The last post?

Super watercolour Kim, a real sense of these woman working very hard for a living, very interesting reading your intro to this one as well, we all of course strive for our own gratification and also to see the responses we get from others, that must be the basic driving force behind anyone who chooses to put their artwork on public websites, their are always going to be comments that we can learn from and bask in if the work is good enough

First the painting - wonderfully strong image of these women who have plainly had a life time of hard graft to deal with and I like the feeling of companionship between the two women nicely suggested by the way the two are linked by the hoe. The paint has flowed in a dynamic way which also adds excitement to the painting and it is another excellent addition to your gallery. As regards why do we post on POL? Well, I can only answer for myself. I don't sell paintings and have exhibited only about twice in my painting life, so the only exposure to critique that my paintings get is on POL. Oh, my family see them but then they are an unreliable source of critique as they are hopelessly biased to tell me that everything I do is wonderful. Charming of them, but not a lot of use when you are trying to improve. As for what you say about the one successful painting and then five torn up, that is so true. I actually find that producing one half decent painting tends to scupper the next few anyway, almost as if you have put pressure on yourself to repeat your success. I seem to be able to deal with failure far better than success on this score. As for you, Kim, I know you are not a professional artist, but your work is very professional and you could easily take your place among some of the best watercolourists. Painting is a frustrating craft as, especially with watercolour, you are at the mercy of so many elements - the water, the pigments, the paper and then comes the knotty problem of trying to interpret a subject on paper how you are seeing it in your mind's eye. We must all be crazy to put ourselves through all this, but I wouldn't be without it.

Not only are you a remarkable artist Kim, you are remarkably accurate in your observations above. I would like to say so much in reply to those observations but I fear I will use all the allowed 'characters left' and I think, I am right in saying that you will have many responses. You missed out one emotion that I often suffer from and that is guilt, and I feel that guilt every time I pass a painting by without comment (yours included) because I do not have the experience or the vocabulary to make a comment on such amazing works of art. I honestly don't know how to put into words what your paintings, especially portraits, convey to me, as the the viewer. So, in the main, I am one of your 'silent' viewers. I would rather be silent than feel foolish about an unworthy response to your beautiful and soulful paintings. I do hope this won't be 'The last post'.

Sometimes words are just not enough to convey how a painting makes you feel and your watercolours certainly evoke so many emotions, the sign of a true artist.

You post, probably, for much the same reasons as the rest of us - you like to share what you've done, and if you're not satisfied with it you're hoping that someone will turn up and give you a good idea about how you might improve. I do sell - when I can - but have lost much of the impetus that made me keen for sales in days gone by; quite why, I don't know; but I still want people to see what I've done and to comment; this I think is a basic human desire - and any kind of art is likely to be basically about communication. For myself, I just put my stuff out there; if someone likes it, good; if they don't, and can tell me why, that may be helpful (and may not...); and if it leaves them as cold as yesterday's breakfast, that's OK too. Just one comment - such as Michael Edwards made on one of my paintings a while ago - can make the whole experience worthwhile - praise, yes: but praise with insight. You learn from that, gain confidence from that, and for those of us working alone, as the majority of us will be, that outside voice is important, the more so if it knows what it's talking about.

Well said Kim, and great to set us all thinking about the subject.. As a newcomer to the gallery, I really appreciate the chance to be able to share my work with others and hopefully get an unbiased opinion from fellow watercolourists. I have noticed though that there is a kind of "club ethos" which means that, rather than saying "could do better", comments are withheld altogether - understandably, who are we to judge anyway, and noone likes to hurt anothers feelings. So we react to those paintings that either strike a chord (taste) or provoke a kind of professional envy (technique in the broadest sense) or both. Like Thea, the only other input I have is from my family and friends, and as they are unaware of the technical aspects of watercolour, their reaction is purely based on taste (or as my husband often says about my work "Well, its no van Gogh" !). The POL postings can give more feed back on how well or badly the medium has been applied, but only if we dare to post our less successful efforts. Do we dare, and do we dare to give an opinion to others? But these thoughts are only based on a limited acquaintance with the Gallery, I still have a lot to learn. Fools step in ........

I'd rather hoped that someone might have said, Oh, that Louise, of course she's qualified to comment! Rather disappointingly, no one has. That's the way I am. I tend to make light of things and don't always have the vocabulary or indeed time to pass an in depth opinion. In your case Kim, just to say 'really good' or 'amazing' never seems adequate. You do have a great talent, almost as good as mine..you see, I'm doing it again! Please don't take any of this too seriously. I always enjoy seeing your work here and look forward to seeing more. As to the reasons for posting here, I can give you an example. I showed family members a painting recently. Mmm it's alright they said but I could do better. I listened to my encouraging feedback feedback on the site trusted my own judgement and entered the painting in to an open exhibition. It was accepted! We all post here I feel in order to show our work to an appreciative audience.

