I enjoyed and celebrated this process as something special.
Every time I bought new pencils, brushes or a new canvas I felt so inspired to do something so great and new with them.
But to be honest, in retrospective it took way too long to imagine I could ever make a living from painting/drawing and when looked at the works created at that time, it must be around 15 years from now, they were not even good.
But it was a start, a beginning. I had some ideas and it felt good to bring them onto paper somehow.
When I studied, I was assigned to do things I did not like, but over the years learned to enjoy this process too. It felt good to accomplish things in my own kind of way, where others followed the manual I found my personal way to hit the goals. And succeed. In retrospect this was stunning! This was around 8 years ago
Today I create 5 works or more in a week, from sketches to final illustrations and I´m still far from being perfect. In fact I hope to never reach perfectness. And to cite Socrates:"The only thing I know is that I don't know anything."
I think I hit the 10000 hours a few years ago and I´m onto the next level at my own pace. I´m really looking forward towards the things that are possible to accomplish when the 20000 hour goal is in reach.
The biggest difference between now and then is the number of images I create in a year and the way I look at these. Even the way critique or rejection does touch me. I still do embrace the process of creating an artwork today.
But calling this process production is degrading, probably because I worked too long in production companies and at the assembly line besides study, that I know what production is. Dully producing thousands of products that all look the same and are not even worth the material with which they are produced. That is not what an artist does.
Creating a cover artwork, interior illustration or anything else that a creative freelancer artist can do, is so complex, that is by far more than producing just something. I call it:"creating an experience". Doing client work is always a win-win experience.
When you are at this "beginning stage", embracing the creative outlet is the utmost and most important thing in the world, so enjoy it. Looking too much into what others have achieved and done is a killer. A creativity killer.
Most artists blocks come from looking too much at other peoples pace".
How about your pace?
I was nodding my head furiously as I read this!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was studying art at University I really started to hate the thing I loved because it was being produced at someone else' pace, to THEIR agenda and not mine. The tutors at my University were very manipulative and weren't really supportive of a style they didn't understand so it took all the fun out of creativity for me.
Once I left and started making jewellery I found a medium that I had never even considered before that gets me really excited! I love putting together my sketch book ideas (something I really struggled with on my course) and I estimate my output has gone up at least 100% in the last few months compare to my entire three years at Uni.
Thanks for your comment, I´m glad you can relate to this topic!
ReplyDeleteIt was helpful that the artscenter I studied, were surprisingly open as to how I wanted to achieve the given assignments, I can only imagine if I had the same experience with tutors as you did, I´d probably also given up.
It sounds great that you found a medium that is 1:1 on par with your creativity!