JUDGMENT HAPPENS
Untitled Drawing, mixed media on canvas, 32”x 24”, Copyright David Limrite
“Talent is the ability to do hard work in a consistently constructive direction over a long period of time.”
~James McNeill Whistler
If you show people your new painting (or sculpture, drawing, photograph, etc.), they are going to judge it. They are going to have an opinion. They are either going to like it or dislike it. That’s just the way it is.
You create anyway!
It is important to remember that it is not you that is being judged. Your work is not you. You are not your work.
What if you show a newly completed painting to someone and they don’t like it. So what? Does this particular person need to like it? If so, why? People are not going to like everything you create. You must create your work for you, first and foremost. Get in the habit of telling yourself. “I am doing this work for me.”
Do not let others get involved in your creativity, unless you trust and respect them, feel safe with them, and really, really value their opinion.
What’s the worst that can happen if someone does not like your painting? If your answer is, "I will feel bad,” then are you going to feel bad every time someone does not like your work?
Do your best to find other ways to feel good about yourself and your creativity such as: completion, a sense of accomplishment, keeping a regular painting schedule, learning a new technique, improving your ability to mix certain colors, loving the process, or mastering composition. Just to name a few.
By the way, you are probably not going to love everything you create either. I certainly do not love everything I create. Not by a long shot. But I love the process of creating. It is the process that keeps me going whether I like what I have created or not. If I end up loving what I just created, and others do too, then that is a wonderful bonus.
Judgment happens and we create anyway.
I would love to know what keeps you creating.
Best,
David