Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The art of Ego

Artists tend to be compulsive. They rehash, and edit, and go over a piece or project a million and a half times until they're satisfied...and they're never satisfied. But eventually, deadlines creep up and the artist must STOP. They've got to find a point where they're at least somewhat comfortable with what they've produced, and show it to someone.

And then...we're still not comfortable. We're still not at ease, we're still not satisfied...
Ask any artist, and I'm certain they'll be able to show you at least five flaws in any completed piece.

So how do we get over it? How do we move on, and start something fresh and new even if we aren't completely satisfied with our work?

Simple. We do what everyone else does in their insecurities...

We fake it until it works.

We take our projects and show them off, and take whatever criticisms come our way and use them to build a better piece. We become secure enough in our works that when the non-helpful criticism is thrown our way, we can shake it off.

So go out. Showboat. Showcase. Show the world what you've got, and be confident in it.
The world will take notice.



F-O-O-T-N-O-T-E
Thanks to the power of the internet, an artist can showcase their work with little to no trouble at all, and thanks to the power of social media, artists can make connections with other artists, students, and potential clients with even less trouble.

And so...I present to you, Orkut. Or, more specifically, my Orkut profile. And my deviantart profile. Why? Because we're all working on this confidence thing.

S-E-C-O-N-D-F-O-O-T-N-O-T-E
Just for grins...guess how many times I edited this.

Friday, April 8, 2011

A Way of Life

Art comes in all forms -- from filming and flimmaking to photography, from pen and ink to ink pen, from woodblock printing to charcoal to...well, anything.
No, really.

Check this guy out:

See? Barbecue sauce and ribs, and BAM. Art.

But really...the medium isn't the important part. Sometimes, it's not even about how the piece turns out -- it's about how you get there.
The process.

This is a doodled upon pizza box, which is more than a collection of doodles on a pizza box. This is a collaboration of the creative spark.
This is an epic battle. This is what happens when creative people hang out together, kill time, and try and defeat each other's creations.

Art is beauty, sure. Art is pretty pictures and well-used principles of light and composition and so many other terms -- but art is really how the creative spark is applied...and it's applied everywhere. Be it in well formed, well known beauties such as Van Gogh's Starry Night or in the less appreciated, but equally well known
form of Mondrian's Composition of Yellow, Blue, and Red, the spark is there. There is a creative spark seen in the great works of our time, and in the pizza-box doodles of my kitchen. "Great" art is what's appreciated in society and art is what's considered valued and "well done"...but mostly? Mostly, art is the process of
what happens when you put one thing to another thing, make a mark, and make an impact on the way you think or the way someone else thinks. Art is about the process of living your life, and applying that creative spark.

Art comes in all shapes and sizes, so don't be afraid to try to create. Just do it. Heck, that guy did it with ribs and barbecue sauce, and my friends and I goofed off with sharpies and the container of our dinner. I guarantee you've got that creative spark...so go apply it. Live the process.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Just so you know...

As I've previously mentioned, I started this blog for a class. As such, occasionally posts may be class assignments. However, due to the brilliance that is art and creativity, and my tendency to stretch things until they suit my will, those assigned posts should still fit the theme of this blog.

This is one of those posts. And the next few will be as well.

So, in keeping with the assignments this week, here's the video I made last week. It's just a cute little story, done in a story-board style. Feel free to skip to 15 seconds in, I won't be offended.
Internet, I present...how Morty met Veronica.