Identifying Your Artistic Strengths
Sep 1, 2010 Art General, Painting
As artists, we see a lot of artwork. If you’re like me, you probably admire a range of styles. I periodically get a twinge of “I wish I could do that,” but in reality it’s not a subject I am drawn to. There’s nothing wrong with having many interests and experimenting with new techniques (in fact, I encourage it!), but identifying your artistic strengths can help keep you focused and lead to a more mature and developed art practice. It is also an important step in creating a body of work. Once you know your strengths, you can either use them to your advantage, or challenge them.
Let’s look at a couple ways to identify your strengths.
Artifact Experiment
I did this exercise in the last year of my BFA program and it was a huge eye opener.
Each person was asked to bring a selection of “artifacts” from our lives. We weren’t told what kind of artifacts or what they were for, just to pick 6-10 items from our lives.
* If you want to try this exercise, I suggest you think of your artifacts now, before you read about their purpose!
One by one, we shared out items and discussed what they had in common. It was amazing how each person’s artifacts had a common theme. One person’s items were all about her family. Another person’s were the same oatmeal colour. Another’s had to do with comfort.
I was one of the last to share and I remember panicking, thinking that I hadn’t understood the assignment. I couldn’t see any relation between my items, but when it was my turn, another student said, “it’s like little vignettes of your life.” And it was! The artifacts I chose reflected my linear, compartmentalized way of thinking.
With a little abstract thinking, we can apply these themes to an art practice. The family person might focus on ideas of relationships and connections. The oatmeal person has a colour scheme to work with and the comfort person could investigate ways to express softness and warmth.
For me, it translated into creating a whole image out of parts, fragments, of another image. Compartmentalize.
Overall Survey
Rather than looking at your life, this exercise looks at your art.
Go through all of your old work and select the most successful pieces, regardless of style and subject matter.
Again, we’re looking for patterns and themes. What is it that all or most of your best work has in common? You may need to see past the superficial subject matter and try to examine every possible facet of your art and the decisions you make.
When I did this with my own work, I was surprised at the similarities I found. I compared my old drawings of fantasy creatures, a selection of my favorite school assignments and more recent abstract paintings. Even though they appeared to be completely different, closer inspection revealed that they had colour palettes of the same intensity, a highly structured composition and quite often a reference to the grid.
For example, look at these two works: a coloured pencil drawing of a fairy and a constructed abstract painting. Opposites? Well, they both have the same intense oranges and lines that draw the eye to a central focus. Both embody (or attempt to embody) a feeling of suspension and weightlessness. And these are the things that intrigue me!
Final Thoughts
These exercises alone may not give you what you need to develop a body of work, but htey can provide you with a jumping off point by ientifying the things you have a deep interest in. By working with your identified strengths, you can begin to develop your ideas and your unique artistic language.
Tags: art tips, artistic strengths
Goals are for Skeptics Too!
Jul 15, 2010 Art General
Remember those goal setting sessions you had to do in high school?
I used to hate those things. I thought it was a stupid, pointless exercise. The act of putting pen to paper and formally stating short and long term goals seemed utterly redundant to me. Obviously, those who were going to accomplish their goals would and those who weren’t wouldn’t, regardless of who wrote down what.
As a high achieving, goal oriented person anyways, I was skeptical of something so organized and deliberate. Surely it was enough to know what you wanted and just go ahead and do it.
That frame of mind worked when I was a teenager and life was simple. Now that my aspirations involve more than getting a “B” in math and getting a summer job, I have learned the value of goal-setting.
When I started this blog over a year ago, it was one part of an ongoing attempt to take my art career to the next level. I started keeping a “journal,” a notebook where I would jot down art ideas, write articles, and yes, goals.
A year later, I make a point of flipping through my notebook periodically to refresh my memory. Some goals I have accomplished. Some I’m still working on, even after a year. Others I haven’t touched yet, and others still aren’t even relevant anymore.
The important thing is that there is a record of my ideas. For us creatives, inspiration can come in an overwhelming flood. Writing down the things you want to accomplish gives you a constant reminder so that those spectacular ideas don’t slip your mind when you get distracted.
Setting goals to paper also serves another purpose: it turns that abstract idea into a concrete, tangible thing. It’s like a butterfly fluttering around in your mind that you capture and pin down so that you can look at it closely. Maybe not the best analogy, but you get the point!
The simple act of acknowledging your goals can get other ideas rolling. Once you know what you want to do, you can start examining the steps you need to take to make it happen. Even the most intimidating goal can be broken down into smaller tasks, letting you tackle one thing at a time. Getting a gallery show is an intimidating goal, but once you break it down, it’s a lot easier to manage.
Goal-setting doesn’t need to be a rigid and structured process. It’s up to you!
Keeping track of ideas in a notebook is simple, informal, and has transformed this skeptic into a believer of the benefits of goal setting!
Tags: art tips, artists, goals, motivation
Creating a “Body of Work”
Jul 1, 2010 Art General, Creativity
The art world is full of frustratingly vague terms. Let’s dispel a little of this ambiguity!
