I was involved in North Somerset Arts Week up at the Quarry, with open studios and an exhibition, and although it all ended over a week ago, its only now that I have felt the energy to blog about it.
It really drained me
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it too, its good to have people coming in and seeing the work, and this does bring with it a new kind of energy, but I was up there most days and just found it really tiring. Exhibiting, selling and going public with my work is probably the thing I struggle with the most about being a painter. And also, there is something really disconcerting about the fact that putting your stuff on a wall gives people free reign to say WHATEVER they wish. Again, I had lots of positive comments about my work and these were great to hear, but there were a few negatives in there too, and one or two people (you know who you are Vera!!) who gave it to me with both barrels!! I always find this a struggle. I know not everyone will like what I do, and it would be very strange and disagreeable if they did, but if I saw something I don't like when viewing art and the artist was stood right by it, I would never DREAM of being nasty to them about it! When I put my work on a wall, I'm putting up a big piece of myself, so when people dismiss it in such vocal terms, they are (unbeknown to them) directly dismissing ME. However, every time I exhibit, it gets easier I suppose, easier to feed off the positive comments, and easier to put two fingers up to the critics!
1 comment:
I managed to miss everything in north somerset arts week this year, it would've been nice to come up to the quarry and see you but it all coincided with me getting ready for my exhibition in bristol (on til Sat) and end of term at uni (deadline tomorrow). I so know that feeling of being sat there when people are talking about your work- it can be pretty soul destroying, but try and focus on the positives!
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