For me, normally other people criticism says more about the person than about your art. I received the same criticism over and over, and it wasn't about some technical thing like what you posted, but about my subjects of interest. For years people always said to me that my art was disturbing. I was interested in the deformation and transformation of the body, so people took it as if, by bending and twisting bodies, I was bending and twisting their bodies. Or so I understood their comment. Which meant my paintings talked to them somehow. There was an element of truth in their criticism, which was the color palette I was using was very dark and unsaturated, due to a personal situation of being in a north European country with lack of sunlight, and coming originally from the sunniest country on earth. Well, in a way I used to get affected but also not. Like, you want to understand what others see in your work, but once you do, why would I bother myself to change it? It's who I am, so be it. They can change their perception of they feel like it. With time my work changed and my palette grabbed way more color, aso coming back to Spain to live, which makes sense. The more you practice your art the less you care what others say, but there is a bridge period that is overwhelming. Never stop!! And fuck those super hardcore criticism Facebook groups!!! People get turned on solely by the opportunity!! Just keep doing and you won't care at some point, I promise. But the way, I totally disagree with the unsaturated wall comment they gave you about your painting. That pink works very well in the atmosphere :)
I so agree with what you have to say about others critiques Marina . As an artist who also veers towards a darker palette and subject choices I now realize I have my niche followers/ patrons and that’s actually more than ok . Whenever I lean out of my own creative zone and create something more universally appealing it just doesn’t feel like my own voice.
Oh, sorry to be long, but I also wanted to say, that I consciously did the experiment of showing a painting while saying "well, I don't know about this one, I have my doubts..." And showing the same painting to the same person months later saying "look at this painting, I'm very proud of it". It turns out, it affects the audience's view incredibly. So sometimes it's our personal attitude towards our own work and self criticism what doesn't help. Try it and you'll see. Cheers and keep writing, I really enjoy your texts
Absolutely no worries about the length! These are all super interesting insights. I've never dipped into grotesque art, but it certainly has it's place! There's this piece at the art institute of a severed head from the French revolution an artist painted from life (can't think of his name currently) and it is so repelling to me, but that subject matter definitely has something important to say.
I think I posted in that fb group as exposure therapy, honestly. I'd already read other comments on other paintings in that group and I knew that wasn't the audience for my art. It oddly helped me let go of the expectations of others, and the need for everyone to like what I make. :) Thank you!
Very astute observation. I agree that this can be very true and I actually make an effort to not tell people how to find fault in my work by sharing my misgivings. Especially people who don't look at art much or who have a very particular point of view of what "good art" is. When I am mid-process with my work, I discuss my confusion or misgivings with ONE other artist who I feel is both an amazing critiquer and who understands what I'm trying to do with my work. When we are needing feedback, I think it's important to be careful about how we get it because most people don't know how to give that well.
You describe the human condition so well here, Jeremy. When I first started painting (in January ‘24) I was really susceptible to criticism and self doubt. My art practice felt precious and vulnerable. Fast forward 9 months later, I can honestly say I don’t really care what others think of it. I also don’t over analyze my work anymore. Recently, I’ve been thinking about the fact that I’ve never been able to cut straight using scissors no matter how hard I try. It shows up in my sketches, it’s a bit wonky, loose. But I love it, it reminds me that my hands, mark making is unique and completely my own and not perfect. Therefore, my art is good enough. I also practice finishing a painting when I get the sense it’s good enough…not perfect…not A+. I strive for a solid B+.
All of that progress in under a year?! That's awesome! :) It took me much longer. I'm glad you're feeling comfortable with your own artistic voice/vision. So much of art making is mental. Getting out of your own way. Having enough self confidence in your own choices. Accepting your wobbliness bleeds into all other areas of life, too.
i love this! reading artists’ diaries and personal essays is honestly one of my favorite activities, it totally inspires me & gets my creative juices flowing. woolf’s diary has been on my radar for a while and now i’m really looking forward to reading it!!
