{"id":620971,"date":"2026-09-19T12:08:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T12:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/620971\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T12:08:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T12:08:16","slug":"7-artists-reveal-the-revelations-that-took-their-practice-to-the-next-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/620971\/","title":{"rendered":"7 artists reveal the revelations that took their practice to the next level"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every artist\u2019s journey contains moments of clarity when things click into place and new forms of creativity are revealed. We asked artists about their breakthrough epiphanies, and many were able to put their finger on key realisations that helped transform their artistic practice (also see our guides to the best drawing tablets<\/a> and art supplies for painting<\/a>).<\/p>\n

For accomplished character designer Hugo Richard, one such moment occurred when he finally hit upon a process for creating images that resonated with him, after years of searching.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day I noticed an artist making a super rendered piece starting from incredibly detailed line work and flat colours,\u201d he says. The technique suited Hugo immediately. \u201cWith flat colours, I learned how to control mood through saturation and temperature,\u201d he tells us.<\/p>\n

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Expressive line work is a key element of Hugo Richard\u2019s art (Image credit: Hugo Richard)<\/p>\n

When a friend noticed how important line work was to Hugo, he suggested he give it greater emphasis in his work. To develop this ability he turned to the work of Charles Bargue. \u201cI was truly impressed by how he was able to distribute weight just with simple lines, and to control the thickness of the line to show volume without any shading,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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Another step forward took place when he discovered a classic art book published in the 1950s, Drawing the Head and Hands<\/a> by Andrew Loomis. \u201cAt the time I had a basic understanding of building structure, but I didn\u2019t realise I could build a face in geometric forms,\u201d Hugo remembers. The book taught him fundamental art techniques related to volume. \u201cIt was my first confidence boost in trying to approach light and shadow from a geometrical perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Adding to the mix<\/p>\n

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Chinook Winds by Serena Malyon: \u201cA love letter to the place I grew up,\u201d she says (Image credit: Serena Malyon)<\/p>\n

Illustrator Serena Malyon found that mixed media was key to her evolution as an artist. \u201cWhen I realised that I didn\u2019t have to be a watercolour purist, and that I could combine different mediums to create the look I wanted, I started making some really weird and unique artwork,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI handle colour most easily in watercolour, so I do a base painting in that medium. Then I go over it with either traditional acryla gouache, or digital paint to refine it and fix mistakes. Allowing myself not to be a watercolour\/media purist has given me permission to have a lot of fun and experiment in my work. I\u2019ve found a way of working that feels the most authentic to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up to Creative Bloq’s daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology.<\/p>\n

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Caroline Vos has worked as an art director and visual development artist in film and animation for over 25 years (Image credit: Caroline Vos)<\/p>\n

Art director and visual development artist Caroline Vos discovered a whole new way of working when creative director Bobby Chiu told her that he uses his Navigator tool in Photoshop<\/a> as a thumbnail for his art, to see if it\u2019s working at a smaller scale. \u201cI built on the idea and started creating many small thumbnails on a single canvas,\u201d she reveals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a massive game-changer for working fast; not allowing myself to get bogged down in details, fleshing out compositions that worked; finding the big shapes and giving myself multiple options to choose from; as well as bagging some nice compositions for future ideas. The beauty of it is that you can resolve big issues fast and then increase the selected thumbnail to canvas size, knowing that the bones of the artwork are in place and working.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Planning out compositions at thumbnail size was a game-changer for Caroline (Image credit: Caroline Vos)<\/p>\n

A simple tool that made a big difference to Caroline is a physical artists\u2019 colour wheel. \u201cIt\u2019s a little cardboard wheel with values and complementary schemes set up as sliding layers,\u201d she says. \u201cI always use the wheel to establish the basis of my colour scheme and try not to deviate from it, rather than winging it and wondering what feels off.\u201d<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

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Gokcen Yuksek finds that focusing on the feeling she wants from a painting can be better than obsessing over how to fix it technically. \u201cAs soon as I focus on the mood, the technical solutions become much clearer.\u201d (Image credit: Gokcen Yuksek)<\/p>\n

