I set up a meeting with an art consultant last week to review my website and get some feedback on where I'm currently at developmentally based on the works on my website. Subjecting myself to more attention and criticism is a priority for me this year.
As far as website matters go, I received a lot of good functionality critiques and I spent a lot of time this morning fixing some minor issues that are hopefully resolved now. We also talked about my art pricing, advertising, approaching galleries, etc.
However, the most interesting criticism I received from this meeting was that my work seemed to lack a "narrative" or "story" element. This didn't complete blindside me, because I have feelings of not being quite where I want to be yet; but as he continued on he told me to start thinking about "themes" and "groups" of work as I progress, and that's where he lost me.
Perhaps I missing something, but I don't think that great artists sit around and think about "themes" they want to create.
Let's take one of my favorite painters, Andrew Wyeth, for example. If you were to ask me what "narratives" or "themes" Wyeth painted, I'm going to tell you he that he just painted the people and places around him for the entirety of his career. One might be able to group together certain things like his early Maine watercolors, the Helga pictures, or the Kruerner's farm, but those were all things that played a natural role in Wyeth's life. He didn't sit there and drum up ideas.
"You see, I don't say ' Well, now I'm going to go out and find something to paint.' To hell with that. You might as well stay home and have a good glass of whisky. Really, I just walk a great deal over the countryside. I try to leave myself very blank - a king of sounding board, all the time very open to catch a vibration, a tone from something or somebody"*
Henri Matisse said that "...painting and drawing...[depend] on the profound feeling of the artist before the objects which he has chosen, on which his attention is focused and the spirit of which he has penetrated." ** ...which I interpret as meaning the painting/drawing is created right at the time of bearing witness to an object or event without prior planning.
Even Salvador Dali said that "If you understand your painting beforehand, you might as well not paint it."***
While I agree that I'm still missing something important, I don't believe that it lies in the lack of "narrative" or "story"; I think women and nature have plenty to say as they exist without prior thought and planning. I just cannot do them justice right now. But striving to find exactly what propels my art forward is something I'm prepared to donate the rest of my life to.
If you're interested in carrying the discussion further, buying my artwork, or providing general support, please check out my Patreon or find me at any of the social sites at the footer of this webpage.
Sources:
* Wanda M. Corn, The Art of Andrew Wyeth, Greenwich CT, New York Graphic Society, 1973
** Jack D. Flan, Matisse on Art, New York NY, Phaidon Press Limited, 1978
*** Salvador Dali, 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship, New York NY, Dover Publications 1948