Home Forums The Think Tank Creativity Should I give up on showing?

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  • #471663
    zozo
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        I’ve grown up in the US and been back to my own country for a decade or so.

        My question is basically, what do I do if I don’t feel I belong here creatively?

        So far, pretty much all my experience with the local art community has been negative whether it’s showing my works or socializing with creative people. I realized there’s a lot of difference culturally, socially and creatively.

        I became pretty depressed and often felt outcasted. Nor did I find any inspiring works in my locale.

        I stopped connecting with people and actually became much more healthy mentally.
        But I do create and not having chance to show or share is pretty awful.

        I’ve been just showing online so far.

        Should I keep knocking on the door? OR is this just waste of time and energy?
        Thankfully I do have other creative interests to pursue though back of my mind, I feel a pang of regret.
        Thanks.

        #811542
        laf.art
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            I stopped showing a few years ago mainly for similar reasons. I never felt a sense of belonging where I was living and often felt awkward and out of step there. My works were quite different to most of the local work, so I can understand your question. I think the fact that you say you became mentally more healthy could be your answer here, that and the fact that you show online. Whatever you decide good luck


            laf-art.com | Prints | FB[/U
            Instagram laf.abstracts

            #811551

            I cannot help you in what showing ones work is concerned, but I can tell you that I find very difficult to socialize with creative people, regardless the fact I searched for it, and I don’t think it has to do with social rank, difference of creativity, or cultural difference.

            Maria - Made in Portugal
            "Really I don't like human nature unless all candied over with art" - Virginia Woolf

            https://womenwagepeace.org.il/en/

            #811552
            ronsu18
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                find the few you can relate to, open up to finding them, realise they exist.
                when you find them, realise you’ve the same amount of real friends as before.
                with your friends, talk about the ways the other natives ☺ percieve you as a threat. (aggression is fear.) speak of your need to belong, express your curiosity in finding ways to belong, but as yourself. both you and your environment need adjusting. give it eight years of work. let it work on you, influence you. there is no paradise without snakes and venom.

                meanwhile, make paintings with your feelings. this is your life and that’s never a bad thing. maybe you’re growing toward a new style. maybe it’ll be an amalgam of the old and the new. maybe that will be the reason you find collectors. sell the paintings to USA. keep contacts alive, they will also mirror the change you’re going through. regardless what others do, it’s always up to you to live your life as yourself. return if you wish, when you wish. good luck, good health and may the muses be with you!

                C&C welcome

                #811549
                zozo
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                    Thanks for feedbacks.
                    I get awkward, too, interacting with people. Funny, I used to be so confident and pretty extroverted.

                    I did share some of my problem with people and I was perceived as weak or plain weird, hah.
                    It’s getting hard to open up again after years of disappointment, really.
                    Yeah, I do wish someday I get to work with Americans again, at least I feel so much more comfortable communicating.

                    I was just looking at local gallery news today and still felt pretty negative. I dunno, I can’t decide right now, but hope I arrive at some kind of solution.
                    Thanks again!

                    #811547
                    SarahY
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                        You have a community at your fingertips; WetCanvas! The artists that post here are on the whole very helpful, kind, and supportive. And there’s lots of Americans on the forum to talk to :D

                        I have no real life art friends at all. I share and discuss here. As for giving up showing, I enter every competition I come across and have never made any long lists. I don’t mind, I just keep plugging on, and you can too. You get used to it. It can just be a matter of taste when your work doesn’t engage others, it doesn’t mean you should give up or that you’re not any good.

                        I do feel alone and out of step with others frequently, but I’m an independent person and don’t really care :lol:

                        From your previous posts, I really think that posting some work and engaging here would do you some good.

                        http://www.shyeomans.co.uk
                        \m/ neue deutsche härte \m/
                        Nothing left but smoke and cellar, and a woman with a black umbrella...

