CI tAPTER OP~e，<br > 5 S u<br > You cannot learn to drive a car or play<br > golf simply by reading a book. You can<br > learn the basic principles in this man-<br > ner， but to become a good driver or a<br > competent golfer you must have a<br > certain amount of experience.<br > This is equally true in the creative arts. You learn to paint by painting<br > and to play the piano by practicing. Quite often， the advancement you make<br > in your chosen art depends entirely upon how you begin. Let s say that in a<br > desire to become a painter you choose to copy a large canvas by van Gogh.<br > The bold brush strokes， intricate blending of color， and complex composition<br > of a genius like van Gogh might frustrate you. If this is your first effort， it<br > is altogether possible that you might abandon the project before you are a<br > quarter of the way through， thus ending your career as an artist before it<br > had a chance to get started.<br > Many people have learned that the secret of success in learning a creative<br > art is in beginning with a basic project--something that is easy to execute<br > and that will produce a finished product in a short amount of time. This<br > gives the beginner not only a sense of accomplishment， but a certain amount<br > of valuable practice.<br > So let s start right ott with a needlepoint project. This may seem to be<br > a reverse approach because you will be asked to do certain things without<br > understanding why you are doing them. However， if you begin with this<br > project right now， you will gain valuable experience while you are reading<br > about the various needlepoint techniques and materials. You can finish this<br > first project in one evening while you are watching television.<br > 1<br >