Prior disappointment syndrome

the lesson here is….don’t take holidays

I think the lesson is that every day, every hour, every second IS a vacation and should be enjoyed as a fresh new start.

I agree with the concept but heartily disagree with the instruction to “shred” failures – as an instructor and colleague I have seen so many pieces needlessly destroyed out of a moment’s lack of confidence, when all you actually need to do is nail them up in a sealed box for 20 years and you will be amazed how much better those “failed” pieces look then. I personally feel there just isn’t enough art in the world, and all of it doesn’t need to be a great masterpiece to have value and provide someone pleasure, even if it isn’t the artist who made it! Don’t trash your pieces! Someone, somewhere might really appreciate it!

Robert, your thoughts on fear of failure are very relevant. I have just been awarded my doctorate, and if I had thought about it in the beginning, would never have done it. A fresh start every day – and your letters – kept me going to a successful conclusion. As Fabian Duttner said; “Failure is always hurtful, humiliating and embarrassing, but it’s the price to pay for daring to get what we want out of life”. Good painting . . .

Failure is a word that can cause a person to miss out on the best things in life if it is seen in fear. But if failure is seen as like going down the wrong road and as a way to learn the right path to success and all you have to do is turn around. Then failure is turned into a very valuable tool. Most people think Babe Ruth very seldom struck out. But in fact he struck out far more times than he hit a homer. Most famous people failed a lot more than they succeeded. So failure dosn’t mean we are failures it only means that way didn’t work so lets see what does.

I agree with much of what you said, however Some of my what I thought were my biggest failures were others favorite pieces. Once I painted a new painting over an old one I disliked a woman who had seen it. She called me and wanted to purchase it. I told her I painted over it and she bought that one because she knew the painting she liked was under it. So I say sell the failures if you can. Everyone sees your work in their own way. Do what you love and let the others go. Keep painting, and keep showing, and see what happens is my philosophy.

No matter if you really like a piece, or not, pitch it in the corner and start the next one. A friend painted a very successful image, kept it prominently displayed, and basically quit painting for quite a while.

Perhaps that’s why someone else said, “The minute you finish a piece, get rid of it! If it’s bad, it’ll drag you down, if it’s great, you’ll just sit there looking at it.”

Robert

Right on target..I needed this message NOW!

Thank you

Yes, I find that all that is said is true. However, I find that I do get really disappointed with the drudgery of marketing…it seems that EVERYONE has the right answers (especially the webmasters), but after 15 years, 11 Galleries, numerous outdoor and indoor shows, that the overwhelming negative influence on my painting is so pervasive…the last time I ordered frames or supplies, they didn’t take smiles or positive thoughts in trade. So, my question is this. Just what IS the key to my painting career?

I fear making art. I fear marketing it. I fear showing it. I fear selling it.

I’ve been making art for 20 years, but I still have those same fears.

I can really relate to this last letter. I’ve been painting recently, after a summer break, and I am very disappointed. I doubt if I can “save” it. I regret not keeping in touch with my creative self. I’ve learned that you must do even a minimum of art. What’s the saying? “Use it or lose it”.

My happiest sales are of paintings I have left to “mature” in my inventory, often paintings that were born several years earlier. We cannot second guess our audience, nor can we paint in order to fulfill a popular trend. I paint for the love of the subject at the time, and rely on time to find the perfect buyer. If my creative juices dwindle to a trickle, I find another way to temporarily fill the void. (I alternate between painting and writing.) At the proper time, the urge to paint will return full force. We can have it both ways.

A holiday may provide a spark to creativity and quality but I find that a good, effective workshop instructor that gets the creative juices flowing is worth their weight in gold.

This is true.

But it can also cut the other way. I have just completed a painting that I personally am very satisfied with. I struggled with it and hated it along the way, and now that’s it’s done, I have to admit that it is particularly good. One of my favorites, as a matter of fact. (if there is such a thing as a “favorite”)

Anyway, my problem now is that I’ve started on a new painting. I’m at the ugly, raw beginning stages, and I’m extremely dissatisfied. Fresh off of that success, and I’m worried that I won’t be able to duplicate it. I’ve decided to step away for the evening and pick up the paint brush tomorrow, and try to look at my work with more optimistic eyes.

