This article that Jerry Saltz wrote made me realize that there are many "lessons" that I have come to understand, some that I am still going through, and some that I haven't even faced yet. Most of these I can relate to with my experience of being an artist so far. Saltz third lesson talks about feeling free to imitate, which can be a good thing but it then collides with lesson 10, which is finding your own voice. My artwork is mostly inspired by other artists or their ideas so that doesn't help me at all when it comes to finding my own style. There are some lessons that speak best to me. Lesson one talks about not being embarrassed. I find myself caring about what people think or being afraid of going out of the norm because people might not like it but I know that not everyone will love my art or understand it. I have realized that over time I have gotten better with lesson 17 which is seeing as much as you can. It's so important to look at every detail in an art piece. Looking at it in depth will help you understand it and come up with different interpretations. There are a few artists that Saltz mentioned that I am familiar with. He briefly mentions Andy Warhol who was known for pop art. I was familiar with Philip Guston because I remember seeing one of his works at the MOMA and my friend thinking that they were cartoon ghosts. I remembered learning about the Russian avant- garde artist, Kazimir Malevich, in my art history class. This article made me realize that I should carry around a sketchbook and just draw anything that comes to mind. Just let my hands do the drawing and not put so much thought into it. It doesn't have to be full drawings, it can be shapes, doodles, or anything random. I also learned that when it comes to writing artist statements don't try too hard to make it sound smart. Just write it how you talk and make it direct, clear, and to the point.