‘Never be a lazy artist’ was advice from David Chan in Singapore many years ago. It was good advice then, and it still is now. Thanks for the pep talk. Really helpful.
@@JGalegria I don't think it was meant to be taken "literally", a problem I see for many folks on you tube, especially for non-English speakers, they often take things as literal or verbatim. He means "indolence" more in the mind than in the body, as you just described in your comment, which is valid, but "missed the mark". At least I think that is the intent of the original post. LOL ;D
@@JGalegria I took it to be don’t stop a job till you’re happy with it. Even if it means coming back umpteen times. Mind you David was quite a character. He slept in his studio when he had a deadline so he could paint till silly o’clock.
Artists as accomplished as yourself do a great service to us all by talking about failure and these feelings that have probably killed more artists than any lack of so-called 'talent'. On behalf of all the artists you save, thank you.
Mark, I could not thank you enough. You gave me the inspiration to paint 8 years ago and now I am about to do my first solo show in Paris. You're such a master, I am blessed to have found your youtube videos
I made the decision to stop painting from reference 1.5 years ago. Best decision i ever made because you have nothing to compare to, total freedom, and honestly brings out much more creativity.
I would like to get to that level of taste and artistry. I cannot believe how many times I used a reference photo and it is not until I block in the shapes and THEN I see what I do not like about the photo. I would like to be able to see that BEFORE I start painting. It is like learning to dance. Some moves look fantastic and others just look dorky. You have to keep trying and failing in order to discern what looks great and what just looks awkward.
I really don't want this to turn into a therapy session but here it is. What you said was kind of what happened to me. I studied animation in college. I couldn't even get an interview. After two years I just stopped creating, stopped applying for animation jobs. Went on to work for a friend of mine. He is electrician. After that I worked as a baker, then a retail associate. And now IT and it's not going well. After a while you just get beat. I stopped enjoying life and stopped hoping for better. Eventually I decided no matter what I end up doing I might as well learn how to love creating once again. Still learning that.
As an advanced artist, I finally learned that it doesn’t matter how many years and you have with painting there’s always that part of it as you say where you start painting it and you decide you hate it. Sometimes I love it, but usually after a week or two I question myself. A much needed video no matter where you are in your art career! Thanks, Mark.
I started drawing at age 8 for shits n giggles until my mom noticed....from 7th grade I took art more seriously and I'm still at it...I never gave up and it's a part of my life....like you I'm never satisfied with my work...I've been painting portraits about 30 years self taught....I got tired of landscapes.....but I have fun and as a Navy veteran it helps me therapy wise.....I'll never give up
Finishing a painting so you can move on to the next painting is really one of the best pieces of advice you can give, and you're not the first art teach I've heard it from. Every painting you do leads you to the next painting you'll do.
I really enjoy your authentic sharing. Your videos aren’t only about the craft, it’s about the journey . And we learn from failure, and we improve and keep trying from dissatisfaction. it doesn’t only apply to art. Thank you.
This is excellent advice. I've pulled more than one so-called failed painting out of the trash and made something wonderful from it by giving it a second chance.
Thank you for your encouraging words! As an amateur photographer, I too have felt that my photos are not good or that I’m not growing. At the end of the, if I like my work that’s good enough for me. Taste in art is so subjective.
So true about "taste" in art, and it changes constantly. Rembrandt never, it appears, tried to sell a "pile of bricks" in the middle of a gallery/museum, but the materials were available to him back then, so who knows!! LOL ;D
the word Failure is a big one...we all experience "doubt" at various stages, thats great! it help us to reconnect, to redefine maybe, to check in. As long as it doesnt paralyze you, doubt is part -and supportive- of the creative process!
My greatest failure is failure to start. I keep putting off getting back to doing some art, though I hate that I'm not doing anything. It is probably more frustrating than doing a work I'm not happy with, because at least it kept me interested and learning for a while. It's also tough because I have no artist influences around me that might get me in the mood, no artist friends or family around these days. How do you get a spark of inspiration that really makes you want to dive in again? I am my own worst critic, but I have some talent that I am wasting and it is incredibly frustrating.
