Heavens, Man! I am Zebra in Floral Jungle
coloured pencil and watercolour painting
7 x 10 inches still trying to find three GOOD things about my paintings. I have no problem identifying the parts needing improvement. The push to paint daily has improved my ability to see. I am encouraged to continue as I recognize progress gained from painting more frequently. Still, there is LOTS of room for improvement. There is an old axiom something like this, "The more I know, the more I know how much I don't know." That's where I am now--learning how much I don't know.

It seems an irony of life that in any field of endeavor, whenever we meet the truly great in a given field, their only focus is how to "get better"... whereas when meeting those that are merely competent they think that they're "pretty good"... it's almost like the better we get, the worse we think we are. I think developing an attitude of "I'm not good enough" is healthy – it keeps us pushing. And if your objective is to be a "great artist" ...then "good" isn't "good enough."

The advice in this edition speaks Overlook
oil painting of a great truth in the creative process. The clichéd adage that "showing up is half the battle" has some application here. Having about 30 years in the studio and in the field, I have found that presenting yourself consistently to your tools and your creative task at hand and working for what can seem like an interminable amount of hours has, in the end, never resulted in anything other than success. You have to continually walk through doors and break down barriers to achieve the results you desire. No tricks, no shortcuts, no fancy tools. It's just a devotion to the vision that you have.

I have found the more I push 10
mixed media painting myself the more I play, the more I play, the more the eureka moments appear, the more the eureka moments appear, the more confidence in the work, the more confidence, the more the reality of that single thought in one’s mind is revealed, the more revealed of one’s self... others relate, work leaps into the circle or orb of life. Life is Art.

Vaclav Havel was the Humanity
oil painting leader of the "Velvet Revolution" and last President of Czechoslovakia, as well as first President of the Czech Republic. In my previous life as a research scientist I attended some meetings in Europe. I came to know a prominent Czech scientist who was delighted to have a leader who was a playwright and poet, after so many years of domination by the communist Soviet Union. Maybe our politics would be enriched by political leaders who were also accomplished in the arts!

One of the popular nonsense Alpine Meadow
acrylic painting
16 x 20 inches ideas going around is that looking at weaknesses is "being negative," which is bad and "politically incorrect." I know a guy who doesn't allow words like "bad," "stupid," "wrong" said in front of his kids. Weaknesses are ignored and everything else portrayed as an extraordinary success, which results in an imbalance at the least. I agree with you that a reality check is necessary for real success. I don't particularly enjoy looking at myself and analyzing why I am doing something wrong, but every time I do it I learn something helpful.

Trying to maintain that balance Orchids and Red Sofa
original painting between excitement (when something works) and dismay (when nothing seems to work) as you struggle through some paintings that seem to be almost willful in their obstinacy, but to eventually conquer the canvas with a respectable painting, is an exquisite meeting of those points of your letter--sweat and sweetness. A thousand small challenges with countless moments of hurt and some ecstasy tell the story of each major painting. Some paintings, like plein airs, are usually just fun and you knock them out in a couple of hours. But it is like tennis, if you are challenged and still do your best, win, lose or draw (winning is always better though), you are tired but actually quite fulfilled, and realize it is for that feeling that you play the game.

A painting that makes me stretch beyond the comfortable and easy is one that makes me want to paint more. Too many of the easy ones and I'd be looking for something else to do.

My weakness is in pushing myself. It seems that I want to paint but put it off for something else too many times. I love to paint in a group setting, but have a wonderful studio in my home and don't paint as often as I would like. I have to schedule myself for painting as I do the rest of my life. I am a very social person and love the work I do in my community, but would love to paint more. So there is my weakness. I end up painting cardboard boats, tepees, wall hangings, posters, and etc. Our boat won best design so I get some kudos from that but, alas, no money. I will try to push myself more as my artist friends try to do already. I am an acrylic painter of animals, my love.

Every year I give myself
Valerie Kent at the RHGA Art Show (2006) a new learning curve: one year it is light, another, colour and so it goes. It never ends and I look for resources and other artists to help me in my search. Knowing full well that I cannot learn it all in only one year, I rotate back to what I have done before. I do not know how many times I have rotated back to Edgar Whitney's books and to Ron Ransom's books on Edgar Whitney's teachings. Although written about watercolour painting, the principles and elements of design remain universal and current.

Growth only comes with good True North (detail)
oil painting
24 x 30 inches self-observation. In my case, more than pulling out the "baddy inventory," I feel I need to devote more time to working with other subjects... expanding my view. I have always enjoyed good portraiture, but rarely do I include figures or people in my work. I think a lot of this is due to shyness. But when I have asked people to pose, the results have often been useful. I think I will take your "pushing yourself" idea and put it to use in the direction of further portraiture.

Your last sentence—boom—your words
digitally altered photograph reached out and grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. You said, "Evolved creators are just as curious about their failures as they are of their successes." I hope everyone who reads this latest letter lets those words seep deep into their creative soul, for they are so powerful. I am turning 61 in a few months and have seen failure not as a mistake but as an ingredient in my successes. For me this process of self-evaluation is paramount to creativity, for without it I would not recognize the differences. I would not step far enough back from my work, I would not let go, and not ask more of myself. So I hope to always learn as much from my mistakes as I do from my successes.

The concept you refer to is "ego management." I Akard Lane
pastel drawing
24 x 30 inches believe this is an ability one must develop to strike a balance between the opposing forces of self-esteem and self-doubt. Great artists have both in generous quantities. Our culture is often absurdly imbalanced. Celebrities are fawned over in embarrassing fashion. As much as we revel in worshipping these people, we take a certain dark pleasure when they come careening off their pedestals. A great example of this phenomenon is the show 'American Idol.' Modestly talented folks vie for the incredible thrill of instant fame. They become household names and viewers can join them on this roller coaster of emotion the show promotes. In a way, the judges on the show represent the demons an artist must face. One judge, a caustic Brit named Simon, routinely bashes and abuses the performers. He as much as says "You are a fraud, all style and no substance, a fake... but you're not fooling me." He embodies self-doubt as the worshipping audience embodies narcissism and ego-feasting. For the artist, ego-feasting is like the packed opening and sold out show, the compliments, etc. Self-doubt inhabits the studio paintings like callow starlets, hope they are framed and displayed and sold to move up to the sun-kissed walls of a mansion somewhere. Many will face permanent residence in an unseen stack or, worse, a cruel toss in the dumpster. In reality, artists need to inhabit the middle ground between these extremes and learn to assess their strengths and weakness, enjoy success but embrace failure as part of the process of self-improvement as well.

Please take on the current situation concerning Giclee publishers who scan artwork, put the images on CDRs or leave them on the hard drive and, as a result, the artists are left wondering if the publisher has an ulterior motive. It seems we can do nothing about it. My feeling is that these publishers should, if they want us to believe that they have integrity, present the CDR to the owner of the work at whatever cost, with a declaration stating no further use will be made of the scan without permission.

(RG note) Thanks, Ron. Unfortunately, even if the publisher gives you the original copy in whatever format, he may have identical, print-ready copies as standby. A "one use only," or other limiting agreement, signed by both parties, gives the artist and the publisher some security, but it still has to be fought if transgressed.