"Paintings With Personality"

More members of my AMAZING critique group. Not sure whose work is being critiques now.

Long ago and far away, when I used to ask ‘Honey’ what he thought about my artwork. He would say, “I like this one, I don’t like that one, that one is ok, guess I just like color.” Finally after many years of marriage I understood that what ‘Honey’ did or didn’t like had nothing to do with me or my work, it was about him and what he liked. That is true about most people viewing artwork; it is personal and has nothing to do with the design principles or the artist’s intention in making the painting. My moment of realization was very freeing. At last, I recognized that I could create my art without wondering what anyone else would think.

      That doesn’t mean artists don’t need a good critique, every artist needs constructive criticism. As visual artists we always try to improve and grow and one of the best ways to improve our artwork is to get feedback from others. Most people easily accept compliments but taking criticism is a little tougher to digest.

Here are a few points to consider that might help in accepting negative or positive criticism.

1. Select A Critic: Be careful who you choose to critique your art. Look for people with experience and knowledge in your art field. Someone or a group of people, who will look at your work, study it, ask questions and, give unbiased feedback.
2. Dissociate Yourself: If you have difficulty receiving a critique, carefully review your own work before showing it to anyone for critique. When you are at the critique, dissociate yourself from the work for a few minutes and listen to the comments about your painting. Dissociating keeps you from feeling aggravation but doesn’t keep you from gaining information. Never forget the critique is of the painting not the painter. It Is Not Personal.
3. Take Something Home: Make a point to take something with you from a critique. A good critique is about people helping each other improve. You don’t have to use the suggestions or recognize the problems in your painting but, if you don’t you’re going to get the exact same constructive criticism again and again. Everything mentioned in a critique has value, take it all in, think about it and see where you can apply it to your work.
4. No Explanations: According to Ask.com, the reasons why people react defensively to a critique include guilt, insecurity, trauma, denial and fear. Giving an excuse is a bad habit people fall into when their painting is being critiqued. To defend yourself or your art only makes you feel worse. If you can’t dissociate it would be best to say nothing at all.
5. Say Thank You: Once the critique is over, thank your critics. Criticism is hard and no one wants to admit that their work isn’t as good as they thought it was. Show your critics that you are willing to listen and learn from them, just as they are willing to learn from you.
6. Alternate Critique Group: If you are unable to accept criticism of your artwork try an email critique group in your medium. Email is very impersonal and doesn’t feel like an attack.

      Being open to criticism is an important way of improving yourself and your art. Remember, your artwork is about you, your aims and goals, your passion and your life. You are in charge

Please leave a comment. I especially want your views on how to receive a critique graciously. Look for my next blog post on Monday.

A beautiful oil painting by Susan. She says it has been a long winter of being forced to paint indoors.