The process of becoming an artist

[Lien]

I've wondered how people can keep their technique. To me it seems obvious that my technique is dependent on the subject. I will paint what I imagine, in the way that works best for the piece.

i normally warn people against learning technique, because often times they too dependent on it for their art and become stuck, and don't know how to get in and out of the thing.

technique is just a learned thing. you do it over and over, then one day you will "get it" and then it will be easy to do. it is not hard to do, it just takes focus.

the problem is that it is so easy to do, that people will instead of imagining up new ideas, "borrow" something that's already been done.
i think technique can become a confidence trap, when person get stuck on the technique only rather than the heart, they don't produce anything new and interesting.


you said your technique was dependent on the subject, and that you paint what you imagine. i think that is the way it should be ~! you can only paint what you know, and the more you understand something the more honestly you can paint it. a truthful story is easier to write than a lie. and i think this kind of art/self-expression is very concerned with sincerity, more than peculiarity.

my artist friend always says in art you must "keep adding", and that art has a lot to do with adjusting a picture until it looks decent. i feel if the goal is towards beauty or being interesting, then that is okay to do.

but if you are sincere, that is a different story. i think both ways are fun. it's fun to be yourself but it can be fun to pretend to be something else - or even many things at once! a pretentious artist is never regarded well, but i think they are innocent and just wanna have fun. still, i feel the most honest artist is the most interesting.

i am a huge fan of your method: the brute force method - aka originality and genuineness. i really admire people who are cunning and lucky enough to not fall into traps. may i have your autograph?

 

[nolla]

i normally warn people against learning technique, because often times they too dependent on it for their art and become stuck, and don't know how to get in and out of the thing.

technique is just a learned thing. you do it over and over, then one day you will "get it" and then it will be easy to do. it is not hard to do, it just takes focus.

the problem is that it is so easy to do, that people will instead of imagining up new ideas, "borrow" something that's already been done.
i think technique can become a confidence trap, when person get stuck on the technique only rather than the heart, they don't produce anything new and interesting.

Yeah, I totally agree. Sometimes I go through a (technically) amazing art gallery online. The artist has painted manga or something like that for their whole life, and it is so obvious that while their work is incredibly well done, it's the highest they can go. The only way they can make it better is to keep making it technically more demanding, but there is a limit there as well. And it will be hard to just start from the scratch with any other techinique. The compositions keep the same "graphic design school" perfect look. It's not very interesting (I mean, come on, there's something like four different types of compositions you can make if you keep doing that ). The "wow" factor there is that they really are masters of their technique, and I can never be that. Of course, I don't even want to, since I get bored with one technique. Not much thinking otherwise. I love that part of the creation when I hit the wall and the style didn't work, but I sit around, watch the painting, smoke a cigaret and then I get an idea how to get around the road block. Other than that, I think that the mistakes I make are really the only times I learn anything important.

but if you are sincere, that is a different story. i think both ways are fun. it's fun to be yourself but it can be fun to pretend to be something else - or even many things at once! a pretentious artist is never regarded well, but i think they are innocent and just wanna have fun. still, i feel the most honest artist is the most interesting.

This is an interesting aspect of art I've been thinking about lately. I mean, the stuff I do, sometimes it is about some metaphysical symbol that I don't know myself what's it about, and sometimes it is a cartoonish fox swimming. They both are sincere expressions of something, it isn't like one of them has more value to me than the other. Joking can be sincere, and "deep" can be done with not much heart in it at all.

The differences of value come from many things. The fox, I made it after meeting a fox several times while walking in the forest by the shore at night. I think of it a bit like my totem animal now, hah! Technically it is more clean than most of the paintings, but if falls short of the more symbolic work because it isn't done with the same freedom. Like, this other one I have. I made a really nice looking circle on the canvas (you know those zen circles?), and liked it so much I almost stopped right there and said it is ready. But then I continue, and paint another smaller circle. It didn't go so well than the first. I start doodling around the big circle, and start to think of the big circle as the earth and the small circle as the moon. I paint some plants and stuff on the big circle, and a piece of sky to reach for the moon. I leave a big chunk of the canvas empty, and the way it is now, the finished painting, it is nothing like I thought when I started, and it might look like I "ruined" a perfect circle, but the value in it for me is that the process of making it was unique that I can't possibly repeat it, and the symbolical meaning of the empty circle in the midst of all the "goings on" around it is something I like very much. Like, the world is the forever now in the zen sense, and then there's just a load of stuff around it that almost drowns it.

i am a huge fan of your method: the brute force method - aka originality and genuineness. i really admire people who are cunning and lucky enough to not fall into traps. may i have your autograph?