Yes, it's very light listening before bed, haha. She's great! I'm infinitely inspired by her. Her entries really do mirror in her work, it's helpful to see that process
…early on in my music making i happened upon a forum reviewing our band and someone said “they are ok, definitely overrated and i absolutely hate the tall guy, he sucks so bad”…i am the tall guy…i suck so bad…i laughed and we pretended to be gangster about it but it still sits here with me today…not as something that means anything to my craft though…just as a reflection of how i prefer to be human and artist to critic and audience…not to say criticism isn’t useful…productive feedback on a work is blood…but taste as critique is just masks…enjoying as always your continued search and share…
Oof, that's rough. It truly does feel humiliating sometimes, but it feels worse to not do the thing. I think the fb group really helped me realize what real critique is. It's certainly not random people telling you that you suck.
These are powerful questions, Jeremy. I was terrified of criticism for so long because I saw it as a judgment not just on my art, but on my very worthiness. I'd be lying if I said I was totally over that, but I do find it easier to seek out feedback now. It helps to remember that feedback isn't about me, it's about the people I'm serving, and I need feedback in order to serve them better. And how wonderful to know people who care enough about my art to offer their feedback! That in itself is a gift.
I think I’m finally accepting it’s impossible to arrive at a final point where I don’t care about criticism anymore. It’s hard! But it always makes you go back and recenter your own vision and consider what it is you’re trying to do and say. You’re so right that it’s not about you! It’s such a complex part of art making to navigate. Thanks for your comment :)
Shifting from visual art into writing was a great liberation because I feel like my ego got out of the way somehow. Writing feels alive to me and I feel less personally responsible for it, which is weird, because it's about 'self'; but I feel like what I'm doing now is true art in the FEELING of it, more than drawing was. So because it's not ego-based I'm less attached to it.
In all my different practices (photography, craft, drawing, writing, singing) I am trying to advance and keep learning. I really don't care much what people think about what I do. Praise and criticism alike I accept and ignore. That sounds arrogant but really it's more that I can't afford to take on responsibility for what people think about what I do. I have to keep centred in my self. I know if what I've made is good or not, and I know that, for instance, something I've made can look good to others but not feel good to me; or they don't like it but I do. What I mean is that mostly I trust my own judgement on my work more than other people's.
When it comes to other people's work, I try not to offer unsolicited opinions unless it's gratitude for what the work did for me, or a response like 'It made me think about this'.
Love this, Rosie! I have been feeling the same way about writing. I have found it reinforces my visual art a lot more than I would have imagined. It’s impossible to evade the self at a certain point with this medium. I also agree there’s a certain level of neutrality that’s good to have with your work so that you don’t get hung up on past mistakes or complacent with where you currently are
You kind of have to get out of your own way so whatever it was that wants to be made can come through you. Be a channel for the mystery. It's a paradox. But then it becomes less about 'me'
You should! There is also a film by Sally Potter with Tilda Swinton as Orlando. It’s one of those rare occurrences when the movie is as good as the book. Highly, highly recommended both if you resonated with my words about it here. There’s so much to the story I could talk about it forever. Also thanks for sharing your work!! I’ll save it so I can get to it later :)
Man, you kind of had me at David Reading Proust. Dig that picture.
I think you’re right about art not being born by overstraining or pushing at it. For me, it has been far more about looking out of the corner of my eye, taking an oblique road, and trying to capture what I at first intuit rather than see smack on. I think the push bit does have its (judicious) place, in working in what I’ve drafted to get the words right (Woolf’s brushstrokes and swathes of paint…look ! fuck! I’ve actually turned into Virginia Woolf).
Don’t think I can name you one book that has fuelled me creatively…but writers who write as themselves, who don’t put on effects, who don’t feel the need to be anyone other than themselves. So, man, for starters, that would be Proust and Woolf.
