Artist Resident Lynne Mizera Week 5 (Bonus Edition!)

Lynne Mizera is an self-taught, mixed media artist living in Creston, British Columbia.

This is her bonus fifth installment in a 4-part series as Artist Strong’s Artist in Residence.

You can enjoy more of her art over on instagram @Lynnemizera.

Visit her website at https://www.lynnemizera.com/

The road we travel as an artist is such a solitary and sometimes lonely journey, we pour so much of ourselves into our art and then risk our souls when we put it out there.  It has taken me a long time to embrace my art and my style of painting but I have come to realize that I love the way I paint and I love the way I see the world and I want to share with all of you what I see.

I have been so creative all of my life that I did not realize that this is not the case for everyone.  For as long back as I could remember ideas would pop into my head and I would just sit down and create it.  And all this creative energy needed an outlet so I filled my life with creativity and art play in between the cracks and crevices of daily life.

I did not purposely sit down and become an artist, I was one from as far back as I could remember.  But I felt that a “real” artist needed an art education so when life slowed down and I could devote more of my time to my art practice I went looking for more of an art education so I could learn to paint like everyone else.

It’s a funny thing, we all say we want to be uniquely different, to walk our own path, but when we deviate too far from the norm we become uncomfortable and feel like we are doing something wrong.  For the first few months as part of the Mastrius community of artists, I felt so inadequate as an artist and was almost embarrassed when sharing my work.  I found myself apologizing for my work and my style.

When I compared myself to the other artists in my group, in my mind I kept coming up lacking. Some days I felt like quitting except that this huge ball of creative energy inside me wouldn’t let me off the hook. It took all these wonderful and supportive artists in my community to hammer into my head that I had a unique and individual style and that was a good thing. They could recognize my work whether I signed it or not and I came to realize that this is something we all, as artists, are striving for.

It was a bit of painful journey to discover and to accept that I can’t paint like everyone else, I can only paint like me!  I have now come full circle, and after months of producing bad copies of other people’s work I realize that when I create something I really love it is always in my own unique style of painting. So now I am going back to my beginnings to paint like me but with a broader knowledge base knowing the basics of what I did not know before.  And I think I am making better art.

Some people may wonder why I went on this journey, but as I said in one of my earlier posts, you don’t know what you don’t know. Through these months of learning, of internal examination of my art soul and of exploration and practice of my art skills I have come realize that I have good instincts, that I know more than I thought I did and that I love the way I paint.  This journey has allowed me to know that now I don’t just “think I am an artist” I KNOW I am an artist and I will allow my art voice to be heard!

Some people may like my work, some people may not like it at all, but what is the most important to me is that I like my work.  Of course I like some paintings better than others, but I have stopped copying other people’s styles and ideas and am allowing mine to bubble up again.

I have come to realize that what matters to me most in my work is not how accurate I painted what I was seeing but the message behind the painting.  I am always trying to express some kind of feeling, whether it is joyful, or empowering or reflective.  I want you to feel my message.

So I think it is fitting that I end this post and this series of blogs with my latest painting, the biggest one so far at 24×30 inches.  In this mixed media piece on a background of collage and stencil work, I was trying to capture the incredible strength of women with her entire body balanced on the tip of one toe, and how we as women handle so much while showing a softness and grace to the world.

Her face is almost expressionless because as women we hide deeply our true selves.  The empowering words around her tutu are meant as a reminder to embrace who you are, and the words written around her body are messages to herself. “She was unsure how she would stand on her own, but she stood stronger that anyone could have known.”  and “Like the moon part of her was always hidden.”

I feel like I am at a crossroads in my art journey but I know that this is just the beginning and I am excitedly looking forward to my future!

 

Artists show up in our Artist Strong community to share their artistic process, journey, explorations with us over the course of a month.

The goal is to normalize the MANY, VARIED experiences of being an artist.

And if YOU  want to apply to be an Artist Strong Artist Resident, subscribe to our weekly updates to hear about the next time applications are open.

I’m so thrilled Lynne decided to share her journey with us. I hope she helps you find the permission within yourself to prioritize YOU liking YOUR art first. <3 Thank you Lynne for your words of wisdom and sharing so openly about finding your voice.