I have been thinking about the relationship we have with our art recently and wanted to share some of my own personal thoughts on the matter. You may disagree, you may think I am being too optimistic, but this is what I truly believe.
Here are some unhealthy assumptions/stigmas that I see a lot from artists (including myself).
You can’t call yourself an “artist” until you’ve reached a certain point with your career.
You’re not allowed to love your own art even with its flaws.
The less perfect your art is, the less worth it has.
These are things we all struggle with as artists, and it is okay to have these feelings, but it isn’t okay to let them consume you. Let’s break them down.
You can’t call yourself an “artist” until you’ve reached a certain point with your career.
To me, to be human is to be an artist. Many may disagree, but at its base definition everyone has created and continues to create art throughout their life. If you see your art as something to work on and continually improve and learn about, you are an artist. It doesn’t matter if you’re making your living off of it, or if it’s just a little hobby. As long as you’re working on your craft and trying to better yourself, go ahead, say it. “I AM AN ARTIST!!”
Didn’t that feel good?
You’re not allowed to love your own art even with its flaws
As someone who continually sells prints of art pieces that are up to 5 years old, I am forced to look at my art and talk about it all the time with customers. This is a lot of time to notice all the flaws in my paintings. I could point out dozens of flaws in every single one of my paintings. Do they bother me? Yes. But I don’t let them taint my outlook of the piece as a whole.
It’s like a person. People aren’t perfect, in fact we have many, many more flaws than even the most horrific painting in existence. It is possible to recognize this in a person and still love them. In fact, the more you love someone, the more you notice their flaws.
The same is true with your art. It is okay to love your art while recognizing what you did wrong. And when you do this, others you share your art with will do the same. It is not narcissistic or ignorant to have balanced love of your own art, the same way it isn’t narcissistic or ignorant to love yourself!
The less “perfect” your art is, the less worth it has.
Take a 5 year old kid. This child takes her crayons, and a pad of paper and walks outside. She’s overlooking a lake. She has no artistic training, abhorrent small motor control, and zero technique. She draws what she sees, scribbling the crayons across the page with fervor and energy. What is the result?
Beauty.
Courtesy of the Novak Djokovic Foundation
I use the example of kid art a lot when I explain my outlook on artistic value. Kids draw with reckless abandon. For the most part they don’t have a specific image in their head while they draw, they just do it. They pour their emotions into it, they translate their subjects through their beautiful, creative minds. What you’re left with is something that has been filtered in a pure, unique way that reflects the wonderful personality and world view of the child. The child had no perception of what would make their art perfect, they just did it, and now it’s hanging on the refrigerator for the world to see.
I’m not saying we should all mindlessly scribble with crayons and fill the galleries, but there is an important lesson to be learned here. That art is subjectively “imperfect” to many, but it has so much worth. You wouldn’t be able to capture the same image in any other instance, not if you had one million other kids do the exact same thing. We are all so different, every art piece is so different, we are so valuable, our art is so valuable.
If you’re art doesn’t measure up to the standards you’ve applied to it, that does not mean it is worthless. Maybe you can’t even look at it. Maybe it disgusts you. Maybe it brings bad memories. But it still exists. And it would never have if you never chose to give it life. And that gives it value. And no matter what it is I guarantee someone else will value it, even if you don’t (but you should).
Maybe this outlook is too flowery, unreachable even. But, dang it, it helps me stay motivated like nothing else. My art will never be perfect. Even if I drew every single day for forever I will always find flaws in my work. But I also appreciate every drawing for existing and helping me along on my journey.
Thank you, art. Even this thing I drew at age 16, I still value you… I think…
My attempt to start drawing people.