Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Notes on the Art Life






As artists
we are always
emerging and learning, 
we never really arrive... 
we are always becoming..


so, today I offer these tips humbly 
dear reader..

we start with the evil inner critic..




1. Learn to Silence your Inner Critic- I used a capital S because this is really important if you are going to create anything..  do not diminish yourself or your art, (mentally or verbally) you will improve and as you do, when you look back on your work, you will see disparity between where you were and where you are, that will only continue, IF you keep working... 
so deal with it.. 
there are a million books about silencing the critic..
I simply listen to my critic and then I do exactly what she doesn't want me to do..
and I usually stick my tongue out at her when I do it!!








2. Be Yourself- listen to your own inner voice, reject popularity and follow wherever your muse leads, if that also happens to be in the mainstream, so be it, but allow your muse to have her way with you and no body gets hurt! Suffering as an artist comes with always doing what is expected... being pigeon holed....
no matter who you are, you have a unique voice, style and artistic attitude. 









3. Don't Compete- Comparisons are definitely odious and they murder creativity. Being jealous of another artist is artistic suicide. The universe is abundant, and there is room for everyone to succeed. Gardeners have a saying..  "nothing blooms all year" everyone has their time in the sun, and art is not a competition.. 










4. Working VS Creating- if you have to work at a job in order to finance your beginning or budding art career, make sure you love what you do. Picasso said, "Never permit a dichotomy to rule your life, a dichotomy in which you hate what you do so you can have pleasure in your spare time" 
Find a job that you love, in my case I worked as an antiques dealer and sold my art and the beautiful things I loved, holding pop up sales and having the time of my life.. do something you love and that love will be reflected in your work..









5. Do Not Wait For Inspiration- just do it.. get up each day and hit the studio, work at it, play with it allow whatever happens to happen, release agendas, and just go make cool stuff.. When your mojo is gone, that is an indication that you need to PLAY ... you cannot find what you are looking for when you think it is lost..







6. Keep Learning- if you like classes, take one, but keep learning, experiment, try new things, new products... my favorite question in the studio is ... " I wonder what would happen if I did this---?
be a mad artistic scientist... good things happen when we suspend judgment and expectations..














7. Network and Reach out -  Associate with other artists.. the days of isolation in the studio are long gone, it used to be so lonely to be a studio artist, finding your tribe is so important, learn and share, cheerlead and encourage, what you give out has a way of coming back to you..







and that last point leads us to 
someone who has been a friend to me...
another artist..
Pamela Gerard


she sent me these fabulous antique images of butterflies
and stamps..

and if you stop by her blog, please tell her I sent you..

introduce yourself and make a new friend..
but be warned..
she believes in 
MAIL BONDING..!








we are at ciao for now..

and I am off on another holiday..

and will hopefully have some lovely photos for you when I return ...



Thank you 
for your kind readership..
your subscriptions..
and your comments..

you are much appreciated..


C4N!