 |
"Transformations" Buy Now |
Evolution of An Artist
These past few weeks/months have been full of ups and downs, not just in the temperature, but in the studio plan and my approach to how I am shifting my focus away from too many FREE projects. I am discovering that there is a fine line between being generous or benevolent and simply undermining my own sense of worth as an artist and as a person. I guess that means that Venus in Retro probably is not the ONLY reason I've been in a state of turmoil.
I am back in the studio painting again and working on projects that people have actually ASKED me to make and are willing to PAY me to make them. Bills need to be paid but, it is NOT all about the money. A product of a culture that revolves around consumption and the mighty (or not-so-mighty as the case may be) dollar; I still cannot help linking some form of payment to a sense of validation for the work. It isn't just that though... I am ever-so-slowly realizing that because I am aware of the value OTHERS place on the dollar, knowing that they are willing to invest something of themselves in obtaining the work indicates that they are committed to having it.
No. I don't obsess about this 24 hours a day. I have too many other things to think about and to DO. The thing just kind of sits there in the back of my mind fermenting into questions about the value of the work and the best use of my time. I start to feel like my creative freedom has been severely stifled. Gradually, it builds to a subconscious sense of discontent. Combine that with winter cabin fever and voila! there is a glaring recipe for Life Evaluation.
"That's what I love about Intuitive Painting when it's purely focused on process not product. With intuitive painting there is no agenda, no end-goal, no master piece for sale afterward, no techniques or skills to learn.
It's just you, paint, brushes, paper and your muse. Instead of looking to someone else for the answers, you tune into your own inner wisdom. Just ask yourself what color and where and go from there.
You have the creative freedom to trust your own voice, move through your blocks, and express your emotions. There's space for exploring the taboo, giving voice to the unspoken, befriending "ugly," and diving into your dark side." ~Jennifer Lee
So, I continue to work on being my most authentic self and making work which reflects that instead of trying to conform to the "correct" way to be a self-sustaining artist. Getting sucked into the world wide web of information is surely a death sentence for art-making here. There is a saturation point in which there simply is no more room for MORE information and it is time to just DO stuff.
This new moon I am releasing my connection to chemical/commercial products, my compulsion to try to predict what the market will buy, my blocks about making that art that moves me the most, my perceptions of the world which push me to work for FREE too often.
No comments:
Post a Comment