When I was reading Saltz's article on how to be an artist, I was able to relate my experiences and feelings when I started going towards the artistic route two years ago. In the beginning, there were many instances where I felt embarrassed to show my work because I always doubted myself and my abilities. I am my own biggest critic sometimes and I always worry about what people are going to say about my art. Saltz advised that there is no good or bad artwork. Every one has their own definition of skill and beauty and that it takes time for people to earn your respect as an artist. You have to put in the time and effort on trying to make yourself a better artist by expanding your skills.
Lesson 7 talked about developing different forms of practice. Exercising art by using different tools and materials can expand your knowledge and may help you re-define the skills you learned in different works of art. For example, last tear I began experimenting with watercolor paint and I didn't know the proper techniques to create an image. Even though without the proper knowledge of how to "correctly" paint with watercolor, I still was able to create an image and I was pretty proud of it.
One thing I learned was the knowing the difference between subject matter and content in lesson 16. I never really understood what either of them meant because I thought that they were the same thing. Wrong! Subject matter is the fist thing you see when looking at an image. Content is the meaning behind the image and what it is supposed to symbolize. I really enjoyed reading this article even though I have never heard about Jerry Saltz. He gave some really informative advise that I will take in consideration.