This has nothing to do with art, but with terminology. When you say ‘holiday’ might you mean ‘vacation’ ? ‘Holidays’ are statutory and are one day. I know this sounds picky but grammar is important to me. We owe it to the many cultures trying to learn our very complicated English language, to use it correctly.

The misplaced word ‘not’ happens often, e.g. ‘All is not well in Canada’ was the recent headline of a prominent Canadian journalist. We know that’s not true. Lots is well in Canada. What he meant was ‘Not all is well in Canada’. That’s true.

And look for the number of times a sentence is ended with a preposition.

As an architect, I am acutely aware of the importance of communication being understood. Life safety may be at risk.

Bob! I think I love you! It’s not often I run into someone who loves grammar as I do. If I weren’t already married to my soulmate…

” Success builds confidence, failure builds character “

To me, anxiety is about change. I never fear change and actually welcome it when it comes. Listening to that whisper and moving in a new direction is the essence of being truly creative. We are always trying to grasp a time, place or person in our lives and hold it in that spot that we are most comfortable with. Everyone is your teacher and not letting your life be ruled by fear is my mantra. Artists always seem to lay back on their laurels and think their latest piece is their greatest piece. I suspect they also might fear it is their last. You see this a lot in art school with students becoming very defensive about their works during a critique. I know that the bulk of the greatest work of my life is still ahead of me. I have always thought this and probably always will. I also know I can always be better…with every single brush stroke, I can be better.

“Artists always seem to lay back on their laurels and think their latest piece is their greatest piece.” John, from where on Earth did you get that idea? I always sigh, and say, “I’m learning and the next one will be better.”

Perhaps critiques are undiplomatic, or too much thinly disguised criticism, the hurtful kind. Students, the new ones and young ones anyway, might be very fragile. Plus, I remember going from being the very best artist of thousands of people, in high school, to being with a large group of peers, in college. That was a shock.

And now, if you judge art by money, there’s some amazing stuff making a lot of money. Stuff.

Re: Churchill’s “perfection”! Some would say it takes 20 years and 100 brush-miles miles of canvas to become a good painter. But I don’t think this means painting for 20 years on the same canvas. Winston, I think you did fine by not letting ” perfection be the enemy of the good.”

I would have to say that everything I’ve ever painted is a disappointment. Not once have I ever loved a piece of work that I’ve done. I’ve loved some part of it but have always felt let down when it is done. In many cases the let down comes before it’s finished and I set it aside. In some cases I have so many disappointing work lying around I invite guests, family members and friends to take whatever they want just so I do not ever have to set eyes on them again (the paintings not the guests- although sometimes both). Sometimes, especially of late, I wonder why I continue to cause myself so much grief. It’s like there is this angst in me to paint and yet it’s only a temporary fix. Nothing seems to relieve it. I will take your advice Robert and try to focus on the now because feeling goofy sounds a heck of a lot more fun than disappointed.

To Kathy Neudorf. Your destruction as a painter only exists in your head. Guess what would it take to get rid of it? Just a thought.

A group painting “The eternal lotus” and the Chinese contemporary art

Over the last decades, China’s political leaders seem to be enlightened a lot. In today’s Beijing, you can not only see the US film, but also see the performance by Western pop singers; you can not only read the 10-year Cultural Revolution’s accusatory novel, namely “The Bathing Woman,” but also see the 798 Art District, displayed Contemporary Art Works — it often tends to be a symbol of Chinese reformation and China’s social progress in the eyes of the Western media.

However, Mr. Yue Minjun and Fang Lijun can live in Beijing, because the authorities deliberately gave them a chance. Weighed the pros and cons of Contemporary Art, they found the official ideology has not been challenged, and it’s impossible to shake the leading position of the official artists. Reservation of 798 Art District can not only improve the government’s public image, it also becomes a visiting sight. And all this are under control.

