I am out of the studio today, leading the workshop I’ve mentioned in recent posts. I wanted to replay a post from several years back that carries thoughts that I want to bear in mind today, as advice to both myself and those in the workshop. As an artist, it’s about listening to advice and learning to trust your own instincts. As a teacher, it’s about giving guidance in a way that allows the student to apply it in a way that still allows them to recognize their own individual voice.
I am going to try to keep this in mind…
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I came across this little piece recently. It’s a small watercolor on paper that was done in 1994, while I was still developing my own voice and before I began showing my work publicly. It’s not a great piece of work and will always just live its life in my little treasure chest, a box of early work, experiments and other pieces, many of which just aren’t up to snuff. But this little painting always has meaning for me, providing a lesson in trusting your own instincts as well as weighing the words of guidance given to you.
You see, I had another artist around this time critique my work. He was a professional artist with years of experience and I trusted his judgement, wanting any feedback that would help me narrow my quest for an individual voice. On this particular piece he told me that it was sorely lacking, that the figure needed to be more accurate in its depiction, that people would not respond to this kind of rendering. I wasn’t positive in his advice but I hesitatingly took it to heart and avoided figures for many years and even to this day hear his words when I consider a figure in my work.
I consider it a huge mistake on my part and wonder what my path might have been had I discounted his advice at that time. I mistook him for a guide on the creative path to my own voice but what he offered was a route that took me to where he himself was headed. His guidance was purely subjective, linked to his own vision of how the world looked and should be depicted.
His road was not mine.
Over the years, I have become resistant to listening to others when they begin to tell me what my work should be or where it should be headed. I also am hesitant in giving advice for the same reason– our destinations may not be the same.
It may not be much but this little piece is a symbol of the trust I now have in my voice and intuition. It is a constant reminder that it is up to me as to how I use the advice given by those posing as guides on the path. In this way, this painting is priceless to me.
Redtree Times 