What we do reflects what we know as well as what we don't know. Knowledge is not static nor is it finite nor is it limited to study from what others have learned. Rather knowledge comes with freeing ourselves to learn: the freer our minds, the more open we are to discovering what there is to be learned.
In my college teaching days, I encountered a student who rebelled against taking the required drawing courses because, in his words, he already knew how to draw. His mind was blocked to what these courses might open up to him, to the depth and breadth the experience itself might provide for his artistic growth. He saw himself as possessing a singular skill with which he was satisfied, an attitude that imprisoned him from recognizing a possibility for further growth.
Similar attitudes prevail about composing paintings. Many artists develop their technical skills, but ignore composing skills, concluding that to focus on composition is to constrain their creativity. Such attitudes can block avenues within the creative process, causing the results of one's efforts to be contained within technical exploration alone, no matter how rich one's experiences might be.
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