BREADWORKS Exhibit of art inspired by the 2011 NYC Painting and Museum Workshop (Photo: Josh Nelson)
Photos in this post are from New York City in Spring on exhibit at Breadworks in Boulder through March 10.
It is always shocking how much work (both physical and emotional) it is to have a show, and yet I keep setting up opportunities for my students to go through the process.
Q. Why do I do this to them, and why do I keep hounding you to do it too?
A. Because, as Alyson Stanfield (art marketing guru at Art Biz Blog) wrote in a recent post: “Exhibiting your art is good for you”…
“Art is a form of communication. You might think you make art as a form of self-expression, but you know that your work is incomplete until people see it and respond to it. You understand the synergy that erupts when you are in a room full of people looking at and talking about your art.
Nothing in the artist’s experience compares.
Exhibiting your art provides a space and a time frame for people to appreciate the true colors, lines, textures, patterns, and scale. Art takes on richness in this environment that it doesn’t have when it’s sitting in your studio.
Perhaps more importantly, exhibiting your art allows you to have a dialogue with people about the work. You can’t help but learn and grow from these experiences.”
Having a show is pretty much guaranteed to take a lot out of you,
Elsy Wilkin's painting of Lillian Kennedy painting (5" x 7") on exhibit at Breadworks.
but there are rewards that you can only get if you put your work out there. Have you been putting your work out and having it seen?
In his book Fearless Creating (get it if you don’t have it), Eric Maisel tells us that artists feel the desire and pressure to show their work from the moment they begin to create. He explains that artists often feel an equal or greater pressure to NOT show (hence all the turmoil). He offers insights and tips for getting past the resistance.
The NYC in Spring exhibit shows work created during and inspired by the 2011 workshop. Can you join us for this year’s NYC WORKSHOP (April 26 – 29) ? Registration is now open and spaces are filling.
Thank you for all your efforts in helping us students in the “showing” process. It *has* been and is important. I learn something new each time we do a show. These have been invaluable experiences for me, and they have really helped me grow as an artist. I do so appreciate you!
Yes, exhibiting your art is good for you! I always find it helpful to see how my work looks in an exhibition, how it holds up surrounded by other works. And sometimes an exhibition will lead to your work being purchased. When someone takes your work home and lives with it, it has a life of its own. Thanks Lillian for encouraging us all to show our work and grow as artists.
Lillian,
I am in India collecting all kinds of ideas for paintings. Hope to be more creative this year and show more of my paintings. You are such an inspiration.
Elaine
Oh Elaine, How exciting. Now I’m waiting to see images from Mongolia, India, and painting on bagels!!