Thanks, Nicolas! It takes time to cultivate that ability to even notice your first instincts. I love Woolf, but I haven't gotten to Proust myself, yet. I got the out takes from Swanns Way from my partner...not sure when I'll be ready to go in search of lost time haha.
My favorite commentary on the nature of art is from Mikhail Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita, where the Master, a writer, had in a moment of weakness thrown his life’s work’s manuscript into the flames, only for Dr Voland (the…. devil? But, like, a pretty chill one) to produce it later completely unscathed with the laconic words ‘manuscripts don’t burn’.
Bulgakov himself had burned the manuscript to Master and Margarita in fear of getting into serious trouble with Stalin’s censorship machinery because the book plays with religious themes, only to recreate it from memory later when regime change allowed it.
My favorite book of all time! It’s funny because it was recommended to me by a religious person to ‘understand what the devil is like’ and then the devil was, like, by far my favorite character, whoops
The way my mouth gaped after reading that Facebook screenshot but before knowing it was supposed to be rude 😧 I don't think I've read any Woolf, and now you've convinced me to read Orlando! Thank you for sharing your thoughtfulness, as always.
Haha yeah, they're brutal. But also I was oddly grateful for the feedback because I realized how little it mattered to me!
Woolf is great, but notoriously difficult. Orlando is a relatively small book, but it's written in an Elizabethan style prose so it can be a bit difficult to get through, but it's worth it. I Also, just as a trigger warning, there is one instance of the n word in it which is so unfortunate...don't wanna excuse it but you know...classic literature :/
but overall it's a great book. It gets into everything. War. Politics. Poetry. The movie is also wonderful. Tilda Swinton plays Orlando!
For me, normally other people criticism says more about the person than about your art. I received the same criticism over and over, and it wasn't about some technical thing like what you posted, but about my subjects of interest. For years people always said to me that my art was disturbing. I was interested in the deformation and transformation of the body, so people took it as if, by bending and twisting bodies, I was bending and twisting their bodies. Or so I understood their comment. Which meant my paintings talked to them somehow. There was an element of truth in their criticism, which was the color palette I was using was very dark and unsaturated, due to a personal situation of being in a north European country with lack of sunlight, and coming originally from the sunniest country on earth. Well, in a way I used to get affected but also not. Like, you want to understand what others see in your work, but once you do, why would I bother myself to change it? It's who I am, so be it. They can change their perception of they feel like it. With time my work changed and my palette grabbed way more color, aso coming back to Spain to live, which makes sense. The more you practice your art the less you care what others say, but there is a bridge period that is overwhelming. Never stop!! And fuck those super hardcore criticism Facebook groups!!! People get turned on solely by the opportunity!! Just keep doing and you won't care at some point, I promise. But the way, I totally disagree with the unsaturated wall comment they gave you about your painting. That pink works very well in the atmosphere :)
I so agree with what you have to say about others critiques Marina . As an artist who also veers towards a darker palette and subject choices I now realize I have my niche followers/ patrons and that’s actually more than ok . Whenever I lean out of my own creative zone and create something more universally appealing it just doesn’t feel like my own voice.
Oh, sorry to be long, but I also wanted to say, that I consciously did the experiment of showing a painting while saying "well, I don't know about this one, I have my doubts..." And showing the same painting to the same person months later saying "look at this painting, I'm very proud of it". It turns out, it affects the audience's view incredibly. So sometimes it's our personal attitude towards our own work and self criticism what doesn't help. Try it and you'll see. Cheers and keep writing, I really enjoy your texts
Absolutely no worries about the length! These are all super interesting insights. I've never dipped into grotesque art, but it certainly has it's place! There's this piece at the art institute of a severed head from the French revolution an artist painted from life (can't think of his name currently) and it is so repelling to me, but that subject matter definitely has something important to say.
