Having been an athlete, I have heard just about every advice extolled to promising yet unfulfilled could-be’s in just about every endeavor. That’s a good thing. There’s no measure I can place on encouragement in personal development and the way it benefits us even if we live to be 100. I know first hand what it did for me when I was in way over my head as a skinny teen-ager trying to make the team, and let’s face it, to be accepted…what greater pressure is there!
It applies to us as artists. When an aspiring painter shows his work and seriously asked if I think he has a career in art, do I do the right thing and tell him the truth or do I give him the old Knute Rockne speech, you can do anything if you try hard enough, it’s his problem, not mine.
It all at some point comes down to convincing oneself that he belongs. It took a long time for me as a youngster to gain a foothold in that painful process. Fast forward to life for me now. Nothing has really changed. I’m still trying to be an artist when I grow up…if I ever do.
The difference is that now I can be the teacher or the student. The problem I had was deciding who I was, as it is for basically everybody. What does this have to do with art? I personally believe that our imagination is our most powerful ally. Pretending to be Sargent, or Chase can take one into a whole new sense of self-awareness. My thought process was, “from this moment on, I am the great John Singer Sargent and fear is not in my vocabulary!” It was the same at the college level on a D1 basketball team that was ranked and had undoubtedly the roughest bunch of guys I’ve ever been around. This is but a small example compared to struggles in the real world.
My point is the same one that Winston Churchill makes in his ‘have-to have’ book, “Painting As a Pastime”. When he retired, he took up brushes and paint and with no training launched into it with his greatest asset, “audacity’. I strongly recommend this book for anyone, painter or not. As long as we are pretending/fantasizing here is a piece I did for fun a while back that turns virtue on its head…please, don’t take it too seriously.
Seven Deadly “Virtues”
The seven deadly sins from ancient history are: pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth. In a convoluted way, these weaknesses in human behavior can lend themselves to positive influences to artists…if used in the right sense. We are reaching here but we need all the help we can get.
Listed are the sins with their counterparts, the virtues, which in this case become the stumbling blocks…or the seven deadly “virtues”.
- Sloth/diligence — At the top of my list is the main threat to any artist. Hard work! Hard work has killed more good paintings than lack of talent. Better to be lazy and smart than diligent and not. Plan before you lay that stroke down, get in and get out. Avoid busy work. Be sharp and go play.
- Pride/humility – Art can and will whip you. As we go from the high highs to the low lows, we need a constant. Something that will sustain us through this sometimes painful process. Build your ego. That leads to confidence and a thick hide. Be a jerk if you have to.
- Greed/generosity – Develop a little larceny. Steal from other artists. Just make sure whom you steal from are competent. Don’t wait for others to go first. Beg, borrow. Give yourself all the advantages you can. Envy/meekness or kindness – The use of envy here is not to wish ill toward others but to find heroes and want what they have. And this is where real competition begins. Try to beat the other fellow, even the masters.
- Envy/meekness or kindness – The use of envy here is not to wish ill toward others but to find heroes and want what they have. And this is where real competition begins. Try to beat the other fellow, even the masters.
- Gluttony/temperance — There is no such thing as too much in art. We live with it day to day anyway. Collect books, videos, original art all you can. Inspiration comes from where you are least expecting it sometimes. If you think that tube of paint or brush that you don’t really need may inspire you and give you a lift. Go for it. It probably will.
- Lust/self-control – Lust after beauty. Let your emotions come out. Don’t hold back. Go overboard if you have to.
- Anger/passivity or kindness – Use anger here to mean zeal, passion. If it means getting the most out of yourself, then, curse, throw a brush, or whatever. Let it out. The frustrations with being a serious artist are endless. And possibly harmful to your quality of life, depending on your intensity level. Don’t bottle it up. To counsel an artist not to take it personally is a nonstarter.
Remember the quote by Thoreau, “It takes two to tell the truth, one to speak and the other
to hear.” Go paint and have fun. –JL
Picking up on role playing, I’ve come up with some ‘who am I’ exercises that I think could help in “putting down that stroke and leave it!” (from Bettina): Let the student be the teacher. The thought actually came to me in a golf lesson where the pro was explaining/demonstrating the perfect swing that looked all too easy and taught me the first axiom: try teaching and you’ll learn quickly what you don’t know…best medicine in the world. There are more analogies with art and golf than just about any other comparisons.
Golfisms:
- See it. Feel it. Do it.
- Let the club do the work, don’t try to help it.
- It’s a dance step, feel the rhythm (this one’s mine).
We’re all perpetual students. The problem can be sometimes with the teacher. Just make sure you have someone who is qualified. Just like golf or other sports, the best coaches weren’t always the best players.