Nurture Your Art Practice by Creating a Habit of Practice

Opus Resource Library

Professional artists often refer to what they do with their art as their “art practice”.

What does that mean? At the pro level, artists have an understanding and acknowledgement that no matter how far they’ve advanced their skill, there must also be constant evolution in their creative process, and that requires a lot of practice.

Many creatives have had the experience of working to master a technique and no matter how far they get, find there is always room for improving an element, or even becoming inspired by what they’ve achieved along the way to try taking it in a different direction. It’s rare that we’re ever finished mastering our art, and as a result, the term practice describes the ongoing process of practicing; discover, focus, learn, make, and make, and make… all leading towards a personal evolution.

Watch our video below, featuring the wise words of professional artist, Pierre Coupey, as he talks about his ever-continuing creative journey and the practice it's taken to come so far.

"I really knew that I wanted to be a writer and a painter when I was about 8 years old, and then it was just a process of growing into that identity. It took me a long time to grow into that identity, in fact, I’m still not sure if I’ve arrived there yet – I think it’s still an ongoing process."

– Pierre Coupey

INSPIRING YOUR PRACTICE

As we work our way through the month, watch for resources from Opus – videos about practice and techniques – to help keep you inspired, motivated and focused on making progress in your work. We’ll also be launching new products that will inspire you to try new things, profiling a brand that manufactures products fundamental to practicing art.

GET INSPIRED!

Artists Amy J Dyck and Eric Louie joined us for an Opus Visual Podcast in 2021 and shared their thoughts on the importance "practice" has had in their creative careers and throughout their lives as artists. Watch these short videos and get inspired by what impact practice could have on your progress:

Amy J Dyck

Eric Louie

Watch Amy J Dyck

Watch Eric Louie

PRODUCTS TO SUPPORT YOUR PRACTICE

The further we delve into the topic of practice, the more it's apparent that having the resources you need to support your journey is essential. We're starting the month with a focus on drawing, and have created a video interview with the owner of Nitram Charcoal, a Canadian manufacturer of one of the key products used for practice around the world.

We're also launching NEW Daniel Smith Gouache paints, perfect for adding opaque options to your watercolour collection or beefing up your paint selection for creating bold, graphic artworks.

Portraits in charcoal from Nitram Fine Art Charcoal

SUPPORTING YOURSELF WITH THE TOOLS YOU NEED FOR PRACTICE

You can't practice without products! We've compiled a list of all sorts of art materials to use during your practice – from professional to beginner – having the tools and supplies to support your vision and practice is key to your success.

EXPLORE THE PRODUCT GUIDE

OPUS DAILY PRACTICE CHALLENGE

Bringing a community of practice to you!
Join us in the Opus Daily Practice Challenge and connect with your creative community!

You'll experience how Practice can improve your skills, get support from other participants, and see how others are approaching their practice. As a group, we can make practice fun, feel supported, and together, we can all make progress towards our individual creative goals.

JOIN THE OPUS DAILY PRACTICE CHALLENGE

Collage of works from #OpusDailyPractice

Take a look at the Opus Daily Practice Challenge submissions – all in one central virtual gallery – and see how adding a daily practice has helped thousands of artists progress in their work.

VIEW THE OPUS DAILY PRACTICE GALLERY