The Struggles of an Artist
February 18th, 2008
People really have no idea how hard it is to create good, honest (and this is an important word), original work. Putting something into existence visually exciting, that impacts the viewer emotionally is a great challenge. This is especially true with abstract art.
Where do you start? What colors do you use? What shapes do you use? Where do you put them? What emotion are you feeling? Where do you get the original “idea” for the paintings conception? These are challenging questions, to say the least.
There is an old statement regarding watercolor painting. It goes something like this….”How long does it take to make a good watercolor?” The answer is 20 years and 20 minutes. It takes 20 years to learn how to do it in 20 minutes. The same thought can be applied regarding the creation of abstract art. There are so many choices that will determine the quality of the work. Your “choices” get better the more you make (experience).
My advice, therefore, to artists is get started. Put paint on the canvas. Make decisions. choose your palette and see what pleases you. It is a struggle. You may strike out many times, but every once in a while, you’ll hit a home run. You just have to have the courage to fail, and the determination (or need) to keep moving forward.
Entry Filed under: Observations
1 Comment Add your own
1. Sushma Sabnis | February 18th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Mr Mac, this is in answer to your question about my earlier comment. The rage i refer to is the emotion that I feel when I am stuck at painting. It takes over the canvas.I know I am making it sound like as if I am possessed, but that is what happens with me. I smear, not paint, on to the canvas and it becomes something which I did not intend to create at first. The painting, The Overpowering Survival Instinct, is one such piece. There are others in my flickr, like Neelkamal. It feels like a brick wall inside my head. Like my ideas fountain just dried up or worse gave up! The outcome however is often good, in terms of the created work, but it is a horrible experience. Some kind of mental ‘crunch’.
The only thing that rings in my head then is, ‘I can’t paint’, and I dread that statement.
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