welcome to my new blog post! I hope it encourages you along your own journey while giving you a little insight into my life as a artist.
“AWARD WINNING ARTIST” is a title worn loosely and frankly rather awkwardly by me.
Yet over time pieces of my artwork have been deemed worthy of a prize by esteemed judges. Five works to date….one second prize, three first prizes and recently, one overall winner. Some art prizes have been regional, some metro, some in WA, some elsewhere in Australia…..yet all were entered with that same sense of vulnerability I get when I put my artwork out there for public scrutiny.
Vulnerability. I guess that comes in the artists life package and that’s okay with me. It has a way of keeping me grounded. It also motivates me to grow as an artist. Progress over perfection is my goal for my journey as an artist. Admittedly it hasn’t always been like that. I used to berate myself for falling short if my progress was too slow or not to the standard I was setting as my bench mark. That standard used to be other peoples work.
Oh the trap of comparison!! What a pool of discouragement that is! I have found comparing my progress or my work to others is not the least bit helpful to my own growth as an artist. And it is equally unhelpful to me becoming the person I know I would rather be. Learning to step back, admire rather than compare, allows me room to find the takeaways to bring into my own practise. Not copying, not stealing, but being inspired, asking myself continually “how does this relate to my own vision for my work as an artist?” Sometimes it just doesn’t. I’m a slow, methodical painter and that’s just fine with me. Trying to ‘match produce’ (a term I just made up to describe the urge to keep up with those amazing artists who churn out work after work), totally undermines who I am as an artist and compromises the integrity of my artwork. Not that there is anything wrong with churning out artworks if that’s who you are as an artist and how you work.
Allowing myself to learn from others without the pressure of trying to be like them means there’s an authenticity and honesty about my own work that I am continually striving for. Viewing myself as a lifelong student reminds me that there is still so much to learn and helps my work to continually evolve.
It also creates a desire in me to pass on to others what I have learnt. Ahhh….that’s another story that perhaps I’ll save for the next blog post 🙂
Thanks for tuning in, I hope you found this to be at the very least encouraging!
Till next time, take care
Lorraine