Beware of The "Too Normal " Pitfall
As the years are passing,
the more we paint the more we try to be " careless" and let our gut dictate what we paint. After that at the reevaluation point ,we deliberately let some " ugly" parts
in the picture, trying to avoid the "pretty, too normal" pitfall.
"
Try to do some BAD work - the worst you can think of and see what happens but mainly relax and
let everything go to hell- you are not responsible for the world- you are only
responsible for your work - so DO IT " ( Letter from Sol
Lewitt to Eva Hesse)
It is not easy, especially
for people of good taste , like artists, who can be put off by small details
other people cannot even notice. It is even harder for persons with equal left
and right brain impulses, like some of us . We are big suckers for order and
pretty.
But alas when we change
your approach, or try different techniques or
a new way experimenting with different materials, our works are looking
unrefined, even "ugly" at first , but we have to give them time to grow on us.
Many artists fall into the
mistake of reminding crafters, artisans, creators of lesser work, just to please the mob and
make a buck or two.
We should not take the easy path, and my
advice to my students is to be aware of the “too normal” pitfall.
Powerful, utterly original
artwork has to have a bit of ugly and has to disturb, and that in order to balance an outstanding colour palette choice, a wonderful
resolved design and revolutionary textures.
Good Luck!!
“Nebulae” by Bianka Guna Acrylic on Canvas (30”x40”) ©Bianka Guna 2013
