Every day I have persons come to my studio and gallery, many of who are artists, they scrutinize my art work as my employees and I watch them painfully go over every detail in the art pieces they can possibly remember, I have even seen some take out magnifying glasses. If they decide to engage us in conversation, my counterparts and we always what know is coming.
The sad story they are clinging on to for dear life about if only they could just make their art look like this, then, they’d be good enough or perhaps even worse, just start to become an artist.
What they are doing to themselves is what they’ve been taught about how they should accept their own artistic brilliance. Which is they are not good enough unless they can be compared to an artist they percieve as successful.
Fearing acceptance from the outside stops many a great artist from developing their original brilliance within. They fear public scrutiny from critical sources from professional to personal and set up sort of a color wheel of artistic procrastination that leads nowhere from years of accepting negative comparisons in stories of being successful. Is this you? The good news is there are critics on the artist’s side but they can’t see or hear them do to
The great critic or artist overlooks comparisons to others work and sees something new and brilliant in things that have been done before and appreciates them no matter how small. They are looking for art that is stretching and growing their own appreciation through the artist who made it.
Do not take criticism that compares you to other artists, that is nothing more than settling words coming from a person who seeks and condones the scrutiny of being in or coming second place in themselves. Many times they prize themselves in believing and perpetuating the starving artist myth These beautiful souls cannot find their own personal brilliance, they will never be a great artist they know nothing of success. Besides whom wants be a knock-off of a great artist other than a person who wants to feel important on the exterior?
Don’t seek acceptance by mimicking other artists like methods out there may teach you, seek your own way. Why would you want your art to look like everyone else’s? When you do this you set yourself up to be a flash-in-the-pan one hit wonder. When you are compared to a so called great one, who is it that we all remember? The great one that the artist was compared to!
This is why there are so few great artists in a world of artists. What people seek in your art is your best. So do your best always and build your confidence of success from the inside out.
No artist is successful unless they feel it inside first. Everything else is outside and can come in and be taken away leaving you emptier than you felt before it arrived. Inner success can never be taken away, it is part of your artist spirit.
Criticism has its place, however never seek advice or acceptance from people who know less about your own art than you do. This will set you up for failure.
You have talent. The thing inside you that says "I want to do something" that is the beginning of talent. Have the courage to explore that.
A mentor can help you stretch and grow but your AIM of what you want must be clear to you first! Seek a mentor for building your artist success who comes from intergity.
Nobody can reach what your originality can do if you can do it. That is the artists’ life in everyone, what an honor and privilege. So do it.
Best Wishes to you on creating the best big picture of your artist journey. Now get to work on your craft.
RD Riccoboni
Above is my painting "Manhattan Dawn" from my American collection.
