Being a painter, for some, can be an isolating and sometimes deflating experience. A lot of us are usually creating our work in solitude. We don’t always get feedback from fellow artists, but rather from friends or household members who have little understanding of our paintings or what it takes to create and put it out there. They might tell you that you should paint a certain (acceptable) way, or say things like, “I don’t get it”. We know they mean well, but as we say in the south, “Bless their hearts”.
Then there are the general and often soul-crushing comments, even from fellow artists, that sound normal but the translation is something like, “You have to do it this way as it has always been done…” or, "You can’t paint if you aren’t a perfect draftsmen”, or “You don’t have innate talent”. I disagree with comments like these, down to my core. I have been teaching for quite some time, and if I had a dollar for every student who has told me they got shut down by comments like these from teachers (teachers!), parents, relatives, and even fellow artists, I would be a rich woman. These students have told me that their painting shut-downs lasted for years…sometimes even 20 and 30 years. Wow.
Here is what I believe:
1. If you create in joy, it is “right”. Do not worry about perfection and do not worry about what anyone else thinks but you.
2. If someone criticizes you, it is probably more about what is inside of them than what is inside (or outside) of you.
3. There are rules in art, but rules can be broken. There is merit to knowing the rules before you can break them, but I say just break ‘em if that’s what you want. Might be a more interesting outcome.
We all want to make good art, something to be proud of…but there is something to be said for growing where you are planted. Embrace what you like about your art and improve what you don’t. Art can be a conduit. It could be a joyful expression of your inner self, or a way to expel your inner demons. Whatever reason you have for creating, it should be your voice and your expression, not what someone else wants from you. There is nothing that says people have to “get it”, or even like it. If you like it, that is what matters.
I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free. –Georgia O’Keeffe
