look over someone's shoulders
Does "look over someone's shoulders" in this context mean "to learn painting by looking at the hands of other artists while they are painting" or " to learn painting by looking at the paintings of other artists"?

Context;
My ability was self taught, I never took more than one art class in college … My artwork was spontaneous because I didn’t have any hangups brought on by any earlier (training). I just looked over [the other combat artists’] shoulders a lot and learned how to work with all types of medium.

Question

look over someone's shoulders
Does "look over someone's shoulders" in this context mean "to learn painting by looking at the hands of other artists while they are painting" or " to learn painting by looking at the paintings of other artists"?

Context;
My ability was self taught, I never took more than one art class in college … My artwork was spontaneous because I didn’t have any hangups brought on by any earlier (training). I just looked over [the other combat artists’] shoulders a lot and learned how to work with all types of medium.

Answer

It means observing/watching/monitoring someone's activity, mostly to find something wrong.

You feel pressure when someone is looking over your shoulder while you are doing an activity.

Answer

As Troy said, it's closer to the first. But not literally 'at the hands' - it's more general than that.

Answer

I would read it as "to learn painting by looking at the hands of other artists while they're painting".

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