What do you teach someone who can already draw this well?

I recently had the absolute pleasure of teaching an exceptionally talented teenage artist who arrived at his lesson already producing remarkably skilful drawings of dinosaurs and anatomy.

When someone already has this level of ability, my job isn’t to teach them to copy something they can already see.

It’s to ask: how much further can we take this?

This young artist was an absolute joy to teach because his existing skills meant we could explore some much deeper ideas during our couple of hours together.

Understanding the science behind what we see

We looked at some of the science and psychology behind how we see, alongside higher-level perspective, light, shadow and the principles that allow us to create convincing three-dimensional form on a flat surface.

But we also explored something that I think is enormously important for any developing artist: choice.

How can you deliberately change the way you draw according to what the artwork needs?

A more graphic, linear approach might communicate the structure and anatomy of a dinosaur beautifully, perhaps for a book or scientific illustration.

Another approach might use perspective, light, shadow and form to make that same dinosaur feel solid, three-dimensional and almost alive.

Neither is necessarily better.

The skill is understanding why they look different and knowing how and when to choose.

Taking existing talent further

Because he was so receptive, I could keep introducing more information, more nuance and increasingly challenging ideas, and he kept absorbing, questioning and experimenting with them.

Afterwards, he left me a wonderful five-star Google review:

“I absolutely loved the lesson and never knew that there was this much to art yet to be discovered for me. I’m very very grateful for the knowledge Jeanni shared with me. She was so enthusiastic about my work and helped boost my confidence in my ability as well as helped me see my potential.”

That last part means a great deal to me.

Sometimes teaching art isn’t about showing somebody how to draw.

It’s about giving an already talented artist the knowledge and understanding to discover how much further their own ability could take them.

Teaching understanding rather than copying

This is at the heart of the way I teach art. Whether I’m working with a complete beginner or a highly accomplished young artist, I don’t want students simply copying what I do.

I want them to understand what they are seeing, why something works and how they can use that knowledge in their own artwork.

My art lessons in Mawgan Porth, Cornwall, as well as my online art lessons, are designed to develop that understanding so artists can make their own decisions, adapt their techniques and develop their own individual style.

Looking at these extraordinary dinosaur drawings, I think this young artist already has enormous ability. Giving him a few more tools with which to explore that potential was an absolute joy.

Knowledge gives us choices. Understanding gives us freedom.