Same here, and I think many have this problem. Try to over come this by mentaining organized studio ready to paint instantly , don't be distracted by many photos you take or scenes you like ..one painting project to think of at time , also what helped alot is omitting the habit of cleaning brushes after every set and adhering to mark method of using brush dip mentioned here in this channel..for me . painting it self was no problem specially when already initiated it ..but the real stuff that made me always lazy was side activities of cleaning and being distracted by so many ideas
I think I know how you feel and I have some suggestions for you. I feel that the pressure to find inspiration and create can be paralysing, so you might like to try and remove the creative element from your work for a while. 1- do mindless work, such as prepping paper with a background. Just cover the surface with paint, charcoal or whatever you enjoy connecting with. Make it a flat wash or a collage, anything as long as you cover the page. The process will reconnect you with your medium, get rid of the white page and give you a starting point for a future work session. 2- review some techniques, maybe some that you particularly enjoyed or, if you like being challenged, something new or difficult. 3- try a completely new medium or craft like crochet, or wood sculpting, or go and collect some plants and fallen leaves and make a herbarium, or a terrarium. 4- change scale: for example if you work with medium or large brushes and canvas, try and work on a miniature, or if you usually do portraits of the head, only focus on one element like the corner of a mouth 5- try a new style (ie. abstract, realist, technical, Chinese ink, etc...) and find out about the culture that goes with it. 6- copy another artist that you love or that is new to you. 7- learn how to frame your work OR ask yourself how it could be framed differently 8- go and find some poor quality second hand art (something very cheap) that makes you strongly react because you think it could be improved (it can also be a print or a poster): then paint over it. 9- take a camera with a fixed lens and on black & white mode, and go hunting: change the way you look at the world and build a catalogue of resources. Pay particular attention to the abstract shapes that are formed by shadows. Or you can put a macro lens on it and take pictures of insects, tiny mushrooms or everyday objects. 10- Forget about art for a while. Just go for walks or sit in coffee shops. Observe the world. What do you enjoy looking at? What makes you feel alive and connected? The answer might be "nothing" to start with, but eventually, you'll get out of your head and get interested again. I hope one of those suggestions will inspire you. Best wishes 🙂
@@mahmoudelbiltagy5658I think you make a great point in suggesting to keep your equipment ready. I recently decided to keep my easel ready, in a corner but where I could see it every time I enter the room: I have a prepped board and a chunk of charcoal on it and I sometimes just vent on it 😅 I couldn't have anything out for a long time and it was a major hindrance: I just couldn't be bothered to go and look for it knowing I'd have to put everything away again. When I had no space for an easel, I have on a few occasions pinned or taped an A1 or A3 sheet on a spare wall and started doodling on it: the doodles would end up covering each other, the medium would change, the brush would get bigger and the whole thing would turn into something akin to graffiti art. That helped to overcome lack of motivation.
@@mahmoudelbiltagy5658You make a great point in suggesting to keep your equipment ready for use. It is unfortunately not always easy to do. When I had no space for an easel, I used to pin or tape an A1 or A3 sheet on a spare wall and just doodle on it, and the doodles would develop into layers of different mediums, a bit like street graffiti.
Find something interesting to paint, not an image but an idea. Whatever excites you, try to paint that. A philosophy, an emotion, something badass, whatever it is paint that.
I have seen many videos and continue to search for videos related to so I can learn and grow as an artist. This video, perhaps ( for me), is one of the most valuable and helpful videos I have ever seen. As artists, we practice to get better. That's one side of the coin , this , about understanding failure and using it on the other side, which is mostly never spoken about or seen. Art has taught me to see failure in a different way .Thank you for this video.
Thanks for this. I've been painting for 40+ years but just now I am in a place where I hate all my work and think it's awful. I really needed to hear this.
All of what you’ve said is true! I always think I can do better but I’ve learned to live with these negative feelings and to just keep working. Some work I’ve really disliked I now like due to the passage of time - I’ve forgotten what I thought was wrong and look with a fresh perspective
Sir, my grateful thank you for sharing your personal inner struggles. I have been accused by friends and family that I'm too critical of my own work. I can't help it. Just the way I roll. BTW, you have a really pleasant persona as a teacher.🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Yes great advice! I was expecting the usual platitudes of “don’t give up, keep going etc” but the inability to see your own work rings so true. It seems like we always want to be doing something else. It’s like a new relationship, it always seems great because we aren’t in the middle of it with all the known problems. But as soon as we got into the new relationship, here come the problems.
I can't stand it when people tell me something I did is good, when I know it's bad. Either they're gaslighting me, and I've been gaslit, or it makes me think they're idiots with no taste. I know I am not where I'd like to be, and I don't think that believing praise for shoddy work is the way to get there.
It's always an interesting transition: between struggling to put down what you want to do, feeling frustrated, and then transitioning to enjoying the picture for what it IS, and forgetting about what it is NOT.
Thank you. When you are working from your imagination, no one but you can see how you fell short. So for this very reason, I've decided that painting from imagination only produces frustration for me, especially when I can't dedicate myself to it within a short period because and forget what I imagined a month ago.
Thanks for the pep talk. I always hate my paintings when I finish. I have just learned to not have a knee jerk reaction. Now I wait before I wipe the canvas clean.
Thank you for being an artist's artist. Your advice is always spot on and goes straight to a shared issue so many of us struggle with. Also, the easel I purchased from you is awesome. It takes up half the space of my previous one and is incredibly easy to adjust etc. 🤗
Very helpful advice and insight, thank you. “Doing the hard work” is spot on. I’m also a gardener and when friends ask me to plant a garden for them, that’s always the question: can you do the work that will produce the garden you visualize?
Every word you said relates directly to my main passion of electronic test equipment hardware and software design and development. Totally different, but the same.