What the heck is a “body of work” anyways??
Simply put, it is a collection of art that (and here’s the clincher!) has a common theme throughout.
It’s not enough to collect every drawing/sketch/collage you’ve done in the past ten years and declare that you have a body of work! A true body of work needs to have a thread of commonality running through it, whether that thread is a colour, a process, or a subject matter.
Think of Picasso’s Blue Period. That is a body of work! A series of paintings with a common theme and colour palette.
Why is this important?
Art galleries want to see a body of work. This gives them a deeper understanding of your art practice, the confidence that you can see a project through, and a theme to build an exhibition around. If you submit a collection of random works to a curator, he/she will think (probably rightly so!) that you have no idea who you are as an artist.
If you want to exhibit your art, therefore, it is extremely important to develop a body of work.
But how?
You need to create a series of work that has a common theme, which can be harder than it sounds!
When you hit upon an idea that is particularly exciting to you, tell yourself to stick with it for another ten or so pieces. This doesn’t mean that you do the same thing over and over ten times. It means that you work with the same ideas, developing and refining them as you go. As well as giving you a body of work, this will allow you to explore your ideas in great depth.
Here are a few (of many) possible themes:
1. Similar Subject Matter
Choose a subject that you feel passionate about, that you’d really like to explore in depth. Just off the top of my head, this could be something like “the castles of Wales,” or “the beaches of Australia.” It could also be something like “lines” or “squares.” If you love beaches, challenge yourself to paint as many beaches as possible. Expand your focus within the beach theme, paintinng beaches at different times of the day or in different seasons. Try a close-up view. Try a panoramic shot.
2. A Single Subject
Picking a single subject allows you a lot of freedom when it comes to materials and techniques. Love the look of that tea pot? Now render it in as many different ways as you can. You can even start to abstract the image, as Cezanne did with his still life paintings.
3. A Colour
Sticking to a colour palette or a single colour also allows you the freedom of subject matter and materials. Whatever you’re interested in, challenge yourself to use only a certain colour(s), but let yourself explore that colour in different ways.
The trick to developing a body of work is that you need to provide yourself with interesting challenges. You need to keep each piece fresh and new, all the while working within your selected theme. Some themes develop naturally as you grow as an artist, but other themes are limitations deliberately employed by the artist to stretch themselves creatively.
When to Lay the Body to Rest
Whether you’ve been working with the same theme for weeks or years, there will come a time when it stops being meaningful to you. As an artist, you need to be sensitive to and aware of this. When you sense yourself becoming bored with a series, it’s time to either discard it and start something new, or introduce a new element to bring the excitement and uncertainty back.
Tags: Creativity, galleries
Studio Tips for Renting Artists
Jun 23, 2010 Art General
So you’re wanting to set up a studio space in your home or another area that you don’t own. You want it to be a space in which you can let loose and get messy, but you want to keep your damage deposit! What do you do?
Well, from an artist who’s had a studio space in every rented home she’s had, and who has always gotten her damage deposit, here are some tips.
Preventing Mess
Prevention is key! When you set up your space, take into consideration all the areas you want to protect.
The floor: A drop sheet is absolutely necessary, wall to wall if possible! A plastic drop sheet works well, but the best ones I’ve seen are double layered. One layer is a light canvas, the second layer is heavy plastic. If you lay this out canvas side up, the fabric will absorb any spills so that it doesn’t run off the edge of the drop sheet, and the plastic keeps it from leaking through. The double layer also makes it less likely that you will put a hole through it. Whichever kind of drop sheet you choose, heavier is better!
Some notes on drop sheets: Spiders love these things, so just be aware that you might have a few unwelcome visitors! It’s also a good idea to take them out every once in awhile to double check that nothing is leaking, as well as to let your room air out. Plastic can trap moisture and you wouldn’t want mold to grow!
The walls: This is an area that is easy to overlook. Even if you’re doing nice, neat paintings on canvas, there are a million ways that paint could end up on the wall. Dropping a paint brush, a flicking motion of your brush, etc. Identify the areas most likely to get hit and drape some plastic there. This plastic doesn’t need to be as heavy, it just needs to protect the wall. A push-pin or two should be enough to hold it up, and that won’t damage the walls too much.
Storage: Having a safe, dedicated area to store things definitely cuts down on the number of spills and accidents that happen in the studio. Try to keep your work area tidy and put things away after you use them. Clean your brushes promptly, pour out rinse water right away and keep your palette clean or put away.
Cleaning Up Mess
No matter how many preventions you take, no matter how careful you are, you will inevitably get paint in a place where it shouldn’t be. Here are some strategies for effective clean-up.
The floor: Luckily, hardwood, lino and laminate are easy to clean up. If the paint is wet, it wipes right off and if it’s dry, it scrapes off fairly easily. Carpet is tougher. Make sure you clean it up right away while the paint is wet. I’ve found that Master’s Brush Cleaner works really well to get oil paint out of carpet, much better than carpet cleaner. Whatever you do, dab, don’t scrub!
