10 lessons my artist father taught me

When we were children, my father, the painter David Gentleman, never offered much advice to me or my siblings.

- Amelia Gentleman

If we wanted to draw, he would hand out pencils and let us get on with it. He was encouraging, but never gave instructions.

The idea of teaching people still makes him uncomfortable, so his latest book, Lessons for Young Artists, has come as a surprise.

At 95, he has attempted to distil everything he has learned about working as a painter since the 1940s into advice. These lessons are for anyone wondering how to build a life and career as a creative person.

I haven't inherited his artistic talents, but I have picked up other important things from growing up with someone who has managed to spend the past eight decades learning a living from what he enjoys doing most.

Here are 10 things I've learned from a lifetime watching him work.

1 Try to build a life doing what you want

My father's parents were painters who met at the Glasgow School of Art in the 1920s. The idea of making a living as an artist was not an alarming prospect. He has always managed to pay the bills by painting, drawing, designing book covers, murals, stamps and logos.

He developed a phenomenal work ethic, but this came fairly easily because painting and drawing was all he wanted to do. As a child I would go to sleep listening to the creaking of the floorboards above my room as he worked into the night. I took a different path, but I always wanted to be a journalist. I learned from him the importance of an occupation you feel enthusiastic about, so work doesn't feel like work.

2 Don't procrastinate or wait around for inspiration to strike

There has never been any discussion at home of muses, and no leisurely periods spent lounging around waiting for beautiful ideas to appear. Ideas come when you're at a desk with a pencil in your hand.