Originality

I recently listened to American painter and writer James McCrea’s podcast Why We Need the Art of YOU. According to his wisdom, making art is not about how skilled or popular you are but how TRUE you are to yourself and your own creative process. He discusses what he calls the yin and yang of art making. The yang is the ego, the marketing, the willingness to keep at it, while the yin is the intuitive, the soul part that expresses your authentic self. If you create only from the ego, chances are your work will lack depth (and true authenticity) but if you create only from the yin, you may never get to finish anything! As with all important things in life, balance is the key. But generally, it’s better to be authentically imperfect rather than inauthentically flawless. To quote James: “Authenticity is your currency; it’s what comes most naturally to you.”

Elizabeth Gilbert also has important things to say about staying true to your own creativity. In her book Big Magic she writes, “Self-doubt and imposter syndrome are common among creatives. All the noise out there about what makes a “real artist” and the pressure to do something totally original can be stifling. Here’s a freeing thought; you don’t have to take it that seriously. Creative entitlement simply means believing that you are allowed to be here- you are allowed to have a voice and a vision of your own. It might have been done before, but it hasn’t been done by you! “

So back then to my houses, water, birds, trees and patterns. I LOVE them- they are me and I am them and I will keep on creating them- “original” or not.

Sources: Sounds True podcast: James McCrae Why We Need the Art of YOU.
Elizabeth Gilbert Big Magic, Creative Living Beyond Fear (library)

I love the way when you have a small glimpse of wisdom about what makes you YOU, other sources appear saying much the same thing, only usually much more eloquently.

My small wisdom breakthrough came not long after I finished River Houses (pictured). I was quite happy with it but then came the usual criticism- it wasn’t good enough and totally unoriginal. I berated myself for producing yet another image of colourful village houses by a river with the inevitable birds flying overhead and a few trees here and there. And to make things worse, when I voiced this criticism, my husband, rather gleefully I thought, pointed out other works around the house which looked suspiciously similar. But after a while it dawned on me - hang on a minute! I LOVE making these images so why not just keep going? And furthermore, what exactly did I mean by “original”? Other artists’ work? If copied them I would lose my own expression but if I did it “my way” it would once again look like my work, which is not very original… (Do you see how we artists go round and round and tie ourselves in knots?) The truth is if you are genuinely working from your own imagination and spirit, you will have a style, a preference for certain subjects and a palette of favourite colours AND THAT IS ABSOLUTELY OK! It is good to remember too that in some shape or form, everything has been done before, starting from the amazingly beautiful patterns, colours and shapes we see in nature every day.