In fact, at present, these famous contemporary artists have been very “self-discipline” and grinding out their edges to make it match official’s mainstream. It’s not just the way of living, but also the precondition for achieving commercial value. Oriental wisdom has really made these contemporary artists succeed, while they have kept themselves away from artistic aim.

In 1998, artist’s metamorphosis is an indisputable fact that eager attitude for quick success and instant benefit toward life and the commercial temptation without restraint changed their mind. In June 2008, Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite TV comments: the 798 Art District filled with the smell of copper. The international community, who was keen on contemporary Chinese art collections, has begun criticized, saying that they pay much attention to cater to foreigner’s value with the result that loses their own personality. With the increasing emphasis on the 798 Art District and Songzhuang Art District, officials support and guide them consciously or unconsciously, so their creative environment has changed greatly. Some artists have faced what course to follow.

However, this is not all the Chinese contemporary art. Recently, a group of paintings called “” quietly appeared in China’s magazines and the Internet. These paintings are more than 50 pieces, from 1989 to now experiencing the past 20 years. Although the works relate to traditional Chinese themes of the Flowers and Birds Painting (painting plant is the most common and important themes of Chinese paintings since ancient times), A group painting “The eternal lotus” is the style of contemporary art.

The painter applied prosopopoeia to his works, mobilized the shape, color, composition, and so on, creating an image of bloody battlefield and heroes died ungrudgingly. Lotus in nature is like Fairy, in poetry is the embodiment of gentleman, but in “The eternal lotus” group are the unyielding Warriors.

The author recalls his creative ideations, said:

In the late spring in 1989, I was learning Flowers and Birds Painting in the Central Academy of Fine Arts (plants painting). After the Tiananmen event, having the feeling of pathos, I created these works in those bloody days; I would like to record the feelings of this period of history. In 1990, eight paintings had created and exhibited in Beijing Wangfujing Street Gallery, named bloody Lotus. At that time Beijing was still in a state of siege, in order to avoid political persecution; the exhibition had to change the name. A few years after, the name “”The eternal lotus” ” replaced it.

As the themes of “The death of lotus” paintings are all plant material, so they can evade official checkup, but people who understood Chinese culture and were familiar with the Tiananmen Square event are aware of the intention of the group painting “The eternal lotus “. That’s why “The death of lotus” is neither prohibited nor for the publicity. It can be said that “The death of lotus” is the only painting works which reflected the theme of the June 4th events on Chinese continent over the past 20 years.

Virginia Cobb, a well-known artist whose workshop I attended, had a good concept for dealing with pieces of art that did not seem to be going well (according to the artist). She told us to view paintings as infants, children, teenagers, adults to remind us that many paintings need to evolve before we would be satisfied with the results.

I applied this to my work consistently. Paintings that were not progressing to my satisfaction or ones I felt were ‘unfinished’ all went into a large portfolio. I did not need a pile of work that had been frustrating me in any way in my line of vision; they were immature, waiting to grow up.

From time to time, I would go through the portfolio, sometimes finding elements useless as their originally intended result, that had a dramatic effect when used in different ways in another painting.

Two feeble, dull pieces, when cut, then woven together, became the foreground for an excellent collage piece. The background for the collage was a completely ‘failed’ sheet of watercolour paper. Sprayed over with metallic paint in a subtle pattern, it became an ideal base.

The paint was barely dry before I had a buyer begging to own it.

Recently, a knowledgeable friend looked through the ‘unfinished’ contents of the portfolio. She found at least a dozen paintings that were ready to frame and sell. I could then see others that had a direction I was unable to see when I worked on them originally.

The original ‘core idea’ for a painting may not be amenable to either the media the artist has picked or the ground it is painted on. The artist’s ego must let go of preconceived ideas about what he/she proposes to

impose on matter intended to become a piece of what the artist considers as art.

Throwing away or destroying art in progress or ‘finished’ just because it does not please the eye of one person (the artist) is very egotistical; the act denies that anyone else (including potential buyers) might have a different view as valid as that of the artist. From experience, I have come to believe that my own view of my art is not as reliable as the collective comments of others.