I completely agree with everything stated. So wise and encouraging. I am fascinated with my daily battle of starting my painting session knowing I will feel like a failure yet knowing I must power through, to keep improving. What spiritual force keeps me hoping for a successful outcome despite daily discouragement? I’m glad to learn that someone with your master ability still struggles with this dilemma! Makes me want to paint as if no one is watching😁
Good discussion about a common problem, Mark. Things said by art instructors come back to haunt us all, maybe, while we took their courses. Like "no painting is ever a complete failure; it can often be useful as a bad example, to never do that again", but of course we do. And a painter's painting is like a pro baseball pitcher's performance on the mound, they hope to pitch a "no hitter" but sometimes end up blown out in the first inning. That would be related bad compositions, where sometimes paintings fail, very quickly, or at least suck badly. And finally, as Yogi Berra said, "baseball is 90 percent half mental", LOL, sort of meaning it is a "mind game" to create, just about anything, and be good at it. It's about solving problems, big, little, all kinds; and that may help you in the long run to get and keep a sharper brain that does not turn to mush, in old age. LOL I mainly view my own paintings a battlefield or struggle to get somewhere I want to go, and the resultant work is just a "document" of that as success or failure. But, as long as hands, eyes, and breath are available, there is always tomorrow! ;D
Da Vinci: Rigorous Persistence. That is the mindset I now have after getting thrown around by the seas of self-doubt, unlikely probabilities, endless interests and even boredom. It kind of helps me to think of letting go by revering discipline and persistence, it's like they are two pillars of the monolith and I don't have to peer inside or wonder about what magic they may or may not produce; or more specifically, where am I going or what will I do. I know that if I keep them as idols symbols or automatic responses to any uncomfortable questions that arise, things will be much better for it.
I keep what I call my easel notebook. In it I jot down all the ideas that come to me for paintings I want to do while I am painting. I make color notes and little sketch's, and tell myself, that if I just get done with the painting before me, I can move on to this masterpiece I just thought up......lol I also try to have more than one painting going at a time, usually 2-3 of varying size and subjects, so when I reach frustration on one, I can give it and my brain/eyes a break and work on something else. And usually while working on that "something else" the answer to what was frustrating me will come. The answer is always in the process
Not everytime I paint I can find that zone,it comes when it wants to and a certain magic happens.I can go weeks and be discouraged but when im about to just close the chapter on painting, a day of magic happens.Thats why I love painting,it's has a life of its own .
Deep dive into the creative process. All the technical learning and expertise plays a supporting to the essential question: what am I trying to say, and how will I say it? What’s the story, morning glory? Then, get to work and hone your craft. The journey, the process, is the point.
Great video. I sometimes worry I’m too happy with my paintings and I’m not progressing. Side note: I’d love to see a demo from you with thick dry paint or a pallet knife painting.
Found your channel about 10 years ago when I was attending an art school. I’ve moved onto data analytics since then, but I always find your videos informative and soothing
I never believed that I was an artistic failure ina personal sense, but only in a commecial sense. I was a portrait painter in a struggling town where there was little interest in that kind of thing. Eventually, I moved away and work for a bit as a political cartoonist. Got a job, married, had children, but I started to plein air paint and did so for several years. I think I was good. I painted primarily for myself, and had work in a series of galleries that all closed. I continued to paint, but finding. galleries was too much of a chore, so I just painted for myself. Now I am battling a serious bout of cancer, and in between rounds of chemo, I continue to paint for myself. Through my struggle, I've also had my most prolific year painting despite the illness. Some are very good paintings, some not so good, but that doesn't matter. I finish them all, and go on to the next one. While my illness has been serious, I am improving, and I'd like to think that by forcing myself to paint through it all, that painting is helping imrprove the situation.
Never think you are the ultimate authority on your works quality, there are aspects of a piece of art that an untrained, fresh eye can see better than you. Your clueless aunt or friend may be able to feel the enthusiasm and sincerity, or lack of thereof, in your work better than yourself.
Funnily I can separate my technical critique of my painting from how the painting makes me feel. While I should have paid more attention to the values in a certain section, if I walk by my painting and smile, then that's cool too. The feelings let me know if I'm on the right track, the critique informs me how to get there faster. If I hate the painting it's usually cos I'm painting something I have no interest in.
Here's how i judge the success or failure of any piece of painting: Did I learn at least one thing from the project. If yes, the painting is a success.
You just have to realize your eye may be more advanced than your skills, especially early on. I seem to have developed a fairly discerning eye toward my favorite artist styles, and simply do not have the skill to do my own "version" of them. I find myself unable to afford materials, and since I hate a lot of what i've done, I need to paint over canvasses to start new ones. If I ever sold one, that would fund new canvasses and paint, and be a huge help. I've never shown them publicly except a couple in a contest, and have no idea if anyone would like or buy them.
It's not all about technique, of course, so getting frustrated in the pursue of technical proficiency not only is often unnecessary but sometimes even dangerous. Imagine if Van Gogh had insisted training as an academic painter instead of going his own way.
