Learn to… Art!

Experiencing An Artistic Identity Crisis?

Aug 24, 2011 Art General

If so, you’re not alone. Because I am too!

According to popular opinion, the key to success as an artist is knowing what you want from your art. Do you want fame and recognition? Do you want to be rich? Do you simply want to make a living making art?

Well, what if you can’t identify what you want from your art, or even what kind of art you like to do? You end up like me, spread too thin, not committed enough to any one thing to be successful.

Tough to admit? You bet!

Where does all this ambivalence come from? I’m convinced it’s the result of years of  “brainwashing” in art school. I started school believing I was into one type of art, and I left school believing I was into another type of art. Now I’m floating somewhere in between, not sure where my beliefs end and the school’s teachings begin.

Anyone who has been to university for fine arts can probably tell you that there is a definite emphasis on content and concept over technical skill or presentation. Paintings should have some type of narrative or commentary. Realistic, representational work is boring, pointless, stagnant. To paint something because it will sell is to sell-out.

Well, that was the message I got anyways. It wasn’t until fourth year that someone actually said to me, “if you want to paint realistically, that’s fine, just make sure you do it well.” But by then I was so far gone that I responded with, “I don’t want to paint realistically, it’s become a crutch.”

I’m pretty sure I believed it at the time. Now I’m not so sure.

Plagued with doubts as I am, I look at self-taught artists with envy. They seem to blindly forge ahead, confident in their abilities and direction, completely unfettered by the trappings of the “institution.” And as a result, they are successful.

So, what’s an artist to do in the face of an identity crisis?

My solution is to get back to basics and find the enjoyment in art I had before school by taking these steps:

• Stop feeling so much pressure to produce, produce, produce.
• Stop worrying about if it will sell, if there’s a market for it.
• Focus on painting what interests me.
• Stop when it’s no longer interesting, move on to something else.

I have been browsing the Wet Canvas Reference Image Library for images that intrigue me and painting whatever catches my fancy (like my horse up there). I want to rediscover the joys of painting and settle into a niche that is more comfortable and natural.

I am re-learning my artistic identity. I don’t know how long it will take, but it’s a necessary step to figuring out what I want from my art and achieving success.

Tags: art school, Creativity, motivation

3 Things the Sims Taught Me About Painting

Jul 28, 2011 Art General, Painting

Finish a painting, toss it into the air and get cash…

If only it were that easy!

Okay, so the Sims isn’t completely realistic when it comes to being an artist, but it actually has a few things to teach us about being a successful painter.

For those of you who are living under a rock and are thinking, “what the heck is the Sims?” here’s a quick rundown: The Sims is a game that simulates real life. You take control of a household of sims, or people, who have unique personalities, aspirations and goals. You are responsible for making sure your sims are cleaning house, cooking food, going to work, socializing, and having fun.

And here’s my dirty little secret of the day… I love playing the Sims! Yep, I’m that much of a dork.

The cool feature about the game is that your sim can be an artist. It’s more a hobby than a career, but with some practice, it can be quite lucrative. As I was playing yesterday, I began to realize that this mindless game has some valuable things to teach us about what it takes to be a successful artist.

Here are three lessons about painting learned from the Sims:

1. Don’t Quit Your Day Job

Even in the sim world, bills have to be paid. The myth of the starving artist is just a myth, and the reality is that a day job serves a very necessary purpose. It’s the day job that keeps you clothed, fed, sheltered, not to mention able to buy art supplies. The key to having a job and being an artist, in life and in the Sims, is making sure you spend time painting. Try to dedicate an hour, or even half an hour a day in the studio. It doesn’t have to be  a lot of time, but making that commitment is important.

In the Sims, as you progress as an artist, you are able to sell your paintings for more and more money. When you get to the point that you are selling paintings for more than you can make at work, then it’s time to quit. In reality, this would take much, much longer! The same rules apply, though, and when you get to the point that your art can consistently sustain whatever lifestyle you have determined necessary, then lose the day job. Until then, keep it up and don’t resent it. Without that day job you may not have a roof over your head!

2. Paint, Paint, Paint

The only way for a sim to become a better artist and increase the value of his paintings is to paint. A lot. The more the sim paints, the more quickly he will gain skills. Isn’t this true of real life?

We’ve all heard the phrase “practice makes perfect,” but do we really buy into it? I don’t think we do, but we should because it’s true. The only way to get better at something is to practice, and the more you practice the more you improve. If I spent as many hours out of a day in the studio as my sim spent painting, I’d quickly become more experienced and more skilled. It can be hard to fit everything in, especially considering number one, but give yourself permission to skip the dishes one night and do a little painting. It’s important and it’s worth it!

3. Quality will Follow Quantity

Perhaps the toughest lesson to accept.

In the Sims, artists have different types of paintings they can create: regular, brilliant, and masterpieces. The more skilled your sim, the more likely he is to paint brilliant paintings and then masterpieces. But, he will never consistently produce either. It’s totally random.

