With your level of experience you should know to take any and all criticism with a large grain of salt. If a particular criticism or suggestion makes sense to you seriously consider it. If not… ignore it. Of course negative criticism can still hurt or rattle our self confidence. Isn’t that what we’ve been discussing over on that thread concerning art school critiques?

I have a studio mate who is older than me and more experienced than me… but he is really set in his way and will argue that anything that he particularly doesn’t like can’t be any good. He taught for years in the same large school district as I. I can’t tell you how many times he had his students churning out copies of his own art… little “mini mes”. His suggestions to me are frequently ridiculous. I paint large semi-realistic figurative paintings with highly patterned… decorative… backgrounds. He repeatedly suggests I cut the works up (that take 100-200 hours of labor) and reassemble them as collage… or scrawl a word in German across the entire painting in black ink… because those are techniques he employs… not because such would make any sense in my work. I get far more input of worth from my younger studio-mate who has far less experience than me. He’s only been seriously painting for perhaps four years… but he is open to a broad range of ideas and styles… even if they are not to his personal taste. He also makes suggestions in the form of questions: “Why did you do this? Have you ever thought about trying this?”

Some years back… perhaps a short while after graduating art school… I was working on my latest painting with visions of what the result would look like based upon the works of my favorite artists of the time. At a certain point I found myself thinking, “Crap! This looks like just another painting like I would make.” I was depressed that my work looked like my work. It then dawned on me that this was what we all were striving for. For better of worse my work looks like my work. Yes, there are elements in it absorbed from other artists… but these have largely been digested to the point that I have made them my own.

Returning to the thread on critiques offered by art school teachers… the only critiques I found without any merit were those in which the teacher suggested I SHOULD be doing something different from what I was doing. I had a teacher who kept pushing me to paint abstracts when I was a figurative painter. Certainly, you can learn from trying a broad array of styles and techniques but after a certain amount of time… when a student has a vision that he or she is exploring… the role of the teacher is to challenge the student, question him or her, but most of all, aid him or her in better achieving that goal/vision.

There are artists I greatly admire… perhaps even revere. I might wish that I could paint like them… that I had their skills… but I wouldn’t want to paint like them or copy them.

Sharing your experience is going to get a lot of artists riled up.

Not because it is a negative experience (which it is) … but because a lot of artists would like to put those negative experiences behind them.

Consider the Olympic High Jump – since the Greeks – Early jumpers either approached the bar straight on or used a scissors technique, in which
the bar is approached diagonally and the jumper throws both legs over the bar in a scissoring motion.

Then along comes Fosbury.

What could contemporary jumpers tell Fosbury about the High Jump… nothing!

It is similar in art.

As I see it … you were seeking a confirmation about your work from a fellow artist. WRONG.

In the high stakes world of art … every artist is potentially … your competitor.

Some are just more blatant about it than others.

But for a moment … let’s just suppose your ‘friend’ meant well. In that case – what could possibly have been his motivation?

I’m guessing (because I don’t know for sure) … his suggestions represent a style that he suspects … sells.

On the other hand … just maybe he saw something original in your work … and he didn’t want to offer you praise.

But never dismiss … the outlier … maybe he just didn’t get it!

Somewhere between these 3 extremes … lies the truth.

So what’s the suggested remedy … just like the prior commentators have suggested ~

Have 2 mason jars on your desk … one labeled – praise, the other labeled – dismiss.

DISMISS may runneth over … but do you care? You shouldn’t.

Having said that … let’s consider Jackson Pollock.

His form of abstraction divided the critics: some praised the immediacy and fluency of the creation, while others derided the random effects.

What most don’t know is … Pollock was one of the few artists at the time who hired an art rep to ‘push’ his paintings.

So … all I’m saying is … when you ask for a critique … be prepared that it may – or may not … be what you were hoping for.

Best regards,
Picassolite :thumbsup:

PS – Keep in mind what Orson Wells said …
“First comes the artist, then comes the afterbirth ~ the critic.”

A critique that just says “go look at this other artist” and nothing more is not much of a critique.

A critique that says “Go look at this other artist for the way she handles XYZ” is useful.

It sounds like this artist is not very good at critique. Especially disappointing is that he ignored your specific questions.

