Otherppl with Brad Listi

How to Get Somewhat Better at Art

Apr 3, 2024

Author Nicholson Baker discusses his journey of getting better at art through painting and drawing techniques. Topics include challenges in oil painting, preferred drawing paper types, pencil drawing techniques, and finding joy in creating art during the pandemic.

01:32:40

Creator website

Episode guests

Nicholson Baker

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Engage in deliberate practice to improve artistic skills.

Utilize tracing as a learning tool for drawing.

Selecting the right tools is crucial for mastering pencil work.

Deep dives

Nicholson Baker's Journey into Art

Nicholson Baker embarked on a transformative artistic journey detailed in his book 'Finding a Likeness'. Motivated by a desire to improve his drawing and painting skills, Baker engaged in a deliberate process of self-education, setting out to learn proper artistic techniques and materials. Through dedicated practice and experimentation, Baker made significant progress in his artistic abilities, showcasing a remarkable improvement over the course of his artistic endeavor.

Intro

5min

Journey of Improvement in Art and Writing

13min

Challenges and Techniques in Oil Painting

22min

Exploring Different Types of Drawing Paper and Artistic Preferences

3min

The Art of Drawing with Pencils

17min

Drawing Connections: Finding Beauty Through Art

24min

Exploring Joy and Gratitude through Art

5min

A new 'Craftwork' episode, about how to get (somewhat) better at art. My guest is Nicholson Baker, author of Finding a Likeness: How I Got Somewhat Better at Art, available from Penguin Press.

Nicholson Baker has written seventeen books, including The Mezzanine, Vox, Human Smoke, The Anthologist, and Baseless--also an art book, The World on Sunday, in collaboration with his wife, Margaret Brentano. Several of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, and he has won a National Book Critics Circle Award, a James Madison Freedom of Information Award, a Guggenheim fellowship, and the Hermann Hesse Prize. Baker has two grown children; he and his wife live on the Penobscot River in Maine.

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