This absolutely applies to real life. People often think that quality and quantity are mutually exclusive, but the more paintings you paint, the more likely you will be to paint a really great piece. I don’t mean that you should be whipping out piece after piece regardless of the quality. It’s more that you should focus on producing as much as you can of the best work that you can, but don’t get caught up in creating a perfect piece every time. Accept that some pieces will be better than others and instead of worrying at it forever trying to fix it, move on to a new painting. You can always come back to the other piece to fix it.

There you have it, three things I learned about painting from playing the Sims. Follow these three lessons and you could be selling paintings for upwards of $5000 in just a few weeks just like my sim!

…Or not.

Tags: getting started, motivation, time management

Defeating Failure

Jul 21, 2011 Art General

You know that point in a painting when you think “Crap, I’ve screwed this up. This piece is toast. I might as well chuck it.”

What do you do when you get to that point?

I ask because I was working on a new painting last night. It’s an idea that’s been rattling around in my head for months now. I have been wanting to do a painting, using my 25 Square technique, but on a smaller scale. I imagined it being like this piece, but smaller and more mosaic-like. Instead of having solid, flat blocks of colour, I wanted to incorporate a glazing fluid to create layers.

Well, needless to say, it didn’t quite work out the way I planned.

When I went to break the wood into the smaller squares, they broke very unevenly. To the point that most of them weren’t even squares. Meaning they didn’t fit back together.

Crap.

I wanted to give up. I wanted to throw it out. I wanted to sit on the floor and cry. But I didn’t; I just kept going.

I ignored the fact that I had “failed” in my original endeavor and focused on seeing the piece for what it was, not what I wanted it to be. As I started re-arranging the wood, I realized that it might work after all.

So, when you reach that point where you feel like nothing is working and you might as well give up and start over, what do you do? Next time, try to work through it. There really is no such thing as failure in art, there are only  mistakes and solutions. Sometimes, the most interesting thing happening in a painting is the result of a supposed failure.

Judge your work not by what you hoped it would be, but by what it is, and find a way to work with those mistakes.

The piece in question? Well, here it is. Not a perfect square, but kind of charming in its own right!

Tags: experimenting, failure, mistakes, motivation

What Gets You in the Mood?

Feb 23, 2011 Art General

Mood lighting?

Soft music?

Paint fumes?

We all have little rituals throughout the day to get us ready for the task at hand. These activities put us in the frame of mind needed to tackle whatever it is that has to be done. Maybe you have a coffee and check your e-mails before you go to work in the morning. Before turning out the light to go to sleep, you wash your face, brush your teeth and read a magazine.

 These small, insignificant activities can go a long way towards your mental preparation, which also applies to the artist in the studio!

I know that I have my pre-studio ritual. One thing I like to do before beginning a painting session is to put on my painting clothes. It kind of goes without saying in a practical sense (I can get messy), but it’s like my uniform. Wearing painting clothes tells my brain that it’s time to get to work. There is a shift in mentality that accompanies getting changed for the studio.

Another little ritual I have is to peel the dried paint off my palette. Again, it sounds kind of stupid, but it’s almost a type of meditation. This is when I can let my mind wander and think about my last painting session and where I want to go next with my work.

These rituals provide the transition from work-mode, or cooking-mode, or cleaning-mode into studio-mode.

When it comes to sleeping, many people find that healthy bedtime rituals improve their sleep. Let’s apply this to art! Perhaps your rituals before you hit the studio can actually help you be a better artist!

What puts you in the mood to paint?

Tags: inspiration, motivation, rituals

Big OOPS Turns Into Good Idea: Mistakes and Making Art

Jan 9, 2011 Art General

“Big OOPS turns into good idea.”

One of the things about blogging is that, as with art, inspiration comes from many places. The phrase above was actually the subject line of a post on a wedding planning forum. The poster messed up on her invitations and in the process of fixing the mistake, found a solution that was even better than the original idea.

This sentiment can be applied to your art practice  as well!

Mistakes are not bad things. Mistakes do not mean you’re a bad artist. Mistakes do not mean you don’t know what you’re doing. Mistakes do not equal failure.

We have been programmed to see mistakes as negatives, indications of personal shortcomings and failures. In terms of art, this could not be farther from the truth. Mistakes are an indication of freedom, experimentation, play, and confidence. They are the result of doing something new and unexpected.

When you add this unpredictable dynamic to your art process is when exciting things start happening!

What would happen if you never tried something new or took a risk with your art? You would do the same thing over and over. Giving yourself permission to make mistakes liberates you from this kind of stagnation. Mistakes are the kick-start to creativity. They are what get your brain working on a problem and how to fix it. Have you ever seen the words “creative problem solving” on a resume? The key word here is problem. Without the problem, you don’t get the creative solution!

It really comes down to confidence. You need to have the confidence in yourself that when you do make a mistake, you will have the tools and ability to fix it. This kind of confidence doesn’t come from playing it safe; it comes from playing around and experimenting.

Making mistakes is essential to a dynamic and productive art practice. Go out today and try something new, something a little bit scary. It’s okay to screw up!

Tags: art tips, Creativity, motivation