It’s always good to remember why you became an artist in the first place, or why you wanted to study art and to remember to have fun in the process of making your art this will help you to stay fresh. Just begin somewhere and see where it goes. Some of the problem originates with how tedious you become with the preparation of the surface upon which you are going to work.
This can lead to you becoming petrified to mark the surface, because freshly stretched canvas properly primed is not inexpensive. The same goes with good quality drawing paper. A good example of stretching your abilities as an artist can be found by experiencing what I call ‘Dynamic’ life drawing classes. In these classes, which I’ve run at different stages over the years, I ask the students to begin to draw for a certain amount of time a still life arrangement that I have set up the centre of the room.
After half an hour or so, I then add an item, then again later I add another item, etc. until the finished still life barely looks anything like what it had started like.
At this point I usually give them a break, everybody is usually happy with what they have created, and then we go back and I begin to take these objects away again systematically, so that by the end of the class, which may go on for a couple of hours or so, there is left standing the original still life composition, which may have been a bowl or a vase.
The above drawing exercise has proven to be one of the most transformative processes that I have taken students through. It aids them to let go of preciousness.
These exercises helps students to go with the creative flow and opens them up to other possibilities like abstraction for example, when they follow this exercise. Of course some students are confronted with their own limitations. Major risk-taking can bring about tremendous positive shifts in your creativity.
It can throw up new results and can teach you to not be so tentative and careful. So bare this in mind in your journey as an artist.
I have no doubt that by following some of the above outlined suggestions, it will help you to find your way towards more confidence and everybody’s way is entirely unique. These suggestions will help you to find the ability in your work that is necessary for you to have the courage go on to want to market your work.
This takes a tremendous amount of confidence. It doesn’t mean that you need to be arrogant or egotistical. It means that you must be at a point inside yourself where you feel confident that what you are doing is worthy to be presented out there in the world alongside the work of your peers. To be honest, a gallery director interviewing a potential artist is much more likely to show interest when they feel that that artist has passion for his or her work.
Enthusiasm and passion can only come about through your totality and experimentation. It is infectious and will become the best marketing tool that you have at your disposal.
