I ripped-off a T-shirt quote for my title. I saw my yoga teacher wearing it and it made me think for a long time. Ergo, it goes in my blog. I started thinking about how this applies to artists. I feel fortunate to have met so many wonderful artists in the past few years. There are some that stand out not only for their mad painting skills but for being amazing people. They make me want to be a better person. They are kind, generous and humble.
I have picked up a few lessons from them. These may sound preachy but I am preaching to myself more than anyone else. A reminder to my current and future self.
Be kind while commenting on another artists work, be it a friend or stranger, no matter the setting, casual or an official. Artists are sensitive about what they create. The key is to be genuine. I believe people can easily tell if you are being fake. Besides, no matter the level of an artist, there is always something good going on in a painting. If you have an open mind, you will see it and you can give a genuine compliment. Any artist could use encouragement.
Be kind to someone who is new to any event, art club, figure session or art group. Help someone new with their gear and try to encourage them. If you go painting with a friend, be aware of their needs and be accommodating. The best people are kind, irrespective of the circumstances. Even in a competition setting, they put people first. In the grand scheme of things, one competition is not going to make or break you.
Most of all, don't forget to be kind to yourself. As artists we are our worst enemies, always expecting too much and never satisfied with what we create. You know the horrible boss from our nightmares; that's us. Always remember how far you have come and when someone pays you a compliment accept it and allow it to make you feel positive about your work.
In conclusion I would like to quote Justin Timberlake, who so succintly crooned "What goes around, goes around, goes around, comes all the way back around". So, next time an opportunity presents, remember to choose kindness.
This is me. I wake up in the morning and the first thing I look at when I open my eyes is Instagram. I follow about 600 other artists on Instagram. On any given day, my feed includes amazing artwork being posted by the talented people I follow. People are posting paintings from plein air events and invitationals. Several people have shows opening, many others have won awards at various events, some are teaching workshops and so on. Here, I am starting my day with nothing going on, and I already feel like a loser. You see where I am going with this?
It's obvious that this is not good for me. I think in writing this blogpost, I am realizing how much I am addicted to Instagram. Yikes! Don't get me wrong, I am very pleased that I have all of this information at my fingertips and I am very happy for everything my friends are doing and achieving but there is fine line between staying up to date and having too much information.
I used to justify my time spent on Instagram but calling it "research". But is it.. really? What good is a movie director if he spent all his time watching films claiming that he is doing research. At some point he has to stop or actually make his own film.
So, what is an artist to do in this day and age of social media. Allow yourself a social media cleanse once in a while. If you are feeling overwhelmed, just put your phone away and don't look at Instagram until your painting day is over. Sometimes you just need to close that door, not let anyone in and spend some alone time with your paints and your canvas. Listen to some music. Better yet, go outdoors and do some plein air painting.
It seems so obvious now that I read my post but I think I need to write this; just so I can remind myself the next time my head starts spinning, having overdosed yet again on my Instagram feed. It's already happening. Time to start that cleanse. Tata.