When I’ve used AI for coming up with a comp. I see what it can do and I think- there is no way I can paint as good as this picture from AI. ( you mentioned mid journey) so I don’t bother trying to paint it. What about this? You shows. Some mid journey pictures that are a lot better than any most paintings are- so what stops a person from just printing that and selling that instead? I am not trying to sound negative- it just seems like a huge issue in our age right now. Thanks for responding with your thoughts on this.
Ooh I'm gg to watch ur Love What You Paint! 😃Tq because I can't figure out what's wrong with me. There are days when I stayed in my studio painting away and there are days I avoided it entirely😫😂. ❤❤❤
I can create painting I like or at least appreciate when I use reference. When I don't use reference, I can do it but takes at least 10 times more time and effort. Commercially speaking, no body cares how you made the painting. They like it or they don't. It sucks when you or other people don't like a painting that took you dozens of hours. I'm currently working on a painting from my imagination and spent 2 hours figuring out how to draw a freaking foot hahaha. With reference, it takes 10 minutes.
Can new artists (like me) pay for a critique/advice/direction? I dont know any artists to talk to for advice,and have spent almost 2 yrs experimenting, but don't seem to have much natural talent in visual art, at least I dont think so. It would be so nice to know which ones are best, i.e.which style to pursue, those that come to me most naturally. I love Cecily Brown, de Kooning, Krasner, and most of that NY School. Love color, and black lines. No one has seen mine really, so its hard to create in this vacuum and know what is most technically successful so to speak. Thanks
Sir is painting for 3 hrs daily, ok for learning and experiencing new things in painting as I do full time job and get hardly 3 hours to paint, so is painting for 3 hrs daily usefull?
So true. I quit painting during the pandemic, feeling like my work was trite and uninspired. Now, I almost have a panic attack when I think about picking up my brush again. This gives me encouragement.
Well today was a rough day out and painting on location. Wiped my plein air board twice! TWICE! (2 hours of painting) But I did take some good reference photos and it gave me ideas for other subject matter. I drove an hour to location and came home with ideas. And learned something about a subject matter. All was not wasted. I have an approach for something new. Thanks, Mark. Never say die!!
Being hyper-critical of your own work that is selling is not failure. Painting diligently for 60+ years and realizing that nobody has ever expressed any interest in your work is true failure. The only hope in that situation is to believe that, like Vincent, you will be discovered after you are gone. That is usually a delusion.
Very well observed and terrific advice.. I sometimes have to push to finish a painting that I have been a bit fatigued with but it's always good to finish it whatever I think about the outcome... I nearly always learn something from each painting.. but I wouldn't if I didn't finish them...
I usually suffer from the opposite and it isn't good either, as I usually love the results of my work I'm not such a good critique of my work... Even when i can see "objectively" the execution was not as good as I'm able to do i kind of end liking it anyways. So I vary too much my subject matters, composition, and I think I don't develop my own artist voice
This concept of failure is completely foreign to me, i have no idea what failure has to with art . .art is markmaking, exploring, and maybe having some fun, if you are talking about failure you definitely don't know much about art, and are in the wrong game . . pack it in, go to university or college, the former preferably, and get introduced to the universe of ART . .
No matter how bad you judge your work or how wonderful you think it is, I have learned to reserve judgement for at least two weeks because NOTHING is as good as you think or bad as you initially believed. Sometimes the delayed perspective is so startling that it makes you question what exactly you were looking at in the first place.
We live like a failure Because we dont like our own individual art There is the other extreme contortions Sometimes someone who makes art doesn't care about what you or my opinions. Sometimes they make good use of their time ⏲
‘Never be a lazy artist’ was advice from David Chan in Singapore many years ago. It was good advice then, and it still is now. Thanks for the pep talk. Really helpful.
I think that's the best possible advice, it gets to the core of what being an artist means - show up in the studio and do your best.
Guilty as charged 😫🙏. I'm a Sporean! I should look him up!😍🤙
@@djo-dji6018 it is, for all life, which actually is said to be: "90% is just showing up"!! : )
@@JGalegria I don't think it was meant to be taken "literally", a problem I see for many folks on you tube, especially for non-English speakers, they often take things as literal or verbatim. He means "indolence" more in the mind than in the body, as you just described in your comment, which is valid, but "missed the mark". At least I think that is the intent of the original post. LOL ;D
@@JGalegria I took it to be don’t stop a job till you’re happy with it. Even if it means coming back umpteen times. Mind you David was quite a character. He slept in his studio when he had a deadline so he could paint till silly o’clock.
Artists as accomplished as yourself do a great service to us all by talking about failure and these feelings that have probably killed more artists than any lack of so-called 'talent'. On behalf of all the artists you save, thank you.
Mark, I could not thank you enough. You gave me the inspiration to paint 8 years ago and now I am about to do my first solo show in Paris. You're such a master, I am blessed to have found your youtube videos
Congratulations
Congratulations!
Thank you so much !
Wow! I'm so excited for you ❤
@@AFAskygoddess Thank you :)
I made the decision to stop painting from reference 1.5 years ago. Best decision i ever made because you have nothing to compare to, total freedom, and honestly brings out much more creativity.
