What is the death of a good piece of art in the making? Loving it too much. Once you start to become attached to the outcome of the work you are in the process of creating you run the risk of becoming too careful to work with freshness and spontaneity. If you are thinking, “This thing is great! I don’t want to make the wrong move and mess it up now!” then you are doomed. Mess it up and get on with it already. Edith Wharton, the American writer, said, “Art is freedom of the spirit.” There is no freedom in worrying about how well you are performing.
Lots of my favorite pieces were at one point colossal failures. The fall from the excitement of possibility down to the realization of mediocrity and wasted hours and wasted materials is a long one but doesn’t really hurt once you get used to the feeling. Put that piece aside, and when it has been sitting around long enough that you have no feeling towards it, put it back on the easel and see what you can do. If you don’t need time to “heal” then start reworking it right away. Discipline doesn’t just mean getting into the studio – it means staying there. Be patient and keep working until your piece starts to have a direction. There doesn’t have to be an “end.” There is no place where you have “failed” and have to stop there. You are just not done yet! Keep going! The marks of your struggle are part of the piece. Stay with it until you can look at it critically but not judgmentally, which might take a lot of banging your head against the wall first, but that is the place from which you can be engaged and detached at the same time and therefore truly creative.
If you have a regular art practice then you are probably accustomed to this cycle. By now I can recognize the pattern so easily. When I do fall into it I try not to pay it any more mind than I would a fart. Just move on. Besides, I love the feeling of freedom you get when you don’t care about your piece anymore. And remember, you are learning the most from the struggles, not from the cakewalks …. Just like life!
To see my own example of a painting that was taken to the brink and back, click on the pics below. This piece is my current favorite. It is a 72″ x 48″ oil called “Life.” Just like the real thing- full of colors and messes and scrape marks and contrast and layers and history.
4 Comments
Thanks for sharing insight into your process–and makes appreciation more meaningful
Tania – this is a terrific exploration of the transformation a piece can take! As I have done many times, put the painting “under the bed” for awhile and bring it back in sight when you are ready to recreate a feeling of spontaneity and freshness.
Also another great reminder – don’t fall in love with your background.
Thank you for providing another perspective of enjoying the journey of painting. I definitely see the advantage of oils vs. acrylics. No scraping permitted with acrylics after a minute or two!
Yea, and I always thought oil paints were expensive, but they do go a LOT further than acrylics. Besides, you can really stretch them with the CSO method that I learned from Louis Velasquez here. His site is a little overwhelming so ask me if you need some clarification. Also, where do you buy your supplies? Although it is nice to support local stores, you end up paying so much more than if you order online.
I am guilty of shopping at Guiry’s and I am also sure I am paying more than I should, but it is less than a mile from my home, so the convenience and instant gratification of my purchases do have some value. I will check out Louis Velasquez’s site and will get back to you.