Those drawings are beautiful! And yes, you'll still grow from those. Maybe not as directly, but every grain of graphite or dot of ink builds experience. And you may learn a lot about what you love aesthetically and what kind of marks you like making. And it's really important to keep joy as part of your artistic practice. We can lose sight of that while learning, since learning requires some level of discomfort. But *art* doesn't require discomfort, and a lot of truly great art has joy as a core component. I go through periods where I do a lot of abstract art. It's a completely different mode that brings me lots of joy. And yes, it has taught me a lot.

I'm a big proponent of standing. It makes stepping back much easier, and subjectively I feel more engaged in the work—something like boxing or dancing with the piece. At the same time, I also have terrible back problems, so both standing or sitting for long periods hurts my back. So I need to alternate between standing and sitting frequently. So, I use a high stool, so when I sit on it I'm at the same height as when I'm standing, and it's a stool so it's easy to get on and off. However, I know lots of people who work sitting down, whether it's for artistic or ergonomic reasons. Stepping back is really critical to regaining objectivity when looking at your own piece. However, it's not the only way. There are other techniques, all of which have a common theme: shifting your perspective. In other words, look at your piece in a different way. Here are some ways to do that: - Stepping back is the easiest technique in many ways, since it's fast and doesn't require any extra equipment. - Looking in a mirror is another great option, since it increases the effective distance and also flips horizontally. But it requires a mirror and I often find it hard to juggle. I believe I saw somewhere that James Gurney rigged a mirror system so he could just glance quickly without having to hold anything. If set up right, this could be even faster than stepping back. And mirrors are a great option if you need to sit or have limited space. Looking in the mirror doubles the distance you see your piece from. - Taking a break is maybe the most effective option of all. I consider this shifting your perspective in time. Something about seeing your work after a break makes tons of stuff clear. But of course, this one requires time. And it seems the longer the break the more clearly you'll see your piece. But even a short break is helpful, and I'd even say it's critical. - Taking a photo of your piece. Something about seeing it on a screen can make things stand out. - Squinting shrinks the value range and softens edges. - Turning your piece on its side or flipping it over. I personally haven't had a lot of success with this one, but I know of several amazing artists who swear by it. - Asking someone else is also super important. It gives you their perspective and helps shift yours. Once someone points something out it becomes obvious. Of course it's great to get feedback from teachers and people more skilled than you. But getting people of similar level—and even people with less or no experience at all—can give you helpful data and shift your viewpoint as well.

@Darren Lockhart One thing I forgot to mention—we all have a mirror on us most all the time. Our phones (with the screen off) make a great mirror.

@Adam H Wow, very cool! I'm a big fan of JC Leyendecker and hadn't seen these sketches before. Thanks for sharing!

@Willy Oleus I'd love to flip this around the other way. If there's an artist you admire and think you could learn a lot from them, are you morally obligated to study with/from them?

@Willy Oleus This is interesting to me personally. I think you're leaving out a really important variable (or possibly you mean something different by "morally obligated" than I understand it). The variable is time/money. We know that they're related: time is money. They're both finite resources we have to choose to spend carefully. Are you morally obligated to choose to spend your time and money studying the artist you love over other obligations? Even aside from family, friends, health etc., there's also the personal obligation of making artwork. Should you choose to spend your time studying over making artwork? If you have 30 minutes a day for art, should you spend it studying or making artwork? And that's not even getting into another level of prioritization. Let's say we assume you should choose studying over making art, which artists should you spend your limited time studying with/from? I happen to know you have a long list of artists you admire and want to learn from, just like me. You couldn't possibly have time and money to study with/from all of them. This is relevant for me personally as a teacher. Most of my students end up prioritizing studying with someone else, or prioritizing something else in their life. It's been tough to swallow as a teacher—I've really poured my heart and soul into my teaching, but people mostly end up leaving. That's been really hard. At the same time, I understand the fact that people don't have unlimited time and money. They have to prioritize between so many things.

Very cool! I wasn't aware of Favretto. Thanks for sharing!