DO OTHERS FINISH OFF YOUR PAINTINGS?

Some were critical of me painting sail boats on Goolwa Beach, because they just don’t exist. The painting sold in a flash!

Do others finish off your paintings? (A Blog by Mike Barr)

“I’ve seen it happen a few times in recent days and it is prevalent in amateur art circles.

It can start in painting workshops and classes where tutors will tell you what your painting needs, and in some cases put their own brush strokes on the canvas to show you. This is all fair enough when we are learning, but the time comes when we must stand up and own what we paint.

Our signature tells the world that it is our painting and we are happy with the finished product.

The practice of asking other artists if our work needs something else, can last a lifetime if we let it. It’s a sign that we are still not confident in what we have done, and we cannot settle on it unless it gets some seal of approval from our peers.

Asking if it is finished, or if it needs something else on public places like Facebook, will produce a flush of advice – conflicting advice. Often, opinions are posted by artists of lesser quality and experience and this does not help in any way.

The worst of it is that Artists lose control of the work. They are asking other people to finish the painting, and at that point it ceases to be the artist’s creation – it has become a collaboration. The signature at the bottom claiming it is your work is no longer true.

Amazingly, this way of thinking is wide-spread and even encouraged, but it stifles originality and confidence.

Paint without asking others to finish it for you - you will never gain confidence in your work if you rely on this.

Learn to be your own best critic and be a silent critic of other artist’s work.

Be confident and proud of your signature, knowing that it is your own work from concept to the finish.  There is no way forward as an artist until we can happily do this.”

Mike Barr