Art, Nature, & Living

Vertex
© Lawrence Duncan

The most recent Southwest Art Magazine (December ‘08) honors 20 legendary western artists. Each of these artists is 70 years old or older, and each has been at the top of the western art scene for decades. They are gifted, successful, and influential artists. (Among the list are several that I have admired for years: James Reynolds, Richard Schmid, David Leffel, Kenneth Riley, and Howard Terpning.)

As I read the interviews, I was intrigued by the similarity of the answers to many of the questions. One particular theme caught my attention. Each artist interviewed expressed this same idea in his or her own words. To summarize: "Art is not easy. It is extremely difficult. It takes a lot of time, effort, practice, etc… Many people think it comes easily or naturally."

This sparked several ideas and thoughts in my mind. I will share only a few of my thoughts.

I agree with each of the artists’ assertion that creating art is extremely difficult and requires a tremendous amount of work, practice, determination, etc… However, included in the list of attributes an artist has is also talent. Some shy away from using that word, because it implies success without work. On the contrary, work is essential to the development of talents. Clark Hulings stated it well, "Most of us artists have a gift. But a gift is an inclination and some small ability to do something along with a great deal of application and hard work."

Interestingly, I often hear people talk about someone who plays an instrument well or who excels at sports. There is usually a comment made about how much practice and time was devoted to achieve such a high level of skill. Yet those same people making those comments see an artist’s work and say something to the effect of, "What talent you have!"

In reality, there is no difference between the musician, the athlete, or the visual artist. Each has a great gift or ‘talent’. However, each must also perspire. Each must practice long and hard. Each is never satisfied with mediocrity. To attain greatness each must push the limits, train, learn, practice, fail often, but get back up and learn from the failures. There are frequent successes, but there is also the realization that there is still much more to learn. A huge component is the unrelenting desire to become the best. It is a passion, almost an obsession. Being an artist (or musician, athlete, etc.) comes with a price, but it is gratifying.

I do not pretend to know the magical recipe of how many parts talent, how much determination, nor how many dashes of luck is required for an artist to succeed. As for me, I intend to work as hard as I can to ensure that I reach my fullest potential. I want to find out how much talent is still in its infancy, waiting to be nurtured. I also hope that luck favors me along the way.

This article is reproduced with permission.
Copyright 2008 ~ Keith Bond.

Learn More about Keith Bond at:
www.keithbond.com

This article originally appeared at the following URL:
www.keithbond.com/blog/6727

Cascadas de los Niños
© Lawrence Duncan

In every creative profession, including the visual arts, there’s a moment when there is hope for the artist to begin the journey from good to great. Ironically, that moment of hope happens at the instant the artist realizes that how "bad" he really is.

Let us illustrate… when your editor was younger, he fancied himself a fantastic programmer:  "There’s no challenge too great for me," he thought, "anything you can conceive, I can make a computer do it."

More recently, however, we’ve been opening up our mind… reading books, reviewing source code written by other (better) programmers. And, most horrifying of all: reviewing code that we, ourself, wrote some years back.

And, dear artist, the honest, unabashed truth is that… compared to the greats… we just aren’t there. Have you ever looked at another artist’s work and had that feeling? Or worse? Or, perhaps you’ve walked into a gallery and left vowing to throw your paint brushes away because you have so far to go compared to the works you’ve just admired?

Congratulations, dear artist, the moment you have that uncomfortable experience, and not a moment before, is the moment you can take the first steps toward true greatness. Here’s how one of the greats in our industry, programmer, Jeff Atwood, puts it on his blog Coding Horror:

"[Every time I saw the Coding Horror illustration], I would chuckle. Not because of other people’s code, mind you. Because of my own code. That was the revelation. You’re an amateur developer until you realize that everything you write sucks.
YOU are the Coding Horror."

It’s the same with art - you’re an amateur artist until you realize that everything you paint… let’s say… isn’t great.

It’s a bit of a paradox, isn’t it? Most amateur artists we know tend to be over-confident in their artwork, while the greatest artists that we have ever met, can’t even see the true greatness of their own artwork… they tend to focus on how much they still want to learn, and how much they still want to improve. Back when we owned an art gallery, people would come in declaring themselves to be "artists"… having been painting for perhaps 6 months or so.

The would walk past paintings by true masters in our gallery… people like Kevin Macpherson, David Leffel, Mian Situ and Laura Robb, and confidently announce that they were ready to exhibit their artworks in our gallery. They weren’t even close. They literally could not even see the difference between their amateur artwork and the works of artists who had spent a lifetime devoted to getting better day in and day out.

Occasionally, however, an artist would spend some time viewing the art and then announce to us that she just would never measure up and might as well throw her brushes away. Those were the artists that excited us, because there was now hope. We would ask her to show us her artwork and to stay in touch.

So, dear artist, when you’re feeling down, feeling like you’ll never be great, rejoice! You’ve reached the moment of hope.

Sincerely,
Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic

 
PS:
It may seem a bit of a downer, that the better you get, the more you realize that you’re not great. However, it’s not. Creative pursuits require a lifetime journey of commitment and growth. It’s a journey, not a destination….so while you may never be satisfied that you have “arrived”, you’ll get a bit closer every day, and the true greats all enjoy the ride… and what a beautiful ride it is… won’t you join us for the journey?

For more information on the similarities of programmers (hackers) and artists (painters) and other tortured souls, consider reading: Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham

This article originally appeared at the following URL:
www.clintwatson.net/blog/2713