Hello artist friend
I started working on a new painting collection recently, and, as process often does, it's been telling me things.
There's been one painting in particular that proved to be âone of thoseâ, in the sense that it challenged me right from the start, in the best possible way. {You can just see it behind my mug of tea in the photo.}
Before the first layer dried I was really excited about that particular one - I could tell it had potential.
Then it dried and I couldn't think why I'd thought that. đ
Then I didn't know what to do next for ages, but I kept looking at it and âlistening', and trying stuff in my head and on my phone editing app, working on others in the meantime and letting them all talk to each other.
And then I finally had an idea, and I got really deep into it, in that way where you disappear and don't actually know how it looks until you re-emerge some time later.
Let's just say it wasn't exactly what I intended. Lol.
The colours were wrong - too bright, too loud, too ORANGE. {What was I thinking. đ¤Śââď¸ I never use orange. I don't even really like it at the moment, and certainly not on these paintings!}
So I had to think again, and ask myself some questions about what my bigger vision was {the âsensory storyâ behind the collection}, why this orange monstrosity wasn't aligning with it, and what I could do to get that alignment happening more effectively.
It turned out I needed to âgo backwardsâ - in other words, treat the panel the way I do with the initial layers, freely and collaboratively with what the paint wants to do, and not be too worried about âlosingâ anything. That got things moving again and I had something new to respond to.
It really challenged me, this one, right up to the finish line, which I finally reached with that feeling of deep satisfaction that comes from the process being just difficult enough to grow you, but not so much that it feels like a frustrating uphill battle.
What I'm saying is, the painting taught me how to paint it.
Often on their websites or social media profiles etc, artists define themselves as either self taught or formally trained.
And that's not particularly interesting I suppose, except that I've noticed that those who identify as self taught often feel like they don't know enough, or that their work has less value because it's not backed up by a curriculum. And those who have been formally trained often feel completely demoralised by a harsh teacher, or like they âshouldâ be better - at art, at the business of art. Or any number of other secret worries over validity as artists, on both sides.
As someone who's done a fair amount of both formal training and âself teachingâ, I guess I get a bit of both!
Or maybe they cancel each other out, because at this point, I really don't care, and I don't think how we learn to make art has much to do with its validity or value. {To me, validity is a cultural word, not a True word, and value is something we define for ourselves.}
That distinction is certainly not as important as what our art brings to our lives, and the lives of others.
I don't have an art degree {or any degree, in fact}, but making art brings me deep fulfillment, and other people also enjoy it enough to buy it and hang it in their homes. So from my own experience, I notice that how you learn your craft need have no bearing on your âsuccessâ, as you define it.
But this is what the paintings have shown me:
ALL artists are self taught, whether we received formal training or not.
And it's the willingness to learn and grow, long after any training has finished, that makes us into the artists we can and want to be.
Every painting I make teaches me something new - about materials, how paint works, what it can do, what my self imposed limits are, how I might surpass them, how I want to express myself, how I do express myself, how to do that truthfully, why orange won't work but copper and a bit of walnut ink will, how to trust my own vision.
We teach ourselves with every painting. Or at least, the opportunity is there.
I know some artists churn out the same thing over and over, and I don't know what they think about that necessarily, {gallery pressure perhaps, maybe fear that they can't do anything else, or maybe that's what makes them happy!}.
But I think if you're reading this, for you it's almost certainly a case of being keen to learn and grow as much as possible, for the joy and challenge of it, if nothing else.
Of course there are plenty of arguments for and against being trained {formally or otherwise} and teaching yourself, or indeed both. I'm not saying one is better than the other; it really depends on the person.
My point here is not to demonise or favour either route; it's to say that if you have been defining yourself as self taught or formally trained, and for whatever reasons that's holding you back or messing with your confidence, know that it doesn't matter. Collectors don't care, galleries don't usually care, and if you paint purely for the joy of it, it matters least of all then!
Knowing some technical stuff can definitely help - with understanding, depth, nuance, and confidence - but it's not a prerequisite to make meaningful, interesting, mature, expressive art.
You can absolutely teach yourself that - and probably already are - painting by painting.
