Tuesday 4 August 2009

painting in progress

i don't usually mind that much what people say about my artwork
although i was very flattered once when someone who was wearing the
coolest shoes in the world bought a painting off me.
the truth is
the only person i am really trying to please
is
myself.

is that bad?

anyway. this effort doesn't really have much of
an effect on me at all. it's kind of
here
and
I'm doing it
and I'll probably
finish it.

i've been working on it in the living room,
on white sofas which might have a bit of
dark paint on them now.
it's been here for a week or so.
it's been interesting
observing people's reactions to it.
Most people look at it and ask
if i did it and then they just go ummmm!
A couple of people
said they liked it.
my reaction to their reaction?
indifference
is that bad?


18 comments:

Anne said...

Nope! Not bad at all...

WrightStuff said...

I'm loving it. Never mind about what anyone else says. It's all down to personal taste anyway. Some people like their art to look like something - others just want to create something fascinating. I read today a great quote by Tolstoy - "Art is infection". Some people catch it - others are immune! Yours in my kind of art - I find it rather contagious!

PS - white sofa??

Coffee Messiah said...

I remember one of my first experiences in a museum as a youngster. Listening to people look at the same art, but see things no one else did.

I wouldn't worry about it myself. If people enjoy it, that's a plus, if not, oh well. ; )

Cheers!

Leslie Avon Miller said...

Is this a book you are working in when seated upon the white sofa? It is very intriguing! I love the lines, the mystery and the layers. Are you having fun or what?
Once I -reluctantly- showed some of my non-objective paintings to family. I knew it was outside their comfort zone - and they started "seeing" things - like a rabbit standing beside a rock!
Indifference sounds like a good reaction to other people's reactions. In blog land however, the tribe of liked minded souls finds each other. I think this is fabulously fun art. Art on!

lynne h said...

kate, i believe that this is a positively enlightened attitude!!

now if i were the one who walked into the room and saw this painting, i definitely would not be saying 'ummmm'. i'd be ooohhhhing and aaahhhhing and asking if i could touch it.

xo

Anonymous said...

Nope...I think it's cool!

Debrina said...

Bad? What is bad in art. Art is SO bloomin' subjective, bad is only in the eye of the beholder. I think your art is GOOD! But then, I would, I have a good eye, ha ha!
Well, thanks for your lovely comment on my Dis Co number. In my latest post, I say a big thank you: http://mistressdebrina.blogspot.com/2009/08/from-across-seas-and-over-yonder-hills.html

So, thank you.

ArtSparker said...

It looks like a narrative of some sort.

Anonymous said...

I think your work is fabulous and your philosophy - perfect!
♥Sharon

Poetic Artist said...

You do your art for you. You can never be able to please all people.
It just the ones that you can that matters. Just do what is in your heart and you can never go wrong.
Katelen

Jeane Myers said...

aren't people funny! my house is absolutely besotted with art - mine and my friends and when people come in, they say nothing - it sort of fascinates me - I really like what you are working on!

3rdEyeMuse said...

just the opposite, actually ... more honest, even. I soooo wish I could be more like you on this one.

Lucky Dip Lisa said...

I don't think that's bad! I think that is very healthy!

I like your addition to your piece below too, especially the face.

BALLET NEWS said...

Hello, just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your wonderful post, thank you - I'm really loving your blog too !

Kim Palmer said...

I think this is the best reaction. Art should be about you, your reactions, your expression and interpretations. That some people don't 'get it', is fine and simply doesn't matter. In this way you are neither influenced by their opinions or hindered from proceeding on. I think your art is wonderful and apparently I'm not alone on that!

Laura J. Wellner (author pseudonym Laura J. W. Ryan) said...

What a beautiful visual journey you're on! Making art wouldn't be fun if you weren't making it to please yourself. I love what you've done, it's gorgeous! (I'm glad I found your blog too!) I love the process and the progress...the shapes and textures, the flow. I believe the word I'm looking for is "lyrical". I think it's a woman thing to want to please others, we come by it honestly with our nurturing nature, and it hurts us when we work hard on something and all people can come up with to say about it is "ummmm" or "hmmmm". I do much of what I do for myself, it's my journey, I can go anywhere I want...but I do love seeing the expression of wonder when a person connects with my work. A young woman saw one of my mixed media drawings during an opening in the gallery, but she couldn't afford it (her dad wouldn't buy it for her.) So I gave her my business card that had a picture of it on it, she nearly hugged the stuffing out of me! People usually try to connect with things that are familiar, so when they're faced with abstract art they look for faces where there are none to be found. I still hear my mother's voice say..."Why can't you paint something nice?" (She's a folk artist, so she's on a different visual journey.) My sofa isn't white anymore, hasn't been for many years...I throw a blanket over it when company comes...

Chris said...

Oh, I need more of that. I often care too much! It can be stifling!

Rock on!

rosedale's 4head said...

amazing stuff! amazing!!