As I mature and experience life, my vision and imagination change with me, allowing me to compare my current choices and techniques with older work. In some cases, this has led to the ability to complete paintings formerly viewed as ‘failed’. Previous ‘failures’ were simply due to my lack of experience or need to learn one or more new techniques or experiment with new media (which may not have existed when the painting was begun).

Take a look at your ‘failures’ from a different point of view. Go to a workshop to learn a few new techniques and then review ‘failed’ work. Listen to knowledgeable people who can spot the pieces that are actually finished before you mess them up permanently by over-working.

You may be turning out better work than you thought or may have the materials almost ready to finish a really fine piece of work. Have a little faith in time and yourself.

I agree that there are a lot of truly “bad paintings” around that I would be embarrassed to show if I had done them. I see people buying them for hideous sums and shudder.

The only type I find offensive are the ‘starving artist’ exhibitions where paintings have been created on an assembly line. These cannot be considered as anything other than ‘art by committee’. That is my opinion, not a general pronouncement of contempt for all of the efforts. A few are done by people with true talent.

But, who are we as individuals to set ourselves as the appointed arbiters of ‘art’. Art, to any individual, is what speaks to them or initiates an emotional attachment to the image. If that image is right for them, it is good art to them. It might also be all they can afford at that time.

However, artists who are working at art as a full-time career can’t afford to set themselves up as sole judge and jury of their own work. An artist sees and knows every ‘mistake’ and brushstroke that did not live up to their inflated expectations of their view of perfection.

Pursuing “perfection” in art is destructive to the spirit and imagination of genuine art. Personally, I get past this negative self-structuring confining ‘box’ by putting a flaw into each painting as early as possible. Once done, I feel ‘freed’ and the rest of the painting is then free to flow out. Oddly, the mark previously viewed as a ‘flaw’ usually ends up working itself into the piece and enhancing it.

The downs of life are as important as the ups. If an artist feels that destroying a piece of art is the only way they can feel better about themselves, by all means, get rid of it or at least get it out of your line of vision for a significant period of time.

I know fine artists with talent who have destroyed all of their work that they considered imperfect. These people often feel that they have ‘lost’ their ability to produce any art and stop trying to the point of getting rid of all of their art supplies. Depression often ensues.

My remedy for this is to buy them just enough art supplies to put them in a position where they cannot say they have nothing to work with. I say nothing more and wait for their innate hunger to express themselves becomes so great that they start to play with the materials.

They will probably discard a lot at the beginning but I encourage them to keep their early efforts, often showing them my own collection from truly primitive to what they see displayed on my walls. My acceptance of my own ‘child’ paintings seems to encourage them to try again.

The ability to view one’s own older, less attractive work can be a real boost when compared against more current work and gives a more balanced view.

I understand what Robert is trying to say here. For most of us we are faced with so much inner conflict in our work as in life that it would be best to put aside (destroy in Robert’s case) work that does not met our (individual) standards. I have many failed attempts. Rejection is not my criteria to destroy my paintings. This does not mean I don’t try the same theme or subject again. I do paint over a failed attempt with what turns out to be a better rendition of what failed. If after repeated attempts I don’t achieve what I want. I leave it alone. Something in me isn’t connecting with the project or I have not thought out the concept fully and every subsequent attempt falls short. Whether you keep every work ever created by you is a personal choice. I keep “old” less mature work to see how far I’ve come. I don’t keep failed work because I know I can do better. There is a distinction between “failed” work and work that didn’t hit the mark as well as I would have liked. I would never show these “failed” works in an exhibit. I believe you have to have some ego/pride and responsibility to show the general public your best work, not work in progress or work that you know didn’t work. What you show in your studio is your business. Displaying every work to the world is like using every color in every painting. “Discretion is the better part of valor here.” “Less is more”. Keep your “progress” to yourself for as long as necessary. When you achieve what you want, keep it and throw out the rest. Concentrate on what is ahead more than what was.