Hah! Yeah I'm lucky, if luck is that I am almost unable to draw the same character twise! Nah, I think it is about what different people like. I like to challenge myself in a different way than the manga masters. And I used to be such a perfectionist. When I still painted with wacom and photoshop. That "undo" is really the worst enemy.

 

[Lien]

i like to double space like victor, makes it easier on my eyes and others eyes

This is an interesting aspect of art I've been thinking about lately. I mean, the stuff I do, sometimes it is about some metaphysical symbol that I don't know myself what's it about, and sometimes it is a cartoonish fox swimming. They both are sincere expressions of something, it isn't like one of them has more value to me than the other. Joking can be sincere, and "deep" can be done with not much heart in it at all.

The differences of value come from many things. The fox, I made it after meeting a fox several times while walking in the forest by the shore at night. I think of it a bit like my totem animal now, hah! Technically it is more clean than most of the paintings, but if falls short of the more symbolic work because it isn't done with the same freedom. Like, this other one I have. I made a really nice looking circle on the canvas (you know those zen circles?), and liked it so much I almost stopped right there and said it is ready. But then I continue, and paint another smaller circle. It didn't go so well than the first. I start doodling around the big circle, and start to think of the big circle as the earth and the small circle as the moon. I paint some plants and stuff on the big circle, and a piece of sky to reach for the moon. I leave a big chunk of the canvas empty, and the way it is now, the finished painting, it is nothing like I thought when I started, and it might look like I "ruined" a perfect circle, but the value in it for me is that the process of making it was unique that I can't possibly repeat it, and the symbolical meaning of the empty circle in the midst of all the "goings on" around it is something I like very much. Like, the world is the forever now in the zen sense, and then there's just a load of stuff around it that almost drowns it.

a metaphysical symbol, like your zen symbol, when you don't know what it is yourself, i think is a revelation of the unconscious. art done in this sense is mysterious. "what is it? ??? what did i just paint?"

and if we see an idea, like your fox, and just "like it", i think it's for a unconscious (or sometimes we know) reason we like it.

and why things have different value, i think it's because of interpretation.

whether an idea is original or not original, i don't think it matters, because the one who sees it is the one who interprets the idea.

you said "Joking can be sincere, and "deep" can be done with not much heart in it at all."

i think it depends on the person who is seeing it.

your zen circle might be seen you ""ruined" a perfect circle". and the fox in the forest might seen as "a fox". even if they are important to you.

i think all art, reveals "something". sometimes it isn't sincere, like dadaism, where the intent is anti-art, or hiding the meaning. but they are not hiding anything, because it is the one who sees it who reveals the meaning, for themselves.

I love that part of the creation when I hit the wall and the style didn't work, but I sit around, watch the painting, smoke a cigaret and then I get an idea how to get around the road block.

Hah! Yeah I'm lucky, if luck is that I am almost unable to draw the same character twise! Nah, I think it is about what different people like. I like to challenge myself in a different way than the manga masters. And I used to be such a perfectionist. When I still painted with wacom and photoshop. That "undo" is really the worst enemy.

there's always a curious (?) in my head that pops up for people with these kinds of personalities, the ones who love the challenge and the satisfaction of solving a difficult problem. i guess you could say it's my "" factor, since i am not good at handling challenges, and stress and get overwhelmed, instead of invigorated.

i'm the type who always presses ctrl-z and saves every few minutes.

 

[nolla]

a metaphysical symbol, like your zen symbol, when you don't know what it is yourself, i think is a revelation of the unconscious. art done in this sense is mysterious.

Yeah, it's strange. There are also some themes that keep popping up. One of them that's been fascinating me lately was that I had this idea to paint a hand that comes out of a fog and presses against a curtain with fingers coming through the curtain. I didn't think much about why I wanted to make it like that. Thought it'd be cool. Then, after I got it ready, I realized I got an old sketch on my wall with a hand coming out of the ground. The theme is very similar but developed into a different meaning. The hand in the ground is trapped and asking for help, while the hand coming through the curtain is more like ripping through coming at you. That hand also has colorfully painted fingernails, so I guess the symbolism is pretty clearly that I am coming closer to freeing my self-expression. Or something like that. Anyhow, it's so weird to get these recurrent themes by accident, and then to see them develop. And, if I tried to actually replicate an idea like that, it would change anyhow, since my mood effects it so much...

and why things have different value, i think it's because of interpretation.

whether an idea is original or not original, i don't think it matters, because the one who sees it is the one who interprets the idea.
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i think all art, reveals "something". sometimes it isn't sincere, like dadaism, where the intent is anti-art, or hiding the meaning. but they are not hiding anything, because it is the one who sees it who reveals the meaning, for themselves.

