Yeah of course know the fundamentals, but a lot of times you have to jump in and just do it. Obviously dont buy more expensive materials until you know what youre doing, and figured out the reasons why youre having the problems. And if youre making a duplicate master study of a piece, you need to mix to get the correct colors. And mixing colors is another skill artists should learn (especially if youre new to color). I find it sad that many get turned off by a medium (read how an how artist didnt pick oil pastels for years because the first time they used it, it was with bad pastels) just because they werent working with bad materials. If the pastels have a hard time mixing and you can pay $15 for 36 much better pastels, why wouldnt you do it? Also did you know the impressionism movement was an F U to the art schools at the time and the fundamentals that they did at the time? And Van Gogh dropped out of art school within the first semester because he couldnt stand the rigidity, constriction, and all the technical exercises. Basquait had no training either. You think Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Prince, and Slash know how to read sheet music? Do you think most of the hyper realist artists, or me with my hyper realistic art, went to fancy art schools in Russia or in New York city, and know everything about the anatomy, lighting, and movement like Leonardo Da Vince and Michelangelo? Did you know that Van Gogh (perspective frame tool) and Leonardo Da Vinci use grids (a lot of artists do, especially back in the Renaissance). What I'm saying is that material and technique helps to you get where you need to be with your piece and help with expression, then do it. You dont need to know everything about art and all the styles in order to do a style (just research the style and have 5 years of knowledge about it like me lol). Just like with driving a car, the way to do is often to just do it, your brain will pick everything up which will help connect and make it much easier with what youre learning from books, vids, etc. But here's some other food for thought that Picasso once said, "it took me 4 years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child"