I often ask myself ’Why do I paint?’ Why do I paint, and someone else carves, or makes jewelry, or whatever? I think we ALL need to create and we find different ways to do it. For me, it’s painting, but it can be writing, fine cooking, baking special desserts; it can be spending special time with your children reading or doing art; it can be sewing, gardening, it can even be keeping a neat and organized home, or tinkering in the garage and inventing things.

What I’m getting at is my firm belief that being creative is a BASIC HUMAN NEED. So, what is it that being creative does for us?

• We need to feel good about ourselves and about our lives. Accomplishing something that we are proud of makes us feel better.
• There’s the pleasure we experience while doing whatever it is we choose to do.
• There’s the feeling of accomplishment when we’re done.
• There’s pride in the accomplishment.
• There’s having a purpose, something to do, and something to look forward to.
• There’s feeling that life has meaning, that we are making a contribution, leaving our mark.
• And if nothing else, it’s something to do to pass the time, or to relax.

Some think that painting should be a deep, meaningful experience, and that art, paintings especially, should convey a message, benefit society in some way. That’s a very lofty goal but I really don’t think most of us experience that at all. I believe most of us just want to make something nice, something that speaks to us, something that enriches our lives through the experience of making it and through living with it afterward and sharing it with others, now and after we’ve gone.

And the sharing with others is an important part of the experience. We need that experience to complete the process of creating. The following quote really expresses that thought well.

"Our paintings are not whole until they are seen by the viewers; our poems are not complete until a reader speaks them aloud; our goals do not become a reality until we call them into being by our voices. (Lynda Lambert, Pensylvania artist, Professor of Fine Art and Humanities; Poet; Author)

Suzette

I used to love to take workshops. From a few hours to a whole week, spending time with a professional artist, observing and then trying out new techniques, that can be so much fun. I particularly like to observe the instructor doing a demonstration. I find that I learn a lot from that.

There are different ways to take instruction in painting. From continuing classes with the same instructor, kind of like a mentoring situation, to short-term classes with different instructors, to workshops, all involve an instructor passing along HIS ideas and HIS methods and techniques.

For a while, that is a great way to learn. Learning from one instructor will tend to lead you into solid and consistent work but will not expose you to different ways of doing things. Learning from several instructors will expose you to a lot of different methods and opinions, allowing you to decide for yourself which best serve your needs.

The problem with taking a lot of workshops from a lot of different instructors, is that you start to get scattered and lose focus. You get all these great ideas but a lot of them do not work together, so how do you incorporate them into your work? How do you even remember what "your" work is? I experienced this personally. At a time when my work was changing, I became very confused as to which direction I wanted my work to go into and taking workshops became a detriment rather than a help.

What I am trying to say it that there comes a time when you must fly solo. Sooner or later, you must develop your own style, find your own voice, make your own choices. You must learn to be you, instead of learning to paint like your instructor. Only then can you begin to find yourself. And trust me, the journey to find yourself will be an exciting one, full of possibilities and new adventures. It will be done without the security of having an instructor telling you where you are going wrong or what you are doing right, but the rewards, the feeling of accomplishment will be greater. And you will continue to learn, only this time, you will learn from yourself, from your own tribulations and experimentations. It will be a great journey.

Does that mean I do not recommend classes or workshops? Not at all! But like with all things in life, I recommend moderation and balance, and an open mind.

Suzette

"My work is always better when I am alone and follow my own impressions." (Claude Monet)