"Art and Fear" Quote
aphil...@comcast.net
an idea. "Art and Fear" is one of my favorite books. It has been
very helpful and confronting regarding road blocks I have as an
artist.
"The function of the overwhelming majority of your artwork is simply
to teach you how to make the small fraction of your artwork that
soars. One of the basic and difficult lessons every artist must learn
is that even the failed pieces are essential. X-rays of famous
paintings reveal that even master artists sometimes made basic mid-
course correction (or deleted really dumb mistakes) by overpainting
the still-wet canvas. The point is that you learn how to make your
work by making your work, and a great many of the pieces you make
along the way will never stand out as finished art. The best you can
do is make art you care about - and lots of it!
The rest is largely a matter of perseverance. .... until your ship
comes in, the only people who will really care about your work are
those who care about you personally. Those close to you know that
making the work is essential to your well being. They will always care
about your work, if not because it is great, then because it is yours
- and this is something to be genuinely thankful for. Yet however much
they love you, it still remains as true for them as for the rest of
the world: leaning to make your work is not their problem."
I think this validates every part of the art process, even the
mistakes. It is grateful for the community surrounding aspiring
artist yet it leaves you responsible for the next move.