This bit of the show is being taken down in the morning from Local Color in Seattle. Now, on to business.
Okay. We are almost all artists here. I have a very serious question for you all to answer. I find myself as fickle about paintings as I was about boys when I was young and thin.
Do you ever get so sick of your own work that you want to erase it? Are you no longer willing to show a piece because you've seen it so much? Do you see every flaw that only an artist can see?
In the beginning do you love it, dance with it, stare at it and think sweet nothings about it? Later on, do find yourself thinking "I cannot stand this piece any longer. I simply do not care for it". "It bores me"? Does the bloom go off the rose?
It doesn't matter why ,but it can be as simple as you don't like the colors anymore or you feel like you have grown in your art and the old stuff seems young, childish.
If this happens to you and your relationship with your art, what do you do? How do you process it? Do you toss it, repaint it, or go back on and alter it? Or, , do you just suck it up and put it out there for the world to see and hopefully purchase?
Some hints as to how to deal with this would be appreciated. Is it odd? Is this just me and my short attention span at work? How can I change my thoughts as they relate to the art I make?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. My DL thinks I am nuts.
5 comments:
Oh yes, I so go through this. Constantly! When I mentioned it to another artist they said they'd never felt such a thing because all their work was good. I think it's just that some of us are secretly geared to think this way. My instinct is to paint over them, but I think this could lead to some regrets.
I experience this, too, Binky. It's as if I see a former self in what I create and I feel like asking myself, "Haven't you evolved?" I have to separate a genuine sense of wanting to relate to/connect with my art in a certain way with my inner critic sharing her nasty words. Sometimes I find it hard to differentiate between the two.
I usually let me art sit for a bit before I take action, but I, like Shayla, have painted over pieces. When I do this, I kind of like knowing what was underneath. It adds some depth to the piece for me.
On another note, I read a quote somewhere about how artists and writers often create the same piece over and over again. It's not literally the same piece, but the essence, sensibility, and/or message is the same (or similar). When I was in grad school, I often felt that I wrote the same poem over and over. I didn't, of course, but there are certainly life themes that I return to again and again. I have a feeling that I will be reckoning with these same themes my whole life.
Great questions, Binky!
Courtney
yes, i have and do feel that way about some of my paintings. I have several right now in the closet. Actually, more than several! I am so tempted to paint over them, but i know that i would regret it later. Because i've done that before, and then regretted it.
Just put them away so that you don't see them. That's what I do! But keep the work out there in the world too...you just never know when they'll speak to somebody.
So, no it's not odd. I can't imagine loving everything that I make. Or always having the same feelings about them. We are our art though too, they are a part of us, in a sense. We grow, our art grows. And sometimes the growing periods are awkward...but they're essential. I think that if we are able to recognize that, then we won't be so hard on ourselves or those particular pieces.
it's late, i'm tired, i hope i made some sense. :)
Funny thing about that, I get soo tired of looking at my older paintings. My favorite is always the last one I did or the one tht is in my head.
It is almost like "OK, did that, now what?" BUT I have pieces from other artists that I have had for years and I doubt I will ever tire of them. I think it is just part of the creative journey.
Hi Binky - I think it might be different for everyone - we all do art for our own personal reasons and those vary from one person to the next - personally, I think everyday we are in a different place in ourselves and so we can respond to our work differently at any given moment - I am a deconstructionist, so revamping from day to day is exactly what I do - that's what gives me satisfaction in my work - I have some pieces that are done and I wouldn't deconstruct them, but for the most part, that's what I love - good question and thanks you for stopping my my site today - you're almost a neighbor - I live on the Olympic peninsula
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