a masters from the George Washington University,
to create a complete system and practice strategy for building your art foundations so you can confidently make any art with you wish to create.
Self-Taught to Self-Confident isn’t so much a curriculum as it is a training program.
Yes, you’ll learn the knowledge and theory that feel like learning gaps in your education, but more importantly, you’ll have a step-by-step strategy for practice that leaves nothing out and takes nothing for granted as you implement it.
The end result: See quick improvements in your skill because you have a clear system and step-by-step strategy to build your skill and ultimately improve all of the art you make.
Self-Taught to Self-Confident
is the first program of its kind that:
IS BUILT on filling learning gaps
Don’t wonder anymore if you have learning gaps that make people see your art and think, “she must be self-taught.”
Tailors to your specific learning experience
Don’t worry about making mistakes, begin to celebrate them as a means to build your skill, develop your strategy of practice, and begin to refine your unique voice.
Focuses on feedback
Stop thinking feedback is about pointing out what’s wrong and begin to use feedback and assessment to help you see what’s working in your art and how to harness the GOOD things going on in your work.
So if you’re finally really to build your art foundations while avoiding common practice mistakes
that slow learning down, here’s how we’ll get you there:
Managing your Mindset
Learning techniques are only one part of becoming a skillful artist. This module will help you unpack the beliefs you have around talent and prepare you for the discomfort that naturally comes with learning something new. You will learn the formula experts use to build skill and develop expertise so you can apply it to your artist practice.
By the end of Module 1 you will begin the mental mind work you need to truly up level your skill and confidently create the art you dream of making.
Highlights:
- A Confidence Tracker to help you assess your growth and develop a strategy of practice
- How to measure your growth with baseline assessments
- Research that debunks the myth of the talented artist, and
- 3 criteria for high-quality feedback on your art
Filling in your foundations
In order to build your skill you need to know which techniques to practice. Module 2 is an introduction to all of the foundational skills that will help you draw what you imagine.
By the end of Module 2, you will know:
- the difference between a blind and modified contour drawing,
- what a cross contour is,
- how to see negative space, and
- how to effectively portray value and rules of composition.
By the end of this module you will be familiar with foundational drawing techniques that you can use to practice building skill.
Highlights:
- What exactly ARE foundational drawing practices?
- The one thing most artists miss when working from photo reference
- 3 Common mistakes made by newer artists
- Special tricks to help you better train your artist eyes
Success with still life
In Module 3 you will learn how to set up your own composition and apply foundational techniques either from photo reference or from life observation. You will apply the techniques and skills introduced in Module 2 specifically looking at the history and meaning behind still lifes.
By the end of this module, you will confidently arrange your own still life and draw one with symbolic meaning.
Highlights:
- Why still lifes are a great stepping stone for building skill
- How lighting can help or hurt your art
- 3 ingredients for a quality composition
- How timing can help you up-level your skill
Learning with landscapes
In Learning with Landscapes you will practice applying foundational art skills to landscape art. You’ll learn about the different kinds of perspective and apply them to create an encompassing atmosphere in your landscape drawings.
By the end of Module 4, you will confidently create a landscape artwork from your own photo reference or from life observation.
Highlights include:
- The one kind of perspective artists often forget
- Why the background is just as important as the foreground in your drawing
- How value can transform your work from an observable drawing to an image jumping off the page
Practice with people
Module 5 covers foundational drawing techniques when drawing people. It addresses both portraits and figural work to help you address drawing both head portraits and full body arrangements.
By the end of this module, you will understand why so many artists find drawing people the most difficult and have a strategy of practice to build towards more likeness in the people you draw.
Highlights:
- The ONE misconception most artists have that hold them back from creating their best work
- The 5 most common errors people make when drawing people
- Additional resources for students specifically interested in portraiture and the figure
Compare your confidence
In Compare your confidence you will use your tracker and the several finished drawings from the program to help you evaluate your growth during the time of the program as well as create personalized action steps moving forward with your art.
By the end of this module, you will have successfully measured your growth and have an action plan for continuing beyond this course.
Highlights:
- Key takeaways you can use to inform future art
- A fillable PDF Assessment guide
- How to create your next steps for practice
Common mistakes artists make
In this bonus module, you learn to avoid common mistakes made by artists, including how to render hair and fur as well as how artists can unintentionally flatten their art.
The NEXT Level Bonus: How to Apply This to ALL of your Art
This special module gives you assorted activities to help you apply the new foundational techniques to other media so you can explore the art you normally make.
By the end of this Next Level Bonus, you will have several strategies of skill development you can use with any art medium to help you begin building your skill AND developing your unique voice.