I would like to get to that level of taste and artistry. I cannot believe how many times I used a reference photo and it is not until I block in the shapes and THEN I see what I do not like about the photo. I would like to be able to see that BEFORE I start painting. It is like learning to dance. Some moves look fantastic and others just look dorky. You have to keep trying and failing in order to discern what looks great and what just looks awkward.
I like to piece together a few reference pictures or paintings and create my own version from there.
Yup, Bob Ross made a career of that, long ago!! LOL
I really don't want this to turn into a therapy session but here it is. What you said was kind of what happened to me. I studied animation in college. I couldn't even get an interview. After two years I just stopped creating, stopped applying for animation jobs.
Went on to work for a friend of mine. He is electrician. After that I worked as a baker, then a retail associate. And now IT and it's not going well. After a while you just get beat. I stopped enjoying life and stopped hoping for better. Eventually I decided no matter what I end up doing I might as well learn how to love creating once again. Still learning that.
Amen me too, just picked up a brush in twenty years
Incredibly important advice for any artist.
As an advanced artist, I finally learned that it doesn’t matter how many years and you have with painting there’s always that part of it as you say where you start painting it and you decide you hate it. Sometimes I love it, but usually after a week or two I question myself. A much needed video no matter where you are in your art career! Thanks, Mark.
I agree. I only paint what I love and I love the process. If people like it thats great. Some if them fly iut the door- its just what people like.
I really love your honesty, as a painter and artist to other artists. Videos like these are very much appreciated. Thank you.
I started drawing at age 8 for shits n giggles until my mom noticed....from 7th grade I took art more seriously and I'm still at it...I never gave up and it's a part of my life....like you I'm never satisfied with my work...I've been painting portraits about 30 years self taught....I got tired of landscapes.....but I have fun and as a Navy veteran it helps me therapy wise.....I'll never give up
Lots of pearls here-I’ve been painting now for over a decade and Mark continues to share awesome gifts!! Please keep them coming.
Finishing a painting so you can move on to the next painting is really one of the best pieces of advice you can give, and you're not the first art teach I've heard it from. Every painting you do leads you to the next painting you'll do.
I really enjoy your authentic sharing. Your videos aren’t only about the craft, it’s about the journey . And we learn from failure, and we improve and keep trying from dissatisfaction. it doesn’t only apply to art. Thank you.
This is excellent advice. I've pulled more than one so-called failed painting out of the trash and made something wonderful from it by giving it a second chance.
thank you so much! your lessons always find me at the perfect time
Thank you for your encouraging words! As an amateur photographer, I too have felt that my photos are not good or that I’m not growing. At the end of the, if I like my work that’s good enough for me. Taste in art is so subjective.
So true about "taste" in art, and it changes constantly. Rembrandt never, it appears, tried to sell a "pile of bricks" in the middle of a gallery/museum, but the materials were available to him back then, so who knows!! LOL ;D
the word Failure is a big one...we all experience "doubt" at various stages, thats great! it help us to reconnect, to redefine maybe, to check in. As long as it doesnt paralyze you, doubt is part -and supportive- of the creative process!
My greatest failure is failure to start. I keep putting off getting back to doing some art, though I hate that I'm not doing anything. It is probably more frustrating than doing a work I'm not happy with, because at least it kept me interested and learning for a while. It's also tough because I have no artist influences around me that might get me in the mood, no artist friends or family around these days. How do you get a spark of inspiration that really makes you want to dive in again? I am my own worst critic, but I have some talent that I am wasting and it is incredibly frustrating.
Same here, and I think many have this problem. Try to over come this by mentaining organized studio ready to paint instantly , don't be distracted by many photos you take or scenes you like ..one painting project to think of at time , also what helped alot is omitting the habit of cleaning brushes after every set and adhering to mark method of using brush dip mentioned here in this channel..for me . painting it self was no problem specially when already initiated it ..but the real stuff that made me always lazy was side activities of cleaning and being distracted by so many ideas
I think I know how you feel and I have some suggestions for you.
I feel that the pressure to find inspiration and create can be paralysing, so you might like to try and remove the creative element from your work for a while.
1- do mindless work, such as prepping paper with a background. Just cover the surface with paint, charcoal or whatever you enjoy connecting with. Make it a flat wash or a collage, anything as long as you cover the page.
The process will reconnect you with your medium, get rid of the white page and give you a starting point for a future work session.
2- review some techniques, maybe some that you particularly enjoyed or, if you like being challenged, something new or difficult.
3- try a completely new medium or craft like crochet, or wood sculpting, or go and collect some plants and fallen leaves and make a herbarium, or a terrarium.
4- change scale: for example if you work with medium or large brushes and canvas, try and work on a miniature, or if you usually do portraits of the head, only focus on one element like the corner of a mouth
5- try a new style (ie. abstract, realist, technical, Chinese ink, etc...) and find out about the culture that goes with it.
6- copy another artist that you love or that is new to you.