I think I posted in that fb group as exposure therapy, honestly. I'd already read other comments on other paintings in that group and I knew that wasn't the audience for my art. It oddly helped me let go of the expectations of others, and the need for everyone to like what I make. :) Thank you!
Very astute observation. I agree that this can be very true and I actually make an effort to not tell people how to find fault in my work by sharing my misgivings. Especially people who don't look at art much or who have a very particular point of view of what "good art" is. When I am mid-process with my work, I discuss my confusion or misgivings with ONE other artist who I feel is both an amazing critiquer and who understands what I'm trying to do with my work. When we are needing feedback, I think it's important to be careful about how we get it because most people don't know how to give that well.
You describe the human condition so well here, Jeremy. When I first started painting (in January ‘24) I was really susceptible to criticism and self doubt. My art practice felt precious and vulnerable. Fast forward 9 months later, I can honestly say I don’t really care what others think of it. I also don’t over analyze my work anymore. Recently, I’ve been thinking about the fact that I’ve never been able to cut straight using scissors no matter how hard I try. It shows up in my sketches, it’s a bit wonky, loose. But I love it, it reminds me that my hands, mark making is unique and completely my own and not perfect. Therefore, my art is good enough. I also practice finishing a painting when I get the sense it’s good enough…not perfect…not A+. I strive for a solid B+.
All of that progress in under a year?! That's awesome! :) It took me much longer. I'm glad you're feeling comfortable with your own artistic voice/vision. So much of art making is mental. Getting out of your own way. Having enough self confidence in your own choices. Accepting your wobbliness bleeds into all other areas of life, too.
P.S. I just downloaded Wolf’s A Writer’s Diary. Thanks!
i love this! reading artists’ diaries and personal essays is honestly one of my favorite activities, it totally inspires me & gets my creative juices flowing. woolf’s diary has been on my radar for a while and now i’m really looking forward to reading it!!
Yes, it's very light listening before bed, haha. She's great! I'm infinitely inspired by her. Her entries really do mirror in her work, it's helpful to see that process
…early on in my music making i happened upon a forum reviewing our band and someone said “they are ok, definitely overrated and i absolutely hate the tall guy, he sucks so bad”…i am the tall guy…i suck so bad…i laughed and we pretended to be gangster about it but it still sits here with me today…not as something that means anything to my craft though…just as a reflection of how i prefer to be human and artist to critic and audience…not to say criticism isn’t useful…productive feedback on a work is blood…but taste as critique is just masks…enjoying as always your continued search and share…
Oof, that's rough. It truly does feel humiliating sometimes, but it feels worse to not do the thing. I think the fb group really helped me realize what real critique is. It's certainly not random people telling you that you suck.
These are powerful questions, Jeremy. I was terrified of criticism for so long because I saw it as a judgment not just on my art, but on my very worthiness. I'd be lying if I said I was totally over that, but I do find it easier to seek out feedback now. It helps to remember that feedback isn't about me, it's about the people I'm serving, and I need feedback in order to serve them better. And how wonderful to know people who care enough about my art to offer their feedback! That in itself is a gift.
I think I’m finally accepting it’s impossible to arrive at a final point where I don’t care about criticism anymore. It’s hard! But it always makes you go back and recenter your own vision and consider what it is you’re trying to do and say. You’re so right that it’s not about you! It’s such a complex part of art making to navigate. Thanks for your comment :)
Shifting from visual art into writing was a great liberation because I feel like my ego got out of the way somehow. Writing feels alive to me and I feel less personally responsible for it, which is weird, because it's about 'self'; but I feel like what I'm doing now is true art in the FEELING of it, more than drawing was. So because it's not ego-based I'm less attached to it.
In all my different practices (photography, craft, drawing, writing, singing) I am trying to advance and keep learning. I really don't care much what people think about what I do. Praise and criticism alike I accept and ignore. That sounds arrogant but really it's more that I can't afford to take on responsibility for what people think about what I do. I have to keep centred in my self. I know if what I've made is good or not, and I know that, for instance, something I've made can look good to others but not feel good to me; or they don't like it but I do. What I mean is that mostly I trust my own judgement on my work more than other people's.
