Get a second opinion about your art

Hi there! Today I would like to share some of my charcoal drawings with you. And to tell you a story about believing in yourself and protecting your inner artist.

The image above is a large still life drawing that I did in charcoal. It shows all of the basic shapes: a cube or rectangle, a sphere, a flat circle, a cylinder, a cone, and something with an inside and an outside. Drawing is about using light and dark to make a two-dimensional flat surface appear to have three dimensions.

Inner artists need protection, especially from art teachers

When we create art, it is almost like we are giving birth. We labor over it for hours. We are emotionally invested. We want for it to look good and be well received. We want others to like it. For our art to be accepted.

Because of that, we really have to protect our inner artists, who can be so fragile to critiques and criticisms. One unkind word can truly make our inner artists shrivel up and hide, never to come out again.

Well-meaning art teachers can be some of the harshest critics. They forget what it was like to be a “baby artist” who is just beginning and who isn’t used to receiving constructive criticism of any kind about their art. And, many times, art teachers forget about the “constructive” part of criticism.

In their efforts to help us improve our art, they don’t always choose their words carefully. They can make us feel like our art is worthless. Or, worse yet, that WE are worthless.

Don’t let someone bully your inner artist

When you are a new artist, you have to be very careful about who you share your art with. And, you also have to distance yourself a bit. When someone decides to comment on your art, try to be your inner artist’s big sister or mother … a protector of your inner artist.

Don’t let anyone bully your inner artist. Don’t accept ANY grief or negative criticisms. If you can find any positive feedback or nuggets of truth that will help you improve your art, then you can agree to pass along that information to your inner artist. Otherwise, blow them off! Don’t listen! And tell your inner artist not to listen either!

Charcoal Drapery Still Life

Don’t get caught up in trying to be perfect

We all deserve the right to be a beginner. We all need to be able to try something new, and to practice. No one starts playing beautiful violin music overnight – it takes years of practice to make a violin sing instead of squeal. Don’t try to be perfect right away. Give yourself permission to be a beginner, to make mistakes, to experiment.

Get a second opinion. And a 3rd. And a 4th.

And, above all, if someone does give you an opinion about your art, especially a negative one, don’t take it as the ONLY opinion. Seek out a second opinion. And a third. And a fourth. Ask people if they have anything positive to say about your piece. Wait until you are ready and strong enough before you ask what you could do to improve it.

All this is easier said than done

I know that this is all a lot easier to think about and to say than to actually do. I had a still life painting class a few years ago, where the instructor made me feel like I was a hopeless case. She kept talking about how horrible my paintings were. About how “unpainterly” I was.

This teacher made me feel as if my paintings were so bad, I should just gesso over the canvases and boards, and then give them to someone else who could put them to GOOD use. She acted like I was wasting my time and hers.

Unfortunately, I believed her. I forgot to protect my inner artist. I forgot to be my own best advocate. I forgot the value of seeking multiple opinions. And I stuck all those paintings in a drawer. And, worse yet, I stopped painting.

Until last weekend. I was cleaning and rearranging and came across those paintings. And I thought … “Gee. I haven’t seen those in a while. Maybe I should get them out and see how I feel about them now.” And they are good! They are wonderful!

And I got a second opinion. And a third. And a fourth. I shared pictures of them with people and got their feedback. And, my art teacher was wrong!

Sneak peek of one of my paintings

Sneak peek at one of my so-called "terrible" paintings

Here is a sneak peek at one of my so-called “terrible” paintings. I will share the whole painting with you on Thursday. So you can see it for yourself.

And, I will be offering it for sale, too.

In fact, I’ll be sharing the entire “Phoenix Collection” of paintings with you in the coming weeks! I’m calling them the “Phoenix Collection” because they have risen from ashes!

Moral of the story

My point is that you should never give any one person the power to stop your inner artist. Don’t give one person the power to prevent you from creating art. From sharing your art. Don’t give up on yourself. Get more opinions. You might be surprised at what you learn!

Hope you’ll stop by on Thursday! And thanks for stopping by today!