Karen Sperling’s Blog

Painting by Karen Sperling from a photo by Frank Stewart, featured in the July 2009 Artistry Tips and Tricks.

I received this email from one of my Painting for Photographers readers:

“I haven’t done much in the way of digital painting since I received your book (not a fault of your book, but my waning interest in digital painting at the present time). I had an unpleasant experience taking a studio painting course a few months ago, my first acrylic painting course, and that experience made me wonder if I had any artistic ability at all. So, I’ve stayed away from art and photography for a while.”

And here was my response:

“I’m sorry to hear about your experience with the studio painting course. And I want to encourage you not to get discouraged.
I always say there are 3 ingredients to painting: knowing the art concepts, knowing the tools and practice.
You get better through practice at incorporating what you learn about the art concepts and the tools, whether you’re painting traditionally or digitally.
Everything is an interim image and the more you paint, the better you get!
I speak from experience.
I took art classes in college and never thought I was very good, and now I’ve had my art exhibited in New York.
The difference is that back then I gave up too soon. In recent years, when something looks awful, I just keep in mind that it will get better the more I work on it, and it always does!
I hope you’ll try painting again. The paintings you sent to me were very good and you’ll only get better the more you practice.”

And his reply:

“Thanks for understanding and for your encouragement. You should have been my instructor!”

This email exchange sure hit home for me and I am sure others can relate to this reader’s experience, so I thought I’d post about it to help anyone who’s feeling discouraged.

The emotional makeup that results in our pursuing creative fields, whether it’s painting, or photography, or writing, or making movies, includes being sensitive to the world around us. That sensitivity gives us the ability to put ourselves into other peoples’ shoes, to act and react to the world around us and to create art in whatever form that both communicates our perceptions and also speaks to others.

Sensitivity is a double-edged sword, however, and it’s that understanding and insight that makes criticism–whether from outer sources or from inside our heads–feel so acute.

I can’t speak for everyone–maybe there are people who never experienced a sensitivity to criticism– but I can tell you that I’ve felt it and everyone I know has.

If you’ve tried to paint your photos–or tried to write novels, or screenplays, or you’ve tried to take photographs, or tried any other creative pursuit– and you haven’t gotten very far and you’re thinking you don’t have “talent,” I can tell you that you’re experiencing self-criticism. The critic in your head is shouting at you that you can’t do the thing you’re trying to do.

Well, the critic is wrong.

If you want to do something, recognizing the desire is the first step toward doing it. You have to find a way to listen to this OTHER voice in your head giving you the idea that you’re interested in painting photos or whatever creative activity you want to pursue.

And the way to pursue that interest is to learn the theories, learn the tools and practice.

I set up Painting for Photographers to give you the art concepts and step-by-step instructions for painting photos in Painter and in Photoshop.

The practice means that you continue to paint, without getting discouraged.

When you find yourself thinking that what you’re doing is horrible, change your thinking to telling yourself that it’s an interim step and it will get better the more you work on it.

This isn’t just my experience. I learned this when I first started writing Painter tutorials. In the beginning, I hadn’t painted for many years, and I wrote instructions based on the artwork from others. And I saw firsthand how “bad” the interim images were. They weren’t bad at all, of course, they just were not finished!

Now that we’ve silenced that critic in our heads, let’s take aim at the outer critics–the people like this instructor that my email correspondent had. If someone is telling you that your work is no good, then there’s something wrong with him or her. I’m not kidding. Why on earth would someone want to teach if they don’t want to encourage people? One of my biggest joys as a teacher is helping people in my Artistry Retreats to pursue their interests and cultivate them into passions. And yet, I’ve had so many instructors and teachers and professors over the years who ripped apart my writing and my painting. Why? What purpose did that serve? It only discouraged me and stopped me from creating for many years. And I’ve subsequently published several books and had several art exhibits. Obviously, these detractors didn’t know what they were talking about, and I wasted many years listening to them!

It’s not just teachers who criticize, of course–parents, friends, siblings, acquaintances, so many people bashing our creativity, so little time. You have to learn to either avoid the detractors or at least not listen to their critiques.

Again, I can’t speak for others, but maybe you have the same little voice that I have nagging, “What if they’re right?”

Here’s the answer-they’re not right. Tell yourself this: “Everything is an interim step and I’m working to learn the tools and practicing to be able to do what I’m trying to do. And what is the critic’s ulterior motive for bashing me? They can’t have my interests at heart.”

I had an experience that to me epitomized the absurdity of criticism.

I’ve made no secret about my own desire to write movies, something I have studied over the years and really want to accomplish in 2010.

I knew a guy who is a produced writer and director and who teaches film at USC, one of the most-respected film schools. At one point I showed him one of my scripts.

Not only did he rip it–and me–apart, but he also said something that really made crystal clear how ridiculous criticism is.

In this conversation in which he bashed me and my script, he said this to me:

“You’ll never be able to write movies.”

At this point in my life, I had been teaching Painter for many years.

This sentence shocked me. I couldn’t imagine ever telling anyone they’ll never do something. How could anyone predict about anyone else what they are capable of? I believe that if someone really wants to do something, if they study it and practice hard enough, they can do it.

Up until that moment I had been quietly listening to this guy’s “feedback.” When he said “You’ll never be able to write movies,” I replied, “How do you know?”

He didn’t have an answer. He wasn’t being polite, he had no problem ripping me and my script apart up until that moment. He had no reply because he didn’t have an answer. There is no way to know what the outcome will be for someone who works hard at learning and practicing.

So pick up your Wacom stylus, or pick up the paint brush, or go back to the keyboard, or pick up the camera, and try again to pursue what you’re interested in.

If you start to feel discouraged, follow these steps:

1. Take a look at who is discouraging you. Are you hearing discouragement from an outside source, are you being your own worst critic? In either case, question the motivation of the negative feedback you’re hearing. Realize that someone who really has your interests at heart wouldn’t criticize you, and that includes your own, inner critic.

2. Take a look at what’s discouraging you, whether it’s a painting or writing or music. It’s an interim step. It will get better the more you work on it.

3. Maybe your discouragement stems from lack of knowledge or direction. Are you not sure how to proceed? Get some information or review what you’ve learned. Getting better at your creative pursuit includes learning how to incorporate your knowledge with your creativity.

4. Surround yourself with supportive people and ignore the critics. I think it’s human nature to focus on the negative. Focus on the positive and ignore the negative.

5. Read my other blogs on never giving up, finding confidence and confidence, not talent, leading to creativity.

Tags: The process of art (Corel Painter) //