Yep, I usually don't even bother thinking about what other people see in the work. If my idea isn't all that original, or if it is not technically perfect, then so what, since this is my representation of something I wanted to show people. It bugs me, though, that sometimes people don't see some object I thought was perfectly obvious.

there's always a curious (?) in my head that pops up for people with these kinds of personalities, the ones who love the challenge and the satisfaction of solving a difficult problem. i guess you could say it's my "" factor, since i don't know how to handle challenges and stress and get overwhelmed, instead of invigorated.

i'm the type who always presses ctrl-z and saves every few minutes.

I used to be very much like that. I guess it's only been a few years that I've been able to "let go". Actually, the last time I was being careful like that was when I did my first big painting. I hadn't done anything so big, so I measured it out, and made a couple of sketches beforehand and draw some guidelines and tried it out with coal on the canvas. Then, I painted for a week and got the piece almost ready, only to find out that it was impossible to hide the guidelines I had drawn on the canvas!!! ARGH! After that, I don't think I have drawn a single guideline anywhere near my paintings... I learned my lesson...

 

[Lien]

If I only could, be running up that hill, with no problems

wow! it says you live in Finland. i always wanted to go there. i know how to say some finnish words. hei, and mitä kuuluu!

Yeah, it's strange. There are also some themes that keep popping up. One of them that's been fascinating me lately was that I had this idea to paint a hand that comes out of a fog and presses against a curtain with fingers coming through the curtain. I didn't think much about why I wanted to make it like that. Thought it'd be cool. Then, after I got it ready, I realized I got an old sketch on my wall with a hand coming out of the ground. The theme is very similar but developed into a different meaning. The hand in the ground is trapped and asking for help, while the hand coming through the curtain is more like ripping through coming at you. That hand also has colorfully painted fingernails, so I guess the symbolism is pretty clearly that I am coming closer to freeing my self-expression. Or something like that. Anyhow, it's so weird to get these recurrent themes by accident, and then to see them develop. And, if I tried to actually replicate an idea like that, it would change anyhow, since my mood effects it so much...

i like art like this. it is kind of like trying to figure out a dream.

it's kind of like a puzzle, the meaning is hidden in the symbol, and you wonder what each symbol stands for in your life.

Yep, I usually don't even bother thinking about what other people see in the work. If my idea isn't all that original, or if it is not technically perfect, then so what, since this is my representation of something I wanted to show people. It bugs me, though, that sometimes people don't see some object I thought was perfectly obvious.

i know an artist/author who said that it is "impossible to control the reader's interpretation". he felt the whole purpose of his story wasn't about his personal interpretation of his own story, or the critical analysis of his story by his readers to find out what the "true" meaning was, but that the purpose was for readers to create their own meaning for themselves.

so i think that an art is a gesalt, where the person sees something unique. every picture has a thousand words, and no two pictures are alike.

I used to be very much like that. I guess it's only been a few years that I've been able to "let go". Actually, the last time I was being careful like that was when I did my first big painting. I hadn't done anything so big, so I measured it out, and made a couple of sketches beforehand and draw some guidelines and tried it out with coal on the canvas. Then, I painted for a week and got the piece almost ready, only to find out that it was impossible to hide the guidelines I had drawn on the canvas!!! ARGH! After that, I don't think I have drawn a single guideline anywhere near my paintings... I learned my lesson...

i think i am the type of person who hoards. and as i sit at the top of my things, i find it hard to "let go" of everything to run down the hill, just to start anew and run for the hills again. i think i am missing out on "exhilaration".

 

[nolla]

i think i am the type of person who hoards. and as i sit at the top of my things, i find it hard to "let go" of everything to run down the hill, just to start anew and run for the hills again. i think i am missing out on "exhilaration".

Well, if you want to try going on blindly, maybe you can try something different, so that the medium takes over in a way. When you do something you haven't done before, it gives you the freedom to re-invent yourself. But, of course that's only if you feel like it is something you need to do. I mean, there aren't any artists who are "complete" and there aren't arts that are inherently better than the rest, so everyone is perfect at the moment, in a way, no matter what they do.

wow! it says you live in Finland. i always wanted to go there.

Why? Personally, the only thing I think is special here (the only thing I missed when living abroad) is the nature. I get anxious without it...

hei, and mitä kuuluu!

Ihan hyvää, kiitos...