The journey of a student interested in Art and Technology
Reblogged from amandatolleson
I’m using my friend juliedillon’s work as an example for this; I hope she doesn’t mind.
I wanted to make a post about perspective and comparing yourself to other artists.
This is my art. It’s very realistic, but it’s also not very imaginative. I draw what I see. Sometimes I add a bit, and I can draw imaginative things if I want to, but the stuff in my gallery is what I’m good at. It’s what I’m awesome at, in fact, and I’m really lucky that I’ve figured that out.
I can’t draw like Julie draws. I wish I could, and Julie probably thinks I’m nuts. But I wouldn’t know where to begin. Having a vision like that and bringing it to life—it’s not something I’m good at in visual art. Julie’s work (and the work of artists like her) intimidates me, humbles me, and makes me feel like I need to do better. It makes me look at my stuff and think, “Man, I just don’t cut it” as much as it makes me think, “I should try harder.” It makes me glad to be me, and it makes me hate myself all at once.
If I wanted to draw like Julie, I probably could. I have a lot of foundation skills. But it would take me years. I’d have to learn to trust myself in a way I’m not used to. I’d have to overcome a lot. It would take a lot of work, and there’s no guarantee I’d ever get that good.
I think those feelings are pretty normal? I think most artists probably feel like I do. We see work that we admire, and we can’t help but feel like our own work doesn’t measure up. Another person’s art is better simply because it’s not our own.
On the other hand, I look at my best work, and I’m comforted that it’s good. Of course it’s good—it’s my best. It’s good because it’s my best and no one else’s best. In the end, there’s only me and my body of work, so I only have to be as good as my best.
The hard part is remembering that I don’t have to be as good as someone else’s best. :B