It includes:
- 10 activities for other media
- painting with a grid BUT keeping loose
- how to use a photo reference
- how NOT to overwork a painting
Additional Bonuses
If you’ve been part of any of my community spaces, you know I show up and support my people. The first bonus for this program is access to a private Circle.so community where you can post art to get feedback, ask questions, and get the accountability you need to follow through from your peers.
You’ll also be able to use this space to:
- quickly troubleshoot drawing exercises
- have someone else’s fresh eyes to look at your work
- hold yourself accountable on different activities
- get extra support from kind, supportive creatives doing the same work as you
I will host monthly Q&As for the remaining calendar year where you can ask questions and get feedback tailored to your art.
Use these Q&A sessions to:
- get specific feedback for a work in progress
- get actionable next steps tailored to where YOUR skill is
- practice giving and receiving feedback to inform artistic decisions
- get questions answered about any of the program content
Commit to the Self-Confident Challenge
Self-Taught to Self-Confidence is the most comprehensive, step-by-step skill-building program for artists excited and committed to building their skill and developing their unique artist voice.
Our community is filled with kind, helpful, motivated, and supportive members who are practicing art foundations to create stronger art. When you join you will be part of this group.
By the end of these 20 days, you’ll have received access to the first two modules. Meaning, you’ll have had the opportunity to address your mindset, create a way to measure your growth, and be introduced to a variety of foundational drawing skills BEFORE making a final commitment.
If you don’t feel totally confident and motivated by your drawing skill (and your ability to grow), simply reach out and we’ll refund your investment. FULL details here.
Join Self-Taught to Self-Confident today and get…
The Full Self-Taught to Self-Confident program
(1297 value)
You’ll get access to all 6 video modules, audio files, cheat sheets, confidence tracker, and every tool you need to fully build your art foundations with confidence and ease.
- See big steps in your skill development as you uncover a specific strategy of practice you can tailor to your specific skill set and interest
- Develop the skills and confidence needed to proudly share your art on Instagram or where-ever else you want
- Complete handholding as you walk through the activities so you feel fully clear on how to use each technique and what you can do to keep improving
- Begin to think about how you can use these skills and techniques to improve and develop your unique voice
and these Limited Time Bonuses…
Private Self-Taught to Self-Confident Community Space
This is where you’ll meet and connect with like-minded artists, trade valuable feedback and enjoy virtual high-fives and encouragement every step of the way.
Art can feel lonely, even more so when we are self-isolating. Community provides support AND accountability to get you where you want to be with your art.
Common mistakes artists make
This is a special module that helps you draw things like hair and fur as well as dig into strategies that stop you from flattening your art.
Avoid easy to make mistakes and learn some quick tips that will get you immediate results for your art.
Monthly Question and Answer Sessions
I will host monthly Q&As where you can ask questions and get feedback tailored to your art.
Feedback is one of the key ingredients listed by Anders Ericsson in his research on developing skill and expertise. You grow faster with feedback.
Bonus Module: How to Apply This to ALL of your Art
This special module gives you assorted activities to help you apply the new foundational techniques to other media so you can explore the art you normally make.
By the end of this Next Level Bonus, you will have several strategies of skill development you can use with any art medium to help you begin building your skill AND developing your unique voice.
When you add it all up, that’s a total value of over $2165!
But I know that we have to be smart about our investments,
and I want to give more artists the opportunity to build their skill and
have changes in their artist practice that impact their art for the rest of their lives,
so I’m giving you the opportunity to enroll in Self-Taught to Self-Confident TODAY at the special price of just…
Pay Monthly
3 Payments of
$437
- Access to Self-Taught to Self-Confident
- Private Community Space
- Monthly Q&As for the life of the program
- The NEXT Level Bonus: How to apply this to ALL of your art
- Mini-Module: Common mistakes artists make
Pay Upfront
1 Payment of
$1297
- Access to Self-Taught to Self-Confident
- Private Community Space
- Monthly Q&As for the life of the program
- The NEXT Level Bonus: How to apply this to ALL of your art
- Mini-Module: Common mistakes artists make
What people asked before joining
Self-Taught to Self-Confident
How much time do I need for the course?
You have lifetime access to the program. That way, you can devise your own weekly or daily time commitment that suits the life you lead, not the one you hope to live someday. I’ve seen students make huge strides with a daily drawing commitment of 15 minutes. Other people have made weekly commitments for chunks of time.
What if my skill doesn’t improve?
