I have just came back from Sydney, Australia, seeing my new 2month old grandson Felix! I know everyone says this about their grandchildren but he is SO cute!
While in Sydney, l had time to think about my Art and where l am going! I have decided that l am not being true to myself or my Art, at the moment. I am painting what l think might sell and not really enjoying what l do. A lot of people might see this as a good thing but it isn't always, believe me. When you paint only by using the techquines you have learnt but don't also paint with your heart, l think you loose "yourself". I am not sure if this is making any sense but maybe talking about it , in public, might help me to make sense of it all.
While l was looking after my new grandson Felix, life seemed so simple. Feed, play, bath him and then sleep ... simple. My bond with this little boy, my son"s baby, is so strong and primal. I began to think about how to tell stories, my stories. The way must be through my Art l thought but how? Paint, drawing, collage, wax, pastels, embroidery, writing, .... so many ways and so many mediums that l love. I have hundreds of questions going round and round in my brain but no real answers.
A while ago l started painting my dreams. Why did l stop ? I allowed myself to listen to some people who said such things as:
"Your work is too naive to be serious ".
"You are not doing yourself much good, painting like this".
"Why are you not painting serious things?"
I also realised that although l love how the dreams/stories were turning out, my techniques were to put mildly ... crap! I have so many stories in my head and l want to discover a way to create them!
When l went to Art School, l thought, naively that they would teach me how to "Do things". How wrong was l!!?
So since arriving back home, l have not done very much Art. What with Jetlag, my 43rd Wedding Anniversary, Christmas and Boxing Day, l have not had much spare time. BUT l have been doing a LOT of reading around techniques and how others tell stories.
When l was 30, l started travelling with my family. We spent up to 3 years in each of these place ... Dubai, Papua New Guinea, Jersey in the Channel Islands, Luxembourg and the Bahamas. I had a great time in all these places but never really thought people would be interested in my life there. How wrong l was! It seems people are interested in my style of life there . For instance when in Dubai, my husband was offered a white camel for myself and my daughter, or in Port Moresby, when l helped to deliver a pig and then watch the wife breast feed it and her son on the other breast !!!
How l create these stories is still to be decided .... onward and upward as they say .... pass me my sketch book!!!
3 comments:
What an interesting and thought provoking post Lynda. I'm sure you will find the right path for expressing your life stories, and when you do they will definitely be coming from your soul. I also struggle with the same thing, and often get frustrated when I want to create art in a certain way that is different to what comes naturally for me. It's good to know that I'm not the only one though, and I wish you a very happy new year, with every success. Do what comes naturally, and don't listen too much to what others say.
Its very easy to get into the rut of making what sells, you might get more money that way but you won't achieve satisfaction with your self which is what really matters. I would have thought that painting your dreams would have made for some very interesting art, look at Chagall.
I am sure you will find the right path even if it means you need to stop for a while and take some time out or find another medium to work with for a while, I have been doing that for the last three months and am just beginning to get back into weaving but am still not really there yet.
Oh what a lovely boy!
It's a tricky thing, certainly, this art business! I make things I think will sell, too, sometimes but I don't get enough people to look at them ;( So, back to me & what I want ;)I've always loved your 'diary' photos, really enjoyed taking part in DMTV's diary sketchbook challenge, but there are so many ways to interpret things, you'll find it.
Come over to mine when you have a mo to find out what I did with those knitted patches ;)
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