                        #811543
                        Use Her Name
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                            I don’t show in the town I live in. I do show, and “gather” with people in another state about 6 hours away from me. The people here (where I live) are just not on the same artistic level and think what I do is “magical” or something. I get Zero comprehension, and of course, this means also no meeting of the minds. Anyway, I don’t think you should “give up.” Sometimes you need to go further and strive harder especially when you are isolated from people who would understand your work better. It could mean doing your work in secret and then showing in some far off place. I’d stick with it. Shows are important to artists. They connect you with artists, galleries, the public, organizations, and like-minded people. Not showing is “disappearing.”

                            No longer a member of WC. Bye.

                            #811546
                            Sarah
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                                I am isolated for a different reason, I am in a wheelchair. For me that has made connecting with other artists almost impossible. I live in a rural area and getting out and about is no small task. The few artists I know have upstairs studios, too. I’d love to take some workshops, but most of them are Plein air and I don’t want to negatively impact another persons experience by limiting where the group can go because of me. I was sharing my work on Facebook and Instagram but am applying for disability and was told to stay off social media during this process. So, lately, I have been feeling very isolated. I read recently that an important part of the creative process is sharing, and having even a brief conversation about what you did with another person. Most of us desire some sort of feeling of communication at the end. I remembered this and struck up a conversation with a photographer as he was taking down his work at the local rec center. He was incredibly grateful that I noticed his work. He must have said thank you a half dozen times.

                                sarahrosefineart.com

                                #811538
                                Dave Owen
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                                    Don’t let the snobbishness of other “artists” get you down. I have tried in the past to join in with other artists only to be made to feel like an outsider.

                                    I have tried on several occasions to join certain art groups in my area and in particular one group who have a “selection” process where they view your work and they make a decision as if they think you are suitable or not.
                                    This particular group was made up mainly of “Art” professionals (lecturers, Teachers, known artists etc who had spent their whole lives perusing a career in ART). SO in their opinion a self taught artist such as myself would never be “up-to their standard”.

                                    Despite the fact I had probably already sold more than most of that group would ever produce in their lifetimes I was never suitable. Did I let it get me down NO. Not a chance… and you should not let their rejection get to you.

                                    When they rejected me what I reasoned was two things…
                                    1] My work was not good enough (OK, this would spur me on to get better), or
                                    2] my work was to good for them, they were jealous and were worried I would take the limelight away from them.

                                    MY advice to you is to try and find an informal art group that just meets each week and sits down to do a little painting, a lot of chatting and drink coffee/tea with some biscuits. I joined one after the rejection just for the chat but ended up doing a few demos and spent time helping them get better and giving advice. Even got them a yearly show spot at a local gallery.

                                    Even though it was a informal group it was surprising just how much information and wealth of knowledge such a group has. AND, best of all your self esteem benefits immensely by being part of a group that does not have it’s nose on top of it’s head like some of these “art groups and communities that take themselves so seriously do”.

                                    I have also tried to get accepted at my local open art show for the last 16 years and to this day have never had a piece selected. Am I bothered about that NO WAY… There’s just far to many more important things going on in life. Just say OH WELL never mind, then pick up your brushes and do what you enjoy most.

                                    Nature is the painter,
                                    we are simply the scribes who document it
                                    for the people of today and the historians of tomorrow. Anon.

                                    #811545
                                    Retiree
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                                        I can relate absolutely, What a bunch of stuck up snobs they are in my local art group. No one would even crack a smile at me. On top of that at one point they were exhibiting at a craft show in my seniors’ community center and my hubby (not knowing) thought one of their paintings was quite different and went to take a photo to show me as I was not in that area. Well!!! They practically called the police on him even though he apologized and said he did not know he could not take a photo. Also there were not any signs posted about not taking photos of anything. I would not join that group now if they paid me!!!

                                        #811532
                                        WFMartin
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                                            It depends upon in what venue you wish to “show” your art.