Apart from all the above comments, think your mastery of watercolours is quite fantastic - and, probably because we (I) am generally gobsmacked by (and so jealous of) your expertise, I tend not to comment on all your works as there only so much one can say without becoming repititive. So my silence does not mean that I am not impressed - I am!!

I think everyone has touched on all I can add. I also think Ann makes a good point that sometimes when one is "late to the party" adding a similar comment seems superfluous, but it isn't really. Paintings, as has been said above, evoke a response, whether positive or negative. Sometimes, unless you are a critic or a "professional" who is required to sum up their response so that it makes sense to someone else, the reason for a response can be difficult to quantify. It is, however, easier to be positive, than offer an opinion which may or may not be appreciated. I still remember my various attempts at a sunset .... I posted them and did get helpful feedback which I have taken on board. I have also since removed them! Vanity! Louise also makes a good point about trusting your instinct and perhaps having your own judgement confirmed by the fact artists offer encouraging feedback to a work that someone who may not appreciate what you are trying to do has expressed doubts over. I could go on about the good reasons for posting on POL, but I shall finish for now on the fact that painting can be a solitary and perhaps isolating thing to do, and by connecting to other like-minded people adds value to what could become demoralising. I may have to attempt some more sunsets!

Forgot to add that your painting is superb as usual, and I wish they would hurry up and fix the fault that means my name is gobbledegook!

I love sharing my work with you all and feel really happy to get lovely comments or sound advice. Kim you once criticised one of my works for being too dark which I also felt was true. This helped me. Louise I find your work to be quite daring and from this you sometimes produce some iffy paintings and then sometimes you produce some of the coolest water colours I've ever seen - you experiment quite a lot which I think is part of your personality and style (which I love). Please if I ever post a painting or drawing - criticise me or tell me why you don't like it. I always get great praise by my family but this doesn't help me or really make me happy because they like whatever I produce. Being a part of the POL community makes me so happy for a number of reasons.

I like this as you have portrayed the figures so well Kim, beautiful postures and wonderful blending of well chosen colours stand out against a plain distant background. This deserves praise in my book.

ps, I post on here as I don't get much critique at home. I am the only practicing 'artist' in the family so I look forward to any comment from my mates on here. There is a great sense of friendship in so many like-minded people. Thanks all!

Good picture by the way Kim, the figure on the left is beautiful.

Kim thanks for your very kind remarks on my porfolio. I really didn’t intend to rock the boat – it s just the pebble you threw in the water caused a few waves ! And your title “Last post ?” woke mu up – I would hate to miss your works in the Gallery, for me they are one of the high points. I have taken the message to heart, and will soon be posting some “doubtfuls” , in order to get some feedback from the extremely helpful and friendly POL community.

1. To get feedback, hopefully good or constructive, praising one's efforts lifts the spirits which can never be over estimated. If you feel better you perform better. Confidence is one of life's greatest assets. Praise however is very subjective, but one should be positive with a critique and not damming as this can have a detrimental effect on the artist (after all we don't personally know there personality and how open they may be to criticism). We should be more open with our critique if we want to pass our knowledge and skills to others who are trying to learn/improve. After all one of life's greatest gifts is to pass on our skills and knowledge in the hope that we help someone to improve or learn a new skill. To see someone improve and flourish is indeed very rewarding. 2. I always enjoy viewing your postings Kim and this is another one to be admired. All the best for the future and thanks for creating a thought provoking discussion. Robert

Goodness, you've really cast down the gauntlet haven't you! So many sensitive insights and generous observations: "Guilt" (Fiona) - how true; the urge to share; technical tips; crises of self-confidence and the need for reassurance... If there is consensus however it would appear that we all welcome constructive criticism. Critics, they say, are people who know the way but can't drive the car. It's certainly true that criticism is often uninhibited by ignorance, but we have the edge on bog-standard critics: we know how difficult our chosen medium is; we both navigate and drive! Therefore our comments on each others work are tempered by humility and respect. Long may it continue thus: when peer criticism elevates opinion into knowledge (including self-knowledge) there are no limits to what we can achieve. Thanks for commenting.

When I first saw this I thought it was one of Seoks paintings for your styles of painting are quite similar. I very rarely sell or exhibit my paintings so it is so nice to get feed back from other painters. Had a nice surprise last month when I received an enquiry about one of my painting she had seen on POL. It was one I had done thirteen years ago, she liked it and bought it. So, we were both very happy.

Another stunning piece, Kim! And I would think that most of the praise coming your way is genuine and sincere, given the quality of your work. I certainly look forward to seeing them. I learn a lot just by studying your treatment of light and color. Thank you for posting!

Can I just add that I sincerely hope that this isn't your last post Kim. It's just that it seems to be rather a strange title for this particular painting. I agree with Seok and always enjoy seeing your excellent work here.