7- learn how to frame your work OR ask yourself how it could be framed differently
8- go and find some poor quality second hand art (something very cheap) that makes you strongly react because you think it could be improved (it can also be a print or a poster): then paint over it.
9- take a camera with a fixed lens and on black & white mode, and go hunting: change the way you look at the world and build a catalogue of resources. Pay particular attention to the abstract shapes that are formed by shadows.
Or you can put a macro lens on it and take pictures of insects, tiny mushrooms or everyday objects.
10- Forget about art for a while. Just go for walks or sit in coffee shops.
Observe the world. What do you enjoy looking at?
What makes you feel alive and connected?
The answer might be "nothing" to start with, but eventually, you'll get out of your head and get interested again.
I hope one of those suggestions will inspire you.
Best wishes 🙂
@@mahmoudelbiltagy5658I think you make a great point in suggesting to keep your equipment ready.
I recently decided to keep my easel ready, in a corner but where I could see it every time I enter the room: I have a prepped board and a chunk of charcoal on it and I sometimes just vent on it 😅
I couldn't have anything out for a long time and it was a major hindrance: I just couldn't be bothered to go and look for it knowing I'd have to put everything away again.
When I had no space for an easel, I have on a few occasions pinned or taped an A1 or A3 sheet on a spare wall and started doodling on it: the doodles would end up covering each other, the medium would change, the brush would get bigger and the whole thing would turn into something akin to graffiti art.
That helped to overcome lack of motivation.
@@mahmoudelbiltagy5658You make a great point in suggesting to keep your equipment ready for use.
It is unfortunately not always easy to do.
When I had no space for an easel, I used to pin or tape an A1 or A3 sheet on a spare wall and just doodle on it, and the doodles would develop into layers of different mediums, a bit like street graffiti.
Find something interesting to paint, not an image but an idea. Whatever excites you, try to paint that. A philosophy, an emotion, something badass, whatever it is paint that.
Great content, as always.
I have seen many videos and continue to search for videos related to so I can learn and grow as an artist. This video, perhaps ( for me), is one of the most valuable and helpful videos I have ever seen. As artists, we practice to get better. That's one side of the coin , this , about understanding failure and using it on the other side, which is mostly never spoken about or seen. Art has taught me to see failure in a different way .Thank you for this video.
Thanks for this. I've been painting for 40+ years but just now I am in a place where I hate all my work and think it's awful. I really needed to hear this.
You are the only one I have heard speak of the importance of taste besides Helen Van Wyk.❤
All of what you’ve said is true! I always think I can do better but I’ve learned to live with these negative feelings and to just keep working. Some work I’ve really disliked I now like due to the passage of time - I’ve forgotten what I thought was wrong and look with a fresh perspective
Sir, my grateful thank you for sharing your personal inner struggles. I have been accused by friends and family that I'm too critical of my own work. I can't help it. Just the way I roll. BTW, you have a really pleasant persona as a teacher.🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Yes great advice! I was expecting the usual platitudes of “don’t give up, keep going etc” but the inability to see your own work rings so true. It seems like we always want to be doing something else. It’s like a new relationship, it always seems great because we aren’t in the middle of it with all the known problems. But as soon as we got into the new relationship, here come the problems.
I can't stand it when people tell me something I did is good, when I know it's bad. Either they're gaslighting me, and I've been gaslit, or it makes me think they're idiots with no taste. I know I am not where I'd like to be, and I don't think that believing praise for shoddy work is the way to get there.
So it's not just me, thank you!
It's always an interesting transition: between struggling to put down what you want to do, feeling frustrated, and then transitioning to enjoying the picture for what it IS, and forgetting about what it is NOT.
Thank you. When you are working from your imagination, no one but you can see how you fell short. So for this very reason, I've decided that painting from imagination only produces frustration for me, especially when I can't dedicate myself to it within a short period because and forget what I imagined a month ago.
I have an app on my fone that I use for painting from my imagination, I cant forget it.
@@patrickhannon8372 How does it capture an idea that exists only in your head?
Thanks for the pep talk. I always hate my paintings when I finish. I have just learned to not have a knee jerk reaction. Now I wait before I wipe the canvas clean.
Thank you, very very useful as always 🙏
Thank you Mark.. I always enjoy your videos!!
Thank you for being an artist's artist. Your advice is always spot on and goes straight to a shared issue so many of us struggle with. Also, the easel I purchased from you is awesome. It takes up half the space of my previous one and is incredibly easy to adjust etc. 🤗
The first painting I ever sold = at my first art fair = was one I almost didn't bring because I didn't think it was good enough.
Very helpful advice and insight, thank you. “Doing the hard work” is spot on. I’m also a gardener and when friends ask me to plant a garden for them, that’s always the question: can you do the work that will produce the garden you visualize?
Every word you said relates directly to my main passion of electronic test equipment hardware and software design and development. Totally different, but the same.
I'm a painter and I am dealing with this at the moment. Thanks for the video- needed to see it.