Gokcen Yuksek, who paints in oils and works as a digital sculptor, tells us that her work took a step forward when she realised during a life drawing class that she didn\u2019t have to force herself to use a style that she struggled with; it was okay to use a style that came more naturally to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made me understand the difference between challenging myself to improve and forcing myself into a style that wasn\u2019t really mine,\u201d she says. \u201cOnce I started drawing and painting in a way that felt authentic, improving became much easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sometimes you need to start over, says Gokcen: \u201cIf something is built on a broken structure, it doesn\u2019t matter how refined it is.\u201d (Image credit: Gokcen Yuksek)<\/p>\n

She tells us that her workflow has completely changed over the years. \u201cI used to paint directly onto the canvas in fine detail from the start. Now I build paintings gradually through layers and underpainting. I think the difference was that I started to be more patient, stopped worrying about the speed and the final result and started playing around with transparency, effects and process basically having more fun with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s like I\u2019ve been trying to learn a language my whole life and I can finally speak it fluently enough to say something,\u201d says Hardy Fowler on finding his style (Image credit: Hardy Fowler)<\/p>\n

After noticing several periods of stagnation when his art stayed the same for a long time, concept artist and illustrator Hardy Fowler realised that \u201cif your art isn\u2019t changing, it isn\u2019t growing\u201d.<\/p>\n

He explains: \u201cWhen something starts to feel like it\u2019s working, there is a tendency to take our foot off of the gas \u2013 to slow down and even stop growing. I have learned to fight that instinct. Even when things are feeling good, I try to be in a constant state of change. \u201cI try to add a new technique, workflow, brush or colour palette to my work at least once a year. It\u2019s uncomfortable and difficult, but I always end up learning something new and my work is forever sorted into before and after that new spin occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n

Setting the scene<\/p>\n

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Hope Doe is an American artist residing in Japan, and she seeks to blend elements from both cultures in her work (Image credit: Hope Doe)<\/p>\n

Fine artist Hope Doe tells us that she learned how values work from a theatre production when she was at college. \u201cI didn\u2019t know just how important it was to organise values to make a detailed mess readable. But something clicked while watching a play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hope noticed that the stage used foreground cutouts and a background painting to set the scene, with actors and props in the middle. \u201cThe movement and action were lit up the most, while the background was secondary and the foreground often appeared darker,\u201d she says. In this moment, she understood clearly how lighting can be used to guide the viewer\u2019s eye, and began to apply the technique in her paintings.<\/p>\n

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\u201cLearning how to communicate my work, build \u201cLearning how to communicate my work, build an audience and create a sustainable creative career has been as transformative as any artistic skill I\u2019ve acquired,\u201d says Sucharita Suri (Image credit: Sucharita Suri)<\/p>\n

Mumbai-based watercolour artist Sucharita Suri creates whimsical art inspired by nature, folklore and myth. A big realisation was how much her assumptions about her own abilities constrained her art practice. When she challenged those assumptions and pushed herself to explore elements that she had dismissed, everything changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t mistake a current limitation for a permanent one,\u201d she advises. \u201cThe moment I stopped defining myself by what I couldn\u2019t do and started focusing on what I was willing to learn, my creative world expanded dramatically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sucharita also stresses the importance of understanding the power of mindset for creative growth.<\/p>\n

“Today, I am best known for my whimsical animals, but there was a time when animals were largely absent from my work. Despite decades of working as a creative professional, I carried an unexamined belief that painting animals was not one of my strengths. An early unsuccessful attempt had silently become a limitation I accepted as fact.<\/p>\n

The breakthrough came when she recognised that experience does not automatically free us from creative assumptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I stopped treating that belief as truth and approached the subject with curiosity rather than judgement, an entirely new body of work began to emerge. The animals I had avoided became the very subjects through which I found my most distinctive visual voice. \u201d<\/p>\n

A similar shift happened with watercolour, which Sucharita had previously dismissed after a few disappointing experiences. Returning to it later, I realised the issue had never been the medium itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had mistaken unfamiliarity for inability. Approaching watercolour with patience and openness revealed possibilities I had overlooked, and it has since become central to my artistic practice. That shift taught me a lesson that continues to shape my practice: creative growth often happens on the other side of discomfort. Many of the limitations we face as artists are not technical limitations but self-imposed ones\u201d.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX<\/a> to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.<\/p>\n

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