As a beginning art student, I’m in awe of my painting teacher. His work is work is so accomplished, his demonstrations so sure that I assume painting is easy for him. Beginners always assume that the activity, whatever it is, becomes easy for the expert. And this is where we make a mistake.
I’m an experienced movement observer and presumably an expert Movement Pattern Analyst. But that doesn’t mean that observing is easy for me. Every time I begin an interview with a new person for whom I will prepare a movement profile, I pass through the vale of doubt. Will I be able to detect the pattern? Will I get it right?
While observing and analyzing movement has become easier with years of experience, I find it is never effort-less or automatic. Each person’s movement is unique. I have to remain open and wait for the pattern to emerge. And then, it usually does.
I believe this is the same with painting. Experience helps, but each subject presents a unique challenge. And while we all want to expert at something, perhaps it is also good to sustain a beginner’s mind – as Richard Baker writes: “free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all possibilities.”