I completely agree with everything stated. So wise and encouraging. I am fascinated with my daily battle of starting my painting session knowing I will feel like a failure yet knowing I must power through, to keep improving. What spiritual force keeps me hoping for a successful outcome despite daily discouragement? I’m glad to learn that someone with your master ability still struggles with this dilemma! Makes me want to paint as if no one is watching😁
Thank you for the valuable words of encouragement.
Thank you for your moral support. ❤
Good discussion about a common problem, Mark. Things said by art instructors come back to haunt us all, maybe, while we took their courses. Like "no painting is ever a complete failure; it can often be useful as a bad example, to never do that again", but of course we do. And a painter's painting is like a pro baseball pitcher's performance on the mound, they hope to pitch a "no hitter" but sometimes end up blown out in the first inning. That would be related bad compositions, where sometimes paintings fail, very quickly, or at least suck badly. And finally, as Yogi Berra said, "baseball is 90 percent half mental", LOL, sort of meaning it is a "mind game" to create, just about anything, and be good at it. It's about solving problems, big, little, all kinds; and that may help you in the long run to get and keep a sharper brain that does not turn to mush, in old age. LOL
I mainly view my own paintings a battlefield or struggle to get somewhere I want to go, and the resultant work is just a "document" of that as success or failure. But, as long as hands, eyes, and breath are available, there is always tomorrow! ;D
You should paint your studio it’s beautiful behind you
Da Vinci: Rigorous Persistence.
That is the mindset I now have after getting thrown around by the seas of self-doubt, unlikely probabilities, endless interests and even boredom. It kind of helps me to think of letting go by revering discipline and persistence, it's like they are two pillars of the monolith and I don't have to peer inside or wonder about what magic they may or may not produce; or more specifically, where am I going or what will I do. I know that if I keep them as idols symbols or automatic responses to any uncomfortable questions that arise, things will be much better for it.
I don't feel so bad now about putting my paintings aside and not believing what people say about them. Thank you so much 😊
Also, rule number one in art: Stop thinking, just do it!
great video with a lot of insight, thanks!!
Great wisdom here, Thank you!
What incredible advice! Thank you for your wisdom!
exactly what I needed to hear right now. Thank you 🙏
I keep what I call my easel notebook. In it I jot down all the ideas that come to me for paintings I want to do while I am painting. I make color notes and little sketch's, and tell myself, that if I just get done with the painting before me, I can move on to this masterpiece I just thought up......lol
I also try to have more than one painting going at a time, usually 2-3 of varying size and subjects, so when I reach frustration on one, I can give it and my brain/eyes a break and work on something else. And usually while working on that "something else" the answer to what was frustrating me will come.
The answer is always in the process
Appreciated the advice. I can see it's a gem.
Not everytime I paint I can find that zone,it comes when it wants to and a certain magic happens.I can go weeks and be discouraged but when im about to just close the chapter on painting, a day of magic happens.Thats why I love painting,it's has a life of its own .
Deep dive into the creative process. All the technical learning and expertise plays a supporting to the essential question: what am I trying to say, and how will I say it? What’s the story, morning glory? Then, get to work and hone your craft. The journey, the process, is the point.
Thank you as always Mark, I learned something from you today and Im grateful for that 🙌🏻💜
Great video. I sometimes worry I’m too happy with my paintings and I’m not progressing.
Side note:
I’d love to see a demo from you with thick dry paint or a pallet knife painting.
Found your channel about 10 years ago when I was attending an art school. I’ve moved onto data analytics since then, but I always find your videos informative and soothing
Just what I'm currently going through. Thanks!
I never believed that I was an artistic failure ina personal sense, but only in a commecial sense. I was a portrait painter in a struggling town where there was little interest in that kind of thing. Eventually, I moved away and work for a bit as a political cartoonist. Got a job, married, had children, but I started to plein air paint and did so for several years. I think I was good. I painted primarily for myself, and had work in a series of galleries that all closed. I continued to paint, but finding. galleries was too much of a chore, so I just painted for myself. Now I am battling a serious bout of cancer, and in between rounds of chemo, I continue to paint for myself. Through my struggle, I've also had my most prolific year painting despite the illness. Some are very good paintings, some not so good, but that doesn't matter. I finish them all, and go on to the next one. While my illness has been serious, I am improving, and I'd like to think that by forcing myself to paint through it all, that painting is helping imrprove the situation.
Thank you, well spoken advice
There is NO FAILURE IN ART - I JUST KEEP PAINTING UNTIL IT GETS GOOD :-) - (NOW THATS A BROAD STATEMENT)
Great advice Mark 😊
Never think you are the ultimate authority on your works quality, there are aspects of a piece of art that an untrained, fresh eye can see better than you. Your clueless aunt or friend may be able to feel the enthusiasm and sincerity, or lack of thereof, in your work better than yourself.
Awesome “beta!” Thank you👍
Funnily I can separate my technical critique of my painting from how the painting makes me feel. While I should have paid more attention to the values in a certain section, if I walk by my painting and smile, then that's cool too. The feelings let me know if I'm on the right track, the critique informs me how to get there faster. If I hate the painting it's usually cos I'm painting something I have no interest in.
