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| Snow Remnants oil 14 x 18 |
Most of my students are quick to point out what is wrong with their paintings during group critiques. Often they overlook what is good about their painting to point out the bad. I tell them to celebrate the parts of their paintings that work, but I am quick to say that I would worry more about them if they thought their paintings were perfect. It would mean that they see no room for improvement and there is always room to improve. The best painters are constantly pushing to be better. Sometimes that means making a "bad" painting, not a "perfect" one.
Good paintings take years of dedication and skill. I am humbled by what I do every time I sit down to paint. My hope is that twenty or thirty years from now, I am still striving to make a better painting than the last one.
I think it is important to separate yourself from your ego, to see your mistakes, to celebrate the small victories, to accept praise when it is given, to be open to criticism and to grow and push beyond what you could do yesterday.
So we won't get bored with painting when we reach the level we consider good as we probably won't ever get there! I don't know any artist who thinks that the next painting won't be better than the one they just did. I keep my many failures to remind myself that I am better than I used to be! It is a journey rather than a destination I guess....and a wonderful journey.
ReplyDeleteJoanne, I like the idea of a journey instead of a destination--a winding back roads kind of journey!
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