10 Lessons from 10 Weeks of Art School

Welcome to Creatives Anonymous, a weekly newsletter that explores what it means to be a modern-day creative through essays, interviews, and commentary.

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One of my 2025 goals is to hone in on my creativity. So, in the spirit of prioritizing it, I financially backed it. Last November, I signed up for an adult art class at the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, which focused on the fundamentals of drawing class that kicked off in January.

The last time I took an art class where I was actively creating was when I was a senior in high school (it was a black-and-white film photography class). I took some other art-centric classes in college as a part of my fashion merchandising minor, but nothing came close to that last class I took in high school. 

I chose to focus on drawing because that was an area I wanted to improve upon. I know I have some natural talent in that area, but I wanted to hone it, so I thought the best way was to start back up with a fundamentals class. I tried to self-teach myself last year through books and courses on Skillshare, but it’s not the same as going in person and holding yourself accountable. 

Last week was my last class, so I thought sharing the 10 lessons I learned from 10 weeks of art class would be fun. I also documented the whole process to track and share my progress. 

Without further ado, here we go: 

Week 1: Not all forms of art are the same

I felt like a kid going on their first day of school. My bag (thanks to my friend Nina) was all packed with brand-new art supplies still in their package from Blick. 

It felt good to have that glee and euphoria that comes with the first day of school as an adult. You don’t know how much you miss it until you don’t have it. 

But as I settled into class, I quickly learned that not all art forms are the same. Where I excel in photography, especially in composition, it took me a while to grasp the concept of drawing. I went into the class optimistic, looking at the still life and thinking I knew exactly how to draw it. That was most definitely not the case. 

Another observation as I look back at my work from the first few classes was that my drawing was rigid and still (again, ironic because I’d describe my creative work as “loose and fast” rather than “hard and rigid”).

Week 2: What you see is different from what you think you see

One of the key fundamentals of this class was drawing precisely what you saw, not what you think you see, which is hard as a creative. 

We’ve always been taught to add our spin and interpret what we see. So, it’s hard to let go of that cognitive bias and take things exactly at face value. 

Take drawing shapes, for example, especially organic shapes. We want to initially draw them curved because that’s what we think they should be, but in reality, we need to pull it with a more angular approach to understand the change in movement and shape. 

Week 3: You can’t worry about being perfect when you’re learning new skills 

My perfectionist tendencies came out to play during this class. It’s funny because I’m not a perfectionist in my creative work—I’m more of a “done is better than perfect” kind of gal. 

Some of my classmates throughout the class observed how humbling it was to be bad at art. We don’t want to be bad at anything, so we pressure ourselves to think we must master a skill even if we’ve never done it before. 

As creatives, I think we feel that even though we’re good at one form of art, it means we automatically must be good at another, but sadly, that’s not how it works.

We have to remember that we’re beginners and create a safe space for ourselves to create without the pressure to succeed from the get-go.

Week 4: There is such a thing as overworking the composition

As I wrote about a few weeks ago, there is such a thing as making something too perfect. I spent the entire 3-hour class trying to perfect composition placement, and the furthest I got was just to this line drawing. 

It frustrated me because I wanted to finish my drawing by the end of class. I realized it was because I was overthinking the composition's size, proportion, and placement. 

Week 5: SKIP (I was speaking at the UWiB panel)

Week 6: Just start 

They aren’t kidding when they say the hardest thing to do is just start. We’re afraid to put pen to paper. It’s a commitment we’re making, one where we don’t know where we will end up once we start. We want to make sure we’re starting on the right foot. That’s why we have such a hard time taking action. 

But sometimes, the best course of action you can take is imperfect action. 

One of the challenges I had to overcome during this class was deciding where to start making my mark on the paper. This week, I finally stopped overthinking and just cooked. And it shows—my work is much more fluid here than in weeks past. 

Week 7: Creative skills are transferable

Another challenge I had throughout this class was composition. I pride myself on this as a photographer—I always have a great sense of composition, but with drawing, it didn’t click until late in the class. 

So, I thought, why don’t I consider my drawing composition like a photographer? Specifically, I zoomed in on the scene until the still life filled the whole frame. Transferring that skill from photography helped the concept of composition click for me. 

Week 8: Creativity isn’t a task you can check off your list

It’s so easy today to treat a creative project like a task we have to check off (I’m SO guilty of this). It’s hard to sit down and take time creating without feeling like we’re up against the clock and ready to move on to the next thing. 

This class was great because it forced me to spend three uninterrupted hours working on my project, and most of the time, even that wasn’t enough. It forced me to slow down and use the entire time I had. It felt free not to rush, something I wanted to take into my creative practice. 

Week 9: Take a step back 

As creatives, one of the best things we can do is to take a step back from our work to get a different perspective. It’s looking at things with fresh eyes to see where you can make some adjustments. 

During these last few weeks of the class, our drawing intervals got shorter, and we took more breaks and more time to look away from our work to see how we could make adjustments. 

I do this a lot with my writing. I’ll write a draft and take a step back before coming back to edit. It’s also an effective way to beat writer’s block when I’m stuck and don’t know where to start something or what direction to take it in. 

(Also, this week’s finished piece was by far my favorite of the whole class). 

Week 10: Be in the right mental space to create

A few of these class sessions came after very tiring, mentally taxing days. And that showed in my work. These days, I didn’t feel like my work was at its best. 

Something I believe in as a creative is that you can’t force yourself to create. You have to be in the right mental space to do it. Your mind must be open and receptive to perform at its best. It can’t be bogged down with intrusive thoughts, stress, and worries. 

Easier said than done. 

I think that’s why we go so long between creative work sessions or why we have so many neglected projects—our brains are too bogged down to work on them. 

There are so many days when I want to work on a creative project, but my mind is not in it, so I don’t. I have to be in the mood to create. I have to have time to work on my project, enough time to do it without feeling like a chore. 

Final thoughts

Overall, I liked the class. I learned a lot about drawing that I didn’t know. I wish I had more time to practice outside of class (this year has been off to a chaotic and busy start) to hone my skills. But I do want to block out a dedicated chunk of time each week to create. 

Drawing-wise, I have a tough time debating whether or not I will still like it after this class. On the one hand, I want the ability to sketch, but on the other, I don’t like how formal it feels (maybe it’s just this class?). Regardless, I will keep it up and find my style along the way with the fundamentals I was taught. 

I have on my goals list for the year to take a painting class, so it’s on deck next. 

Creative Corner

• 🎞️ What I’m Consuming: Syllabus by Lynda Barry. I’m LOVING it so far and can see why people view it as an alternative to The Artist’s Way.

• 💡 What I’m Loving: The idea of using a composition book and Barry’s “Daily Diary” prompt as outlined in the book.

• 🎨 What I’m Working On: Waiting to for the UW Quad cherry blossoms to be in peak bloom so I can go snap them this season

• 💭 Weekly Musing:

Thank you 💕

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I’m so grateful for all of your support!

Alexa Phillips is a writer, brand strategist, and multi-passionate creative. She is the founder of Bright Eyes Creative, a Seattle-based consultancy and media company that helps founder-led consumer brands and creatives become tastemakers with content-driven brand experiences & media.

Where to find me:

• Learn more about my services 

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