CREATIVE CONVERSATION

This post is going to confront two ideas: critiques within your studio/workspace and having a place or group to go to about your creative questions. As an artist is it very important to have an open line to critiques whenever you need it. It may seem difficult when you're not in the right situation but there are so many easy ways to have support and criticism to help you grow as an artist.

If you have a studio or workspace don't be afraid to invite other artists in. One way to broaden your connections and keep them is to have studio visits. It's also a great idea to go visit other people's studios so you get a good idea of how their process is. Maybe you'll pick up a few tips while strengthening a few connections along the way.

Join a art community. There are plenty of ways to find groups of people with similar interests or even just area in which you all reside. There are groups that are called Art Organizations which you sometimes have to pay for but you do get insider info and opportunities. You just have to figure out which is the right one for you. But either way there are groups and communities online that you can easily join right on Facebook. This is also a great way to promote a show you might be in or anything that you've got going on.

Visiting art museums. Pretty much every museum has a VIP or Membership opportunity. This allows you to rub elbows with other people in the community that have a similar interest in art history or buying art. Not to mention you get great perks like wine and cheese evenings for openings of new exhibitions and sometimes even lectures by the curators or artists themselves.

A final way to get helpful studio practice help or social media help is to comment on blogs like this one. If you want to know how to stretch a canvas or get yourself in more shows but don't even know where to start, then ask! Start up that conversation so that you get your name our there and the information that you need.

DEBATABLE: SKETCHBOOKS

From my experience, teachers of art classes try to ingrain in their students that having a sketchbook is necessary and crucial to success. Having a sketchbook on you at all times = success in the art world. I understand how this works because there have been times where I am about to fall asleep and had a great idea to write down or sketch out and my sketchbook is down by the TV. But then again I know many people who don’t use any sort of a sketchbook and don’t write anything down. Now these people are still successful so can we really relate that back to whether or not they use a sketchbook? 

Yes I agree, it depends upon the person. I am very forgetful so I have my sketchbook at hand (almost) all the time. But then again, I rarely draw in my sketchbooks instead, I write things out. Like I said in my mini bio, it helps me understand things better and I visualize everything in my head so a small detailed description is all I need to remember.

Some people use their sketchbooks as if they are their brains, scribbling everything down and constantly doodling mini masterpieces. I honestly wish I could be one of those artists. But are these people always going to be more successful than people who just write words down or people that don’t even own a sketchbook? 

Let’s look at some examples.

-Claude Monet used his sketchbooks to draw, often times whatever surrounded him or inspired him. http://www.clarkart.edu/exhibitions/monet/sketchbooks/

-Mexican director Guillermo Del Torro uses his sketchbooks for mainly writing things down but he also includes some sketches

http://flavorwire.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/sketchbook11.png

(For further pictures of famous artists sketchbooks heres a good group I found this interesting post: http://flavorwire.com/232810/inside-the-sketchbooks-of-famous-artists)

I guess it comes down to personal preference. My boyfriend is very successful at his art but because his work is all electronic he finds that he doesn’t need to write anything down. In my opinion, he should still write down the process and therefore he can easily duplicate processes or fix them down the road. But, for him, it works.

What do you guys think?