“You murder your paintings.”
This is some of the only feedback I remember from my university days. And while it clearly stung enough I remember it to this day, I also remember agreeing in complete frustration with my professor when she and I talked about my work.
Unfortunately it took a decade or more before I really understood the implications of that feedback and how to use it to my advantage as an artist.
Hi, my name is Carrie and here on Artist Strong I help artists like you build your skill and develop your unique artist voice. Today we talk about how to stop overworking your art.
This is a clip from Inside my program Self-Taught to Self-Confident, where we talk about our specific natures as creatives,
whether we tend to overwork (or under-develop) our art,
and how to use this information moving forward in our studio practice.
I encourage you to do the same. Subscribe to my channel, then tell me in the comments:
Is it better for your art to focus on details and refining the art, or to let go and focus more on the bigger picture?
Carrie, You wright words here that resonate with me, I murder my paintings many times. ugh, If I don’t stop and walk away I end up getting colors muddy and thick paint in places etc. In my mind I try to get it almost perfect, all of this murdering it is because I want to finish it, it’s like a trance I’m in and I can’t get out of. I identified the issue so it is hard to stop the habit. What do you suggest?
Hi Sandy! It’s one reason I now have several pieces going at a time. If I can tell I’m starting to overdo a work and I’m not sure its done, I take a break by jumping into another work. That way, if I still feel like I’m “in the zone” I can keep enjoying that but also not overwork a single artwork! If you need to be reminded to check in with yourself why not set a timer for every 15 or 30 minutes? Then you can ask yourself if you should switch to a new piece?
Thank You Carrie, I’m glad I am not the only one. Great advise!