Be True to Your Art...

A partial quote from Neil is the starting point... "As Mel says follow your own vision and methods because if they are your choices they must be the right ones for you. You are judged on the final result of all your choices" It is perhaps [I know a word that figures a lot in all I say] that is is important for any artist to develop, nurture & protect that vision that makes their art unique... That you need to develop & learn to trust your own inner guide...That it needs to be cultivated as well.... That it is between you and the surface [brush-paint-canvas] that you work on. It does not require any course, any guide, any book, DVD etc. This is working your inner knowledge out for the outside word to perhaps see and to perhaps open it out for criticism too...This is perhaps the real question how much do you need from others? Perhaps listen to the clues that your imagination offers you more often? Why slavishly try to paint like any other artist? Why try to become a portrait artist? Why try to become a landscape artist? Why try to become a botanical illustrator? IF all you want is to have pleasure in producing an artwork. It is also that thing about the minnow in the big lake...you will always be judged against some perceived best in that category... It may be a lonely place that your artworks inhabit...they may never sell...but they cannot be easily dismissed against any perceived best...they have to be judged on their merit [and that alone]...each of them is yours and yours alone...above all it is your unique art....