Monday, April 2, 2007

When a Field is Just a Field

Just a Field, 2007, Oil on Panel, 8x10

I think that after yesterday's post, I might sound as if I am on the edge. I am not at all and the ear reference was just a joke. Really.

The truth is, how I feel about my work is very fluid, yet not. Overall, I am exceedingly pleased with what is happening. And on a day to day basis I am pretty solid. But some days can be good and some be a real drag. I can feel super confident, rather than just my usual normal confidence (which is what allows me to put myself and my work out there). The super confident days usually happen when I have some kind of success, perhaps a good sale, a near sell out show, a good review or high praise. That sort of feedback is great and is really exciting, but can also be the most damaging to my work, much more so than self-doubt. I get an attitude and then I have a tendency to not put everything that I can into my work on those days, because, well I am feeling like everything I do is great so why bother. You see? Attitude. I have to work hard to keep that in check. The best and most productive confidence comes from having an excellent day in the studio finishing one or more real kick ass paintings and I am more productive, I suspect, because the confidence comes from within, rather than being a reaction to an outside event.

There are a similar variety of bad days too. The bad days that make me doubt myself and what I am doing come from outside forces, like being turned down by a gallery or thinking that I should really be selling much more work than I do, don't really bother me so much that it affects my work in the studio. If it does, it is to spur me on a bit and get me to work harder. So it becomes a positive. The bad days that come within, for example after struggling with a painting or being frustrated by color happen often enough, but usually pass fairly quickly and there is often a corresponding leap in quality and/or productivity. Getting over the hump I guess.

And none of this is written in stone of course. A bad painting day can happen after hearing about a sale or I can be feeling super confident for no good reason whatsoever. Fluidity.

With the exception of post show meltdowns, which are much worse after a good show by the way, none of these events really affect me for any length of time. I have enough life experience (raising four kids!) and I have enough self-discipline that I can work through these minor ups and downs. And I do consider them minor. While my feelings yesterday, concerning getting work back from a gallery affected me and was something that was on my mind enough to write about it, it didn't affect my studio time (um, well except that I didn't really get to the studio, but that was because I had laundry to catch up on and important work to do on the computer all day. Heh) and won't be a problem that will stick with me. Other issues will move me along, such as planning the work for an upcoming show, gathering the tax info or deciding what to make for dinner and will it be something that everyone will eat or will someone end up with cereal?

So really there is no tortured artist's life here. Perhaps by writing about my feelings of demoralization gave it more importance than it really has to me. I just wanted to explain some of the things that I go through while trying to have some kind of art career. Getting unsold work back from a gallery is one of the things that art school did not cover.

And while this art career thing is very important to me, I will not be cutting off an ear for it. I have nicely shaped ears and it would be a real shame to mess up the perfect pair.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, keep the ears Tracy...
They come in handy when people say all those nice things about your paintings!

meno said...

I have a nice pair too.


(Sorry, the 12 year old boy in me was unable to resist.)

Steppen Wolf said...

Nice use of yellow in the foreground... Loved this painting. Wispy yet defined is one way to put it...

tlwest said...

Yup keep the EARS. I always like the underlayers coming through in spots - nice work This one sort of looks like a ROTHKO

Andrea Frazer said...

You remind me of a muted Monet. I don't mean muted in a bad way, either. I mean it in an angelic, more feminine, more dreamlike state. Hell, the word muted sounds so negative to women, so let's just reverse my statement: Monet reminds me of you!

The Idaho Beauty said...

Whenever I find myself getting a bit smug over a bit of praise or a success, I remember what my late husband used to say to bring me back to earth: "Yeah, but what have you done lately?"

No resting on our laurels, no matter how good the world may think we are! ;-} Alway on to the next challenge and even better work...

Martha Marshall said...

It's nice to be reminded one is not alone in these ups and downs. Mine are mostly "work" related as well. Not a whole lot bothers me or gets me more excited than the work itself.

I love this piece!

Tracy Helgeson said...

Thanks James, for the advice:)

Meno, Funny you brought that up. When I was writing the post I thought of making some kind of analogy about "pairs" but alas, my creativity deserted me and I bailed on it. Thanks for filling in for me:)

Thanks Sunil, though I can't take much credit for that yellow. Mother Nature gave me the idea. It's a field down the road and it is amazing each June!

Thanks Terri, for the Rothko reference.

And thanks for the Monet reference Mama P. You and Terri are my new best friends!

Idaho Beauty, Good line! My husband has a very good eye roll that brings me back down to earth when necessary:)

Martha, Nice to know you understand and also go through similar feelings. Guess things would be too boring without just a bit of drama huh:)

dianeclancy said...

I go through ups and downs too with my work ... sometimes I am so juiced and feel very aligned ...

then there are days when inside doesn't feel very good.

I do better if I can keep working but figure out which type of work works best for where I am.

- Diane Clancy
www.dianeclancy.com/blog

Tracy Helgeson said...

Diane, I like to try to keep working through it, but alas, that can be the hardest thing to do.

Nice work on your blog. Love the color!

Martin said...

Great Painting! Compliment.