                                            Personally, I only show my paintings in local art competitions. Those venues offer the opportunity to sell my work, as well as to earn some prestigious awards (such as Best of Show, First Place, Second Place, etc., not to mention “Mayor’s Award”, “People’s Choice”, etc. State Fairs are often good sources in which to show my art, as well.

                                            These shows are usually juried, and you may end up paying an entry fee, only to get “bumped”, and not show your art at all, but these shows have been very profitable for me, generally.

                                            You can always create a website, or a blog, and show your art on your own. Open my blog at the address below, and you’ll see some of my art.

                                            wfmartin. My Blog "Creative Realism"...
                                            https://williamfmartin.blogspot.com

                                            #811539
                                            pa-paw
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                                                You have posted an interesting topic, ZOZO. Of late, I have been wrestling with myself concerning my art and the need of acceptance of others. Why do we need the preverbal pat on the back in order to feel that our work is a worthy endeavor? I, like most, have found myself yearning for the pat on the back, but I am coming around to the thought that in the long run this will lead to my conforming of ideas of others, and not my own. Maybe we should just enjoy our ability to create something that is uniquely ours, and ours alone.:)

                                                http://www.flickr.com/photos/pa-paw/
                                                [FONT=Calibri]Photography and Art Work

                                                #811534

                                                It is an interesting topic. Maybe some people will find this surprising, but I have always felt isolated and I even have a real career going. Took me a long time (maybe because I’ve been so shy), but I still have very few other artists in my life that I can connect with. I am also self-taught and have been snubbed. I still get snubbed and I’ve shown with the best of them. I don’t really care though. I used to. Pa-Paw makes an excellent point about the need for the proverbial pat on the back. I’ve received that pat, and it’s fleeting. What really matters is that we, or I rather, make art. It’s not about getting pat on the back.

                                                Connecting to people is important. If it wasn’t for the Internet, I don’t know how I would be able to do this at all. I have lived in a major city (Los Angeles) with hundreds of artists around me, but I swear, I only have two artists friends I can connect to and trust and one of them is in Pennsylvania. You only need one though. Just one is enough. Someone you can talk to about your work, and if it’s via the Internet, that is okay.

                                                As for showing, UseHerName gives me pause in that not showing anymore makes you disappear. I wonder about that. I was planning on giving up on showing. Maybe I shouldn’t? I’m also on the fence about it because it stresses me out and is not good for my mental health. I know I won’t be “relevant” anymore if I wait a long time before I show again, but part of me doesn’t care. I’m not sure if it’s depression or a change of mind/outlook on life.

                                                #811533
                                                WFMartin
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                                                    You know, there are so many possible venues in which to show your art that the selection is almost endless.

                                                    For example, so many artists feel that they must be represented by a gallery, in order to show, and sell their art, but I’ve gotta’ tell you,….that is not necessarily so.

                                                    I have sold paintings out of a men’s barber shop, and 3 of them to the barber himself, who commissioned me to paint them for wedding gifts to his friends.

                                                    I have recently had my paintings showing at a local coffee/chocolate shop, and the proprietor managed to sell 11 of my paintings during 3 separate showings.

                                                    You can seek out such venues as hotels, doctor offices, veterinary offices, hospitals, restaurants, theaters, salons, barbershops, retirement centers, coffee shops, educational centers, libraries, etc., etc.

                                                    Many of these places will ask very reasonable commission percentages, and they most surely are sources for possible sales, and recognition.

                                                    You might consider some of those options.

                                                    I am also a member of a small, local art club, and we have at least two shows every year, at which I’ve managed to receive several awards for my work. Try to join an art club that will support your efforts, rather than discourage them.

                                                    wfmartin. My Blog "Creative Realism"...
                                                    https://williamfmartin.blogspot.com

                                                    #811540
                                                    rickjf
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                                                        I’m submitting three of my paintings to the State Fair of Texas here in Dallas. May mean nothing but rally is my first attempt at a public display. How ever there is a pre fair judging. I’ll see how it goes.

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