When it comes to other people's work, I try not to offer unsolicited opinions unless it's gratitude for what the work did for me, or a response like 'It made me think about this'.
Love this, Rosie! I have been feeling the same way about writing. I have found it reinforces my visual art a lot more than I would have imagined. It’s impossible to evade the self at a certain point with this medium. I also agree there’s a certain level of neutrality that’s good to have with your work so that you don’t get hung up on past mistakes or complacent with where you currently are
You kind of have to get out of your own way so whatever it was that wants to be made can come through you. Be a channel for the mystery. It's a paradox. But then it becomes less about 'me'
Beautiful, true. Thanks for this. I want to read Orlando now. This piece reminded me lots of two posts of mine, you might enjoy them: The Swirl: https://honestlywritten.substack.com/p/the-swirl and On Not Writing: https://honestlywritten.substack.com/p/on-not-writing
You should! There is also a film by Sally Potter with Tilda Swinton as Orlando. It’s one of those rare occurrences when the movie is as good as the book. Highly, highly recommended both if you resonated with my words about it here. There’s so much to the story I could talk about it forever. Also thanks for sharing your work!! I’ll save it so I can get to it later :)
Man, you kind of had me at David Reading Proust. Dig that picture.
I think you’re right about art not being born by overstraining or pushing at it. For me, it has been far more about looking out of the corner of my eye, taking an oblique road, and trying to capture what I at first intuit rather than see smack on. I think the push bit does have its (judicious) place, in working in what I’ve drafted to get the words right (Woolf’s brushstrokes and swathes of paint…look ! fuck! I’ve actually turned into Virginia Woolf).
Don’t think I can name you one book that has fuelled me creatively…but writers who write as themselves, who don’t put on effects, who don’t feel the need to be anyone other than themselves. So, man, for starters, that would be Proust and Woolf.
Cool post.
Thanks, Nicolas! It takes time to cultivate that ability to even notice your first instincts. I love Woolf, but I haven't gotten to Proust myself, yet. I got the out takes from Swanns Way from my partner...not sure when I'll be ready to go in search of lost time haha.
Thanks for reading!!
This is spot on!
My favorite commentary on the nature of art is from Mikhail Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita, where the Master, a writer, had in a moment of weakness thrown his life’s work’s manuscript into the flames, only for Dr Voland (the…. devil? But, like, a pretty chill one) to produce it later completely unscathed with the laconic words ‘manuscripts don’t burn’.
Bulgakov himself had burned the manuscript to Master and Margarita in fear of getting into serious trouble with Stalin’s censorship machinery because the book plays with religious themes, only to recreate it from memory later when regime change allowed it.
Manuscripts don’t burn :)
Wow, that's such a cool anecdote! Master and Margarita has been on my reading list for a while....I def need to get to it at some point!
My favorite book of all time! It’s funny because it was recommended to me by a religious person to ‘understand what the devil is like’ and then the devil was, like, by far my favorite character, whoops
The way my mouth gaped after reading that Facebook screenshot but before knowing it was supposed to be rude 😧 I don't think I've read any Woolf, and now you've convinced me to read Orlando! Thank you for sharing your thoughtfulness, as always.
Haha yeah, they're brutal. But also I was oddly grateful for the feedback because I realized how little it mattered to me!
Woolf is great, but notoriously difficult. Orlando is a relatively small book, but it's written in an Elizabethan style prose so it can be a bit difficult to get through, but it's worth it. I Also, just as a trigger warning, there is one instance of the n word in it which is so unfortunate...don't wanna excuse it but you know...classic literature :/
but overall it's a great book. It gets into everything. War. Politics. Poetry. The movie is also wonderful. Tilda Swinton plays Orlando!