Why you *should* be all over the place with your art
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 18 окт 2024
- Am I all over the place with my art? I regularly joke that I could stock my own art supply store. What about you? One of the most common things I hear from fellow artists is, "I feel all over the place with my art." But what does that really mean?
When I break down the idea of being all over the place with one’s art, it's about lots of art materials, playing with many media, and juggling various ideas and projects. But we also have a negative association with this belief. Somehow, we are lacking or something is missing from our art and this experience is evidence of that lack.
Today, let’s talk about what it means to be all over the place with your art, how artists across history have managed their varied ideas and interests, and how you can use this to your advantage to make better art.
Links:
Workshop (watch for free): www.artiststro...
Full article with text: wp.me/p6Xq2T-4oC
From Stuck to Successful: How to Improve Your Art with These Mindset Shifts: www.artiststro...
3 Phases of Artistic Expression: www.artiststro...
The Role of Discomfort in Growing as an Artist: A Journey to Mastery: www.artiststro...
Why Work in a Series: www.artiststro...
Ebook ArtSpeak: www.artiststro...
Book a time to learn more how I can help: calendly.com/c...
Carrie Brummer art: www.carriebrum...
Class (watch for free): Drawing Drills: artiststrong.t...
![COLOMBIA vs. CHILE [4-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 10](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TDjN4W3yy1k/mqdefault.jpg)
I have just discovered your videos and find them very helpful. I resist "being all over the place" only because of my limited time to make art. I am attracted to various media and have a plethora of materials I've collected to try out. I feel focusing on just one media - watercolor - I make the best use of my limited time. If I had more time, I'd gladly be "all over the place" and try some of your suggestions! Someday.....
The goal of my content is not to tell you how this is the only way to do something. I hope it gives you permission to reflect on your choices, which are hopefully conscious, that you make in you art and embrace those that align with your vision for your work. I so appreciate the time you've taken to reply and share here Thomas. Welcome to Artist Strong!
This was a really refreshing take. I was worried that my interests in art were all over the place. I want to learn so many things and try different mediums. I also liked the point about having 5-25 in a series of art works. I already have so many ideas and projects I want to do but was worried that I my work wouldn’t appear cohesive to my audience or potential customers. Thank you for your insights and I really enjoy your videos.
Thank you so much! It sounds funny, but I think giving ourselves some structure that supports our many interests is the way to be cohesive, rather than giving up or not engaging in the things that interest us. Thanks for being here and for your kind words!
Wow! "...my own art store." You took the words out of my mouth!
@@smellyrhinostudio fellow aspiring art supply store owners most welcome here 🤪😊
I found this really thought provoking. Thank you. It's given me an idea to do a series of paintings on a theme and with similar colours but using different media. I think my busy brain will find this exciting.
Yay! Tell us how it goes?
Indeed ‘Ordo ab Chao’ is something we as artist should embrace.
It’s not just art but many things I have learned that have me all over the map. When studying languages, I mixed and matched and embraced all that I could. Each one enhanced the others. I do CrossFit for workouts and that is essentially something different every day. I know that this is the way I am, indeed have always been. I have to accept what is good in that. It’s OK. It is even more Ok because my focus is on enjoying art and not necessarily on selling or developing a career.
@@marysuze know thyself! Thanks for sharing 😊
Thanks for this because I am ALWAYS bouncing around with my art!
@@debleighton-bowlby3412 good! You are learning a lot 😊
i think we associate "being all over the place" with something bad because everyone around us tries to tell us that, especially with the social media algorithms favoring artists who can build a consistent brand
but they are lying to keep you down!! don't listen, go explore everything your hands desire!!
@@wa5657 good point. The algorithm has an easier time finding the “right” people for your art when it’s very niche.
I naturally like experimenting. A teacher I had early on restricted me to watercolor and then kept on me about finding my niche Then she decided my niche was copying birds from calendars. She didn’t last long in my life because she took life out of my art. I’m all over the place not a professional. But I’m having fun 11:46 11:46
I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm glad you are finding your own way and honoring your interests. Thanks for watching!
Totally agree! We can’t create the exactly same kinds of art throughout our artistic career! Because we are artists!
@@Nyanta-q7h exactly!
Thank you so much 💯
@@korukiwiarts thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.
@@artiststrong your so most welcome
I agree and disagree. I agree that if we reduce ourselves to one idea/medium only, we limit our creative possibilities. But from my own experience I can also say that we will hardly make any progress if we don't focus. Sometimes I feel like the donkey that starved to death between two hay stacks because he couldn't decide with which one to start. I have so many art supplies, so many ideas, so many projects, I want to use all of them, finish all projects, explore all mediums, get better at them, but I have a limited amount of time. And if I can't choose which one to focus on, I get none of the projects finished, don't gain experience, don't improve. So currently I'm focusing on gouache/watercolours and drawing. But yesterday I spontaneously drew a self portrait with coloured pencils and I'm eying my oil paints: how I would love to dive into them again! But that is a completely different medium. So lets focus on gouache and watercolours and drawing of course. Drawing is fundamental. With line'n'wash I can easily combine watercolour and drawing.
I think being good at something feels better than not being good at something. And you can only become good at something when you practise regularly. You need a certain "mileage". That don't have to be the famous or rather infamous 10,000 hours, which supposedly lead you to mastery. But still, even if you just want to be good, you need to practise a couple of hundred hours. You can't do that if you are "all over the place", then there is no continuity, no muscle memory, no routine knowledge (experience => expertise).
So although it feels comforting when you say that being all over the place is good for creativity, one also needs focus to learn, practise and improve.
Michaelangelo comes to mind
Well thought out!
@@anjapinkau3737 my suggestion to embrace your interests does not mean to absolve yourself of any focus, which is why I offer three ways to build some structure around those interests.
Also- highly recommend the book Peak by Anders Ericsson. He’s the researcher that Gladwell was talking about with regard to 10,000 hours and he’s unhappy with how his research has been framed. It’s not 10,000 hours for artists, it was specifically for violinists playing at the top of their game.
Love the thought you’ve put into this conversation and your art.
Keep making! And thanks for being here.
I was in a similar place with too many choices to go in different directions and unfinished projects. The best thing I did was to get rid of material and pare them down to absolute minimum. That forced me to work within self imposed limitations, which is a great way to force you to get creative. This is like making a To-do list of 100 things and cancelling 99 things from them to absolutely come down to what is essential.
@@rohitmadashri7250 I totally believe in limitations supporting our practice. Great share thanks for commenting!
I think is not that we don’t like “being all over the place”. It’s just that we feel we aren’t making anything meaningful with any of the mediums. I think that if we were “progressing” as much as we’d like, we’d enjoy the mess of several types of pursuits at the same time.
We feel like we’re loosing time and money investing in things that we abandon half way.
That's an important nuance to consider. Did I suggest somewhere to abandon things half-way? I have three, maybe four series going right now. When I don't feel progress I make a commitment to one of those series for a while to get things moving again.
@@artiststrong I don’t think you did. I’m speaking only from personal experience.
Love your videos. I am not able to find your links Thanks
@@beverlyully7886 they are in the video description! Or visit www.artiststrong.com/blog thanks again Beverly for your kind words.
4:24 how much does this program cost?
@@itsdaksha I talk about it in more detail in my free workshop I have linked in the description. It’s currently a low four figure investment.
making art is now a joke.
@@Allenmayesallenmayes maybe for you.
What does that mean? (English isn't my first language.)
@@lynnc5649 art is now an industry to con poor artists out of money