15 Nov Most irritating thing about being an artist?
Most irritating thing about being an artist?
As I sit and look at a post on Instagram. The Question was something like “what is the most irritating thing about being an artist.” This post had like 400 reply’s. I must say I didn’t read them all but there seemed to be a few common themes that all artist people complain about. Almost all the artist friends I have chatted with, encountered at one point or another things that seem to hit their very soul. I decided that I am going to talk about each of these things and how I approach them. (Most of the time)
First one; People judging your art in a negative way.
I get it, you put your heart, soul and endless hours into each piece you create. looking at a blank canvas, block of wood, slab of clay (whatever kind of art you do). You are trying to muster up the start. You are trying to make it right, drawing, sketching to your fingers fall and off. Not really getting that look you want. Designing in your head for endless hours every second of the day. Staying up late because your mind won’t let it go, getting up early because your mind won’t let it go. The years of hard work to develop a skill level that allows you to transfer it to a visual substrate. Then someone talks about, suggests things, downright tells you they hate it, or would never pay that much for that art work. The insults fly out of the mouths of people who seem to think that what they say, what they think, how they act is the gospel. That self-absorbed person who says things never concerned about how it might affect someone else. Thinking only how it affects themselves. People will react to everything on how it reflects the world they live in their own head.
People have reacted to my art in so many ways, all coming from their own experiences in life. Let me explain this a little more. I was at a show had some of my pin-up art up and a gentleman came by to show his girlfriend/wife? one of the paintings he liked. He was thinking about buying one. Awesome I was thinking; sales were very slow. As I was sitting there he was talking to her and asked her what she thought. her reply was I would never! Pay that much for that! I could feel my face cringe “you B$%^*^TCH I thought. “Ya, I know not a happy place, to be”. This stuff happens all the time. Hate the color of the hair, she looks like your X. that looks funny, that is stupid and on and on.
I am reminded of an instructor that I had when I was taking a sculpture class not to very long ago. This instructor had something about me he didn’t like. Did not believe I never sculptured before his class. seemed to pick at everything I did. We were about the same age. I was asked to bring in some of my paintings. He continued this attack on me about everything. The layout is all wrong, look at that, this and over there, that. It was like I went lit a fire under his ass. when the next class came along some of the other students were like I really loved your art, thank you for bringing it in and what is up with the instructor? Who knows what the deal was. Some people are just insecure? Don’t know, don’t care.
I have so many examples of this type of things that it makes my head hurt. So recently I started to figure out some things. Don’t take it personal. People react to thing mostly because they seem to be hurting. By bringing other people down they very briefly make themselves feel better. Could be that they are just having a really bad day. Maybe they just found out that they have cancer and just can’t find anything good about anything, maybe they just hate the color Red. Red reminds them of a time when (fill in the blank) so they react.
You sit or stand, just being insulted about something that has a part of you in it, that you are sharing with the world. Putting that little piece of your soul out there. your nervous, your proud. Then this stranger or even someone you think you know so well, they send your world into the bottom of the swamps of self pity with just a few words. All I want to do is stab them in the eye. Then I come back to reality and think that I don’t know the story. I have no idea as to what is going on in their life, their head. I move on to the next one, the next comment that may make me hurt. The thing is I still get mad. but it doesn’t last very long anymore. Why? I don’t know the story of these people. They may be just really bad person or they may be someone who is having a really bad day. So, I try to not take it personal. This takes some work. For me it has taken a lot of work. A lot more of not reacting to the actions of other people who walk around in an unawakened state of mind. I see so much of this on the social media world. I’ll get to this later.
All I can do is my very best, my very best every single time. some days my best isn’t as good as the day before but it is my best.
Then I remind myself not to take it personal. When or what other people say, or do, is not my issue, it is there issues. don’t make it yours. don’t surround yourself with the negativity in your head or in your life… You have a choice.
Next week I’m hitting the social media sewer pit. my head hurts. lol
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