"the thing"

Temptation

Original oil painting  14x18"

by Susan Roux

What are you striving to capture in your paintings?

Place a bunch of artists in front of the same scene or set-up and everyone has a different interpretation. Are we not seeing the same colors? Are we not seeing the same light?

There is much more to painting than meets the eye...

Emotion. Our own unique response to whatever subject we choose to paint. Even the same artist on a different day will interpret the same subject differently. Who we are. What we are. Everything we've been through physically and emotionally effects how we place paint to canvas. I've been reminded of this recently.

I've noticed over the years when my actual life feels out of my control, my art tightens. It's as though I'm looking to have control over something when everything else feels chaotic. I have a student who reacts completely in the opposite way. She unleashes wildly and boldly in an emotional abstract outpour that has the illusion of somebody screaming!

What happens to your art when life feels out of your control?

Even when life is going along normally, we focus on capturing different things. Is it a feeling you're trying to capture? Perhaps creating an ambiance? It is technical fundamentals? Is it certain colors you wish to play with?

When we decide on a subject to paint, there is something about that subject that spoke to us to make us choose it over all other subjects at that moment. What is that something? What was it about your subject that spoke to you? Whatever it was: the shadow play, the colors, the movement, the serenity, the lines, the structure... This should be your top priority. This should be "the thing" you're trying to capture. It is where your passion lies.

No one will feel about "the thing" exactly like you do. What captures you about the subject is what you should be striving to capture in your painting.

Ignore all those voices in your head that are telling you so and so said I should do it like this or so and so would do it this way. When you're trying too hard to focus on someone else's method, you're not following your own unique voice. Yes there are those times of learning/studying which require thought about the teacher's words. But any other time, the only thing you should be following is your own gut feeling. Let that brush go on auto pilot. Focus on "the thing" that inspired you to paint your subject. Exaggerate it even, so your viewers won't miss it. Everything else will fall into place.

When it comes to art the thing is, expressing "the thing" is what it's always been all about.

Artistic voice

Water Yoga

Original oil painting  16x20"

by Susan Roux

When art wants to pour out of you, let it.

Sometimes what feels the most natural in painting gets pushed aside by the artist and thought of as being "nothing" because of the ease with which it was created.

Please don't do this to yourself. I know too many artists that have turned away from their most exciting works because they feel it isn't worthy. How many times have I heard, "Oh that. It's nothing. I came to my studio the other night and just scribbled that out." They're almost embarrassed you saw it. They feel it doesn't compare with their other studio work and frankly at this beginning stage, maybe it doesn't. But with a little time spent developing that different look, it could be your winning ticket.

What pours out of you naturally is YOUR ARTISTIC VOICE.

Make no mistake about that.

The artist's journey can be very confusing and difficult. We spend time looking at art we admire and there's a certain trigger that drives us to try and emulate those aspects we're drawn to. It can be a very good learning tool, but when it really comes down to it, that voice inside is the one we need to listen to. There are two parts to developing as an artist. The learning part and the creative part.

These two parts are very different and shouldn't be confused, though many times they're intertwined and weave in and out of each other. We often become lost in our own webs. After all doesn't it make sense to try to paint what we love? Well, not exactly...

Your voice, like your brushstroke should be as unique to you as your signature. Nothing more exciting and invigorating will pour out of you than your own voice. It might look a bit rough at first, so don't waste time trying to paint like so and so, because what you really need to do is start working on painting like you! Do I really need to point out how many artists are trying to paint like certain leaders of our day? It takes very little time searching the internet to find dozens of painters painting in a very similar style.

You want your art to stand out. People should be able to look at your work and know instantly it's yours.

As many of you know, I'm in the process of opening an International Fine Art Gallery in Portland, Maine. I've been busy scouring the internet for artists to represent. Those artists that are painting what pours out of them without any concern to whether they have an outlet for it or not, stand out above all the rest. I know I have a good eye, but seriously, it isn't hard to spot a true artistic voice when it's floating in a sea of similarity.

So if you're caught in a flood of artists and want to be noticed, remember to shout loudly!   (in your own voice...)