That really strikes a chord with me, Arty! I struggle with letting go of negative comments about my art- and I do take it personally.

I try to work past the comments by telling myself that I only take note of those with better skills at painting than me. It works sometimes!

Because I paint portraits and take on a lot of commissions, I need to stay vulnerable and open to the communication and story-telling that the process needs to be successful. This also opens me to any less-than-positive-comments that may come my way.

So- right back at you- I hear you!

“Am I Galatea?”

Only … if you chose to be. The choice is yours. Or you can choose another identity. Actors do it all the time.

Well … how can I ‘pump you up?’

Let’s clarify something … what the ‘masses’ want is called the ‘marketplace.’ The Tyranny comes in when a few recognize that market
and then tell the artist to cater to it.

That was the old world when there were only 3 networks and the advertisers controlled what hit the airwaves.

But today … the multiplicity of channels indicates the ‘mass market’ is more segmented than anybody could have imagined.

To wit – there is a market for what you do. Now to get yourself in sync with your market. It starts with your ‘head-space’ and your clarity of thinking.

Not an easy task.

If you’ve been butting your head against a wall … maybe it’s time to change neighborhoods.

So … moving forward –

To paraphrase a line from … House of Cards –

“If you don’t like what’s happening at the table … then kick the table over.”

What a lot of artists have continual consternation over is … ‘recognizing’ that this is the way it has always been in the ‘art game.’

I find this to be evident with both the female and the male artists I encounter.

Let’s be clear … to ‘recognize’ is not the same as ‘accepting.’

There is always a fork in the road of life.

“Do not go gentle into that good night, rage against the dying of the light.” – Dylan Thomas.

Because art is practiced by humans … and we know how fickle humans are. Don’t we?

Consider … what is the history of humans … WAR.

Who’s on top and who is not!

The art world is a series of interconnecting social circles… practicing social War.

Sometimes you’re in and most times … you’re not.

In the Bible it says the goal is for ‘the lion to lay down with the lamb.’

Well – that’s great if you’re the lion … but it’s very problematic … if you’re the lamb.

It’s 2019 – and women’s soccer is kicking butt … in attendance, championships, name recognition and ~
the women are still being paid 38 cents to the men’s $1.00.

However – we are missing the LIFE picture.

In the men’s game … it is gladitorial. To become a star in the men’s game is a fight to the death.

After all … WW1 was a family fight … among male cousins.

And they used the world as a stage… and every body’s children … as pawns.

The NBA has a phrase … ‘it’s a make or miss league.’ Or …’win or go home.’

And this is also true in the WNBA.

So – what am I saying to bolster your ego?

It’s all the song … GO YOUR OWN WAY[/URL]

People are who they are ~ or who they choose to be –

Lady Day became so depressed while touring with Arty Shaw through the south … it led to her lifelong heroin addiction.

Not so with Josephine Baker … she said to herself – ‘later with this s*’ and she sailed away … into stardom.

The eternal life question has always been … do you have the inner strength … to just be – you?

No matter what … one day at a time … minute by minute … hour by hour.

You are not the first human to take a swipe at the apple and miss. Big League baseball players ‘wiff’ 7 to 8 times out of 10.
And they still make a good living. Except for those in the minors. They don’t do so well. But art talent is very different.

Art talent … gives you a license to print money.

You just have to choose the right neighborhood … for what you do.

As Aristotle said – ‘The future is not in our stars… it is in us.’

In this case … YOU.

Best regards,
Picassolite :thumbsup:

PS –
Norman Rockwell was ‘dissed’ by the fine art world during his whole career – and it pissed him off.

But it did not stop him from earning a million dollars a year for almost 20 years!

Disney literally broke his back after a fall – ingratiating himself into high society – by playing polo.

Gertrude Bell was dissed by the upper echelons of British intelligence – but if not for her –
Lawrence of Arabia would never have happened.

The opening dialogue says it all in the movie – Queen of the Desert[/URL]

How long did it take for Hidden Figures[/URL] to emerge into the light of day?

To paraphrase from Star Wars … ‘there is no try … there’s just ‘do.’

it’s in the doing – that you will find peace, joy and success ~