I have a rule: the work is done when I no longer have contempt for it. But that never means I like it!
Came for the Beagles, left with the knowledge
failure is the best teacher
big thank you
thank you
Once you finish a painting, start a new one ♥.
So nice 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Here's how i judge the success or failure of any piece of painting: Did I learn at least one thing from the project. If yes, the painting is a success.
I saw the title of this video and I'm like, OH finally a video for me! :) LOL
You just have to realize your eye may be more advanced than your skills, especially early on. I seem to have developed a fairly discerning eye toward my favorite artist styles, and simply do not have the skill to do my own "version" of them. I find myself unable to afford materials, and since I hate a lot of what i've done, I need to paint over canvasses to start new ones. If I ever sold one, that would fund new canvasses and paint, and be a huge help. I've never shown them publicly except a couple in a contest, and have no idea if anyone would like or buy them.
It's not all about technique, of course, so getting frustrated in the pursue of technical proficiency not only is often unnecessary but sometimes even dangerous. Imagine if Van Gogh had insisted training as an academic painter instead of going his own way.
Ive quit painting something that got boring or whatever to start on a new one.
Where is the "How to Love What you Paint" link?
When I’ve used AI for coming up with a comp. I see what it can do and I think- there is no way I can paint as good as this picture from AI. ( you mentioned mid journey) so I don’t bother trying to paint it.
What about this? You shows. Some mid journey pictures that are a lot better than any most paintings are- so what stops a person from just printing that and selling that instead? I am not trying to sound negative- it just seems like a huge issue in our age right now. Thanks for responding with your thoughts on this.
Ooh I'm gg to watch ur Love What You Paint! 😃Tq because I can't figure out what's wrong with me. There are days when I stayed in my studio painting away and there are days I avoided it entirely😫😂. ❤❤❤
I can create painting I like or at least appreciate when I use reference. When I don't use reference, I can do it but takes at least 10 times more time and effort. Commercially speaking, no body cares how you made the painting. They like it or they don't. It sucks when you or other people don't like a painting that took you dozens of hours. I'm currently working on a painting from my imagination and spent 2 hours figuring out how to draw a freaking foot hahaha. With reference, it takes 10 minutes.
Hello there, Sweet Inspiration! Glad you're in my feed today. I neeeded encouragement 🙂
Can new artists (like me) pay for a critique/advice/direction? I dont know any artists to talk to for advice,and have spent almost 2 yrs experimenting, but don't seem to have much natural talent in visual art, at least I dont think so. It would be so nice to know which ones are best, i.e.which style to pursue, those that come to me most naturally. I love Cecily Brown, de Kooning, Krasner, and most of that NY School. Love color, and black lines. No one has seen mine really, so its hard to create in this vacuum and know what is most technically successful so to speak. Thanks
Sir is painting for 3 hrs daily, ok for learning and experiencing new things in painting as I do full time job and get hardly 3 hours to paint, so is painting for 3 hrs daily usefull?
So true. I quit painting during the pandemic, feeling like my work was trite and uninspired. Now, I almost have a panic attack when I think about picking up my brush again. This gives me encouragement.
Well today was a rough day out and painting on location. Wiped my plein air board twice! TWICE! (2 hours of painting) But I did take some good reference photos and it gave me ideas for other subject matter. I drove an hour to location and came home with ideas. And learned something about a subject matter. All was not wasted. I have an approach for something new. Thanks, Mark. Never say die!!
Always good advice 👏🏻👏🏻
Being hyper-critical of your own work that is selling is not failure. Painting diligently for 60+ years and realizing that nobody has ever expressed any interest in your work is true failure. The only hope in that situation is to believe that, like Vincent, you will be discovered after you are gone. That is usually a delusion.
Very well observed and terrific advice.. I sometimes have to push to finish a painting that I have been a bit fatigued with but it's always good to finish it whatever I think about the outcome... I nearly always learn something from each painting.. but I wouldn't if I didn't finish them...
A person can be their own worst critic.
I usually suffer from the opposite and it isn't good either, as I usually love the results of my work I'm not such a good critique of my work... Even when i can see "objectively" the execution was not as good as I'm able to do i kind of end liking it anyways. So I vary too much my subject matters, composition, and I think I don't develop my own artist voice
Selling is not an indication of a great painting
This concept of failure is completely foreign to me, i have no idea what failure has to with art . .art is markmaking, exploring, and maybe having some fun, if you are talking about failure you definitely don't know much about art, and are in the wrong game . . pack it in, go to university or college, the former preferably, and get introduced to the universe of ART . .
No matter how bad you judge your work or how wonderful you think it is, I have learned to reserve judgement for at least two weeks because NOTHING is as good as you think or bad as you initially believed. Sometimes the delayed perspective is so startling that it makes you question what exactly you were looking at in the first place.
We live like a failure
Because we dont like our own individual art
There is the other extreme contortions
Sometimes someone who makes art doesn't care about what you or my opinions.
Sometimes they make good use of their time ⏲
Thank you, well spoken advice