The wall: I have a few strategies that have worked for me when trying to get paint splatters off the wall. The first is using fine sand paper and very lightly sanding away the paint. You need to do this very slowly and carefully! Another thing you could try is using your own paints to mix the wall colour and painting over top of your splatters. This only works if you have a few tiny spots of paint to cover up, and make sure you test your colour somewhere inconspicuous first. Obviously, these should only be attempted if your efforts are going to improve the condition of the walls. The whole idea is to leave them as you found them, but not at the risk of doing more damage.
The sink: Whether you wash up in the bathroom or in the kitchen, the sink is another area where paint can splatter. The area you really need to worry about is the counter, which can stain. Make sure you wipe up anything that gets on the counter right away. The sink itself may look stained, but will wash up with some cleaner like Vim, or in extreme cases, some kind of bleach.
Your route: The last place that is likely to get dirty is the route you take between your work space and your wash-up area. I know this from experience… A spot of paint on the foot can be tracked through the whole house, or a handful of brushes that need cleaning can make a mess of the wall if you’re not paying attention! I’ve also gotten paint on light switches by accident. Just be aware of yourself and your movements through the house during and after working in the studio. The sooner you notice a mess, the easier it is to clean up.
Conclusion
Just because you don’t own your house doesn’t mean you can’t fashion a functional area to make art. You just need a little extra precaution and fore-sight. I’ve always been able to rig up a space that allows me to get messy. I once had an entire room lined with plastic and it worked perfectly! So get some drop sheets, set up a space that works for you, and start creating!
Tags: art studio, organization, paintings
Combating Perfectionism in Art
Jun 16, 2010 Art General
The folks over at theArtistsWhoTHRIVE Blog posted a great article a little while ago: Perfectionism Kills Creativity. If you receive my newsletter, you will have already seen it. If not, I suggest you read it!
This short but informative article suggests that quantity is more important than quality in an art practice, a sentiment I happen to agree with.
When it comes to art, quality follows quantity. That is, by producing lots of work, experimenting, trying new things and allowing yourself to make mistakes, you will inevitably improve your skills. If you’re bogged down with details, obsessed with perfectionism, you limit your own creativity.
Your job as an artist is not to produce good art, it’s to produce lots of art. By producing lots of art, you will thereby produce good art!
Okay, it’s a bit much to wrap your mind around, but once you do, it’s very liberating! Let me give you an example:
I am a huge perfectionist, a characteristic that is evident in my portrait work. Throughout the first three years of art school, I really struggled with my need to create perfect images. I was criticized for it and questioned my own creativity. It wasn’t until my fourth year that I was able to set aside my perfectionism and start producing a larger volume of work. That’s when my creativity really flourished and the ideas started flowing like crazy!
So how do we leave perfectionism behind and embrace our true creative natures? Well, it wasn’t easy for me and it probably won’t be easy for you!
For most people, perfectionism isn’t a switch in the brain that can just be turned off. You will likely need to implement strategies that help you subvert your natural tendencies. For me, this was a systematic destruction of my own creations. Because I knew that I would be destroying my work eventually, it didn’t matter anymore if it wasn’t perfect. This allowed me to make mistakes and work more quickly without trying to plan the end result.
So, what are some ways you can stop being a perfectionist? Here are a few ideas that I came up with.
Practical Ways to Subvert Perfectionism in Art
1. Paint with an extra large brush. Don’t allow yourself a small brush to paint details. Force yourself to contend with a too-large tool and simplify shapes.
2. Don’t use an eraser. Whatever you do, whatever mistakes you make, no erasers! Either live with the mistake, or find a way to fix it by continuing to draw.
3. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. Not in a vague and abstract sense, but in a concrete sense. State to yourself that you will make (and not correct) three mistakes in your next piece.
4. Make up rules that get in the way of your usual process. For example, you could decide that after completing the first parts of a painting, you will outline everything in bright orange. This gives you another element to contend with and will keep you from getting caught up in details too early.
5. Go big. Technical drawers (like myself) tend to work on smaller pieces and stay tightly focused on the subject. We use small tools and small actions to draw. Break away from this mindset by using a large piece of paper and drawing with big, expressive gestures.
6. Paint or draw without looking at your work. Do this in the beginning to get a looser feeling, then challenge yourself to make it work.
7. Try it “en plein air.” Take your easel outside and work from nature. This forces you to work faster and looser, and to simplify many of the details that are visible.
8. Give yourself a time limit. Gesture drawings are great for this. Challenge yourself to capture the essense of a subject in thirty seconds, one minute, or five minutes.
By using these and other strategies, you can begin to let go of any perfectionism that may be holding you back. When you don’t stress over every little detail in every little piece, you free up a lot of time to make more art.
Perfectionism on the Web
Perfectionism seems to be a hot topic among artists right now. Check out Itaya’s blog and Kirsty Hall’s blog for more thoughts and discussion on the topic of perfectionism.
Share!
What are your thoughts of and experiences with perfectionism? What are some strategies that you use to keep from stressing over details?
Tags: art, artists, Creativity, perfectionism
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