The only way you will remain where you are with your skill is if you choose to do nothing. I have science-backed research that guides instruction to help you create a plan of attack that is specific to your individual needs and interests. You can’t find another program that works so hard to tailor content to your individual needs.
What materials will I need?
You will need a pencil (any type, I’m not picky), A4 or letter sized paper, a printer to print out image references and a camera to take photos of your art to share and get feedback from me and your peers.
If you want to be fancy, you can have an HB or 2B pencil and one 4B, 5B or 6B pencil. This is optional, but will help with your values in your drawings.
What if I’m completely new to drawing?
EVERYONE can benefit from this program. Self Taught to Self Confident is set up to help anyone, at any level, be better at drawing. It will help you grow, no matter what your current skill level is, and it is designed to help you continue to grow and improve in your skill, if you continue to use the techniques I outline, for as long as you create.
Why not invest in another online program?
Most online art programs take the approach of “paint or draw like me.” The teachers introduce techniques they use in their specific medium and style and show you how they paint or draw. This is a great way to learn new skills and if you feel called to take other classes go for it. Find the teachers and lessons that speak to you. But if you want a system of learning you can use and apply to all of your art, for the rest of your life, this is the course for you. You can apply these same ideas to any medium.
I don’t do FB, do I have to use it?
Nope. We don’t do Facebook.
I’m still not sure if I’m a good fit?
You can email me Carrie@ArtistStrong.com to discuss your fit. I only want students who are a good match for the course to join. I will tell you if I don’t think you should sign up.
What if I change my mind?
Self-Taught to Self-Confident is the most comprehensive, step-by-step skill-building program for artists excited and committed to building their skill and developing their unique artist voice.
By the end of these 20 days, you’ll have received access to the first two modules.
Meaning, you’ll have had the opportunity to address your mindset, create a way to measure your growth, and be introduced to a variety of foundational drawing skills BEFORE making a final commitment.
If you don’t feel totally confident and motivated by your drawing skill (and your ability to grow), simply reach out, show us you’ve put in the work, and we’ll refund your investment. FULL details here.
Can you remind me of everything I’m getting when I sign up today?
Pay Monthly
3 Payments of
$437
- Access to Self-Taught to Self-Confident
- Private Community Space
- Monthly Q&As for the life of the program
- The NEXT Level Bonus: How to apply this to ALL of your art
- Mini-Module: Common mistakes artists make
Pay Upfront
1 Payment of
$1297
- Access to Self-Taught to Self-Confident
- Private Community Space
- Monthly Q&As for the life of the program
- The NEXT Level Bonus: How to apply this to ALL of your art
- Mini-Module: Common mistakes artists make
Self Taught to Self Confident is PERFECT for you if…
If you said yes to at least 6 of these, I can’t wait to meet you inside of Self-Taught to Self-Confident
Are you new or returning to art and want to make the most of when you do show up to make art?
Are you tired of constantly practicing and seeing little or no results from your efforts?
Do you feel like being self-taught means you have gaps in your art education?
Do you want to be better at drawing?
Or even better, do you want to improve ALL the art you make?
Are you an art teacher that has a hard time also calling yourself an artist?
Do you sometimes wonder if you shouldn’t yet promote or market the paintings, sculptures, mixed media artworks you create because you still worry about your skill?
Are you willing to get uncomfortable, a key ingredient of deliberate practice, in order to up-level your skill?
You have a strong knowing that you can be better, that you deserve to draw confidently and create the art you’ve always felt called to create.
You are willing to put in regular focused practice, commit time, receive feedback and self-assess, these are the artists who will see great strides in their skill development.
You feel confident grabbing your access details knowing you have 20 days to try it all out. It’s simple, either you do the work and experience the leap in skill you’ve been looking for or you shoot me a quick message asking to hit undo on this whole “let’s create a lifelong skill building strategy” experiment.
Wouldn’t it be empowering, exciting and even a little scary to know you have all the skill you need, and then truly focus on what you want to say?!
So, if any of the above resonates, I can’t wait to welcome you to Self-Taught to Self-Confident
and get you on your way to building solid art foundations to improve ALL the art you create.
GET STARTED TODAY
Pay Monthly
3 Payments of
$437
- Access to Self-Taught to Self-Confident
- Private Community Space
- Monthly Q&As for the life of the program
- The NEXT Level Bonus: How to apply this to ALL of your art
- Mini-Module: Common mistakes artists make
Pay Upfront
1 Payment of
$1297
- Access to Self-Taught to Self-Confident
- Private Community Space
- Monthly Q&As for the life of the program
- The NEXT Level Bonus: How to apply this to ALL of your art
- Mini-Module: Common mistakes artists make