I have been staying home for most of the time since the outburst of COVID-19. That means I have been spending more time surfing on the internet, learning new skills and creating artworks.

One day, I bumped into a show called Work of Art: The Next Great Artist 2011. This show was an American reality competition show in which artists with different expertise and backgrounds compete with one another. Once I started watching the first episode, I couldn’t stop. It ended up I finished all the episodes within two days!

I found the show fascinating and informative. It was fascinating to see how different artists realized the same topic in different ways in each episode. The process of completing a piece of art gave me a glimpse of how artists work. The judges’ comments are also thought-provoking. In particular, Jerry Saltz’s appreciation of Kymia’s attempts of trying new materials in the last episode struck me. After finishing the show, I started to learn more about Jerry Saltz by following his instagram and buying his book How to be an Artist at Amazon.

Let me talk more about the book. Unlike other books sharing the same topic I have read, Jerry Saltz’s book is full of honest opinions on how to be an artist and the nature of the art world. It answers many questions I have been asking for years. I also love the exercises that help you stretch your imagination. The book is very useful for people who would like to start a career on art.

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How to be an artist