Heuristic painting

Another great post from Robert Genn, Heuristic painting. In my field, I usually hear heuristics mentioned in relation to usability testing. Here, Robert’s advice applies to the design process, whether you are putting acrylic on canvas or pixels on a grid.

Start anywhere.
Accept “nearly right” to get going.
Forgo early accuracy and precision.
Let early strokes determine later ones.
Assume a solution and try working backwards.
Of two solutions, choose the simplest.
Move forward on incomplete information.
Think smart rather than laborious.
Use intuition and go directly to the outcome.
Trust your instincts.

One needs a sense of discovery and a willingness to go with the
educated guess, without falling too much into tried-and-true
habit. In other fields the conventional wisdom is sometimes
referred to as “bias.” Heuristic painters rethink their systems
to free up natural flow and avoid bias. Artists who find
themselves stuck, bogged down or habitually obsessive might
consider giving some of these ideas a spin. It’s not that
perfection is left behind, but rather a new kind of perfection
is found.