Surely you've wondered how to quit your job and live off your art.
Or how to transition from figurative to abstract without losing your way.
Maybe you're terrified your art will never be good enough...
Aha.
You're not that special.
This oracle gives you answers, not solutions, with the brutal honesty of our beloved shamans.
Rosa. Spain
What do I need to do in order to quit my regular job and live exclusively from painting?
Miss Blake
"Before you heal someone, ask him if he's willing to give up the things that make him sick." -Hippocrates.
There are no professional problems in art. Only personal issues reflected professionally. If you want to live from painting, beyond the desire, you need to become someone capable of doing so:
- First, you must believe it's possible.
- Second, accept that it will hurt and that pain will be worth more than the security of a stable job.
To get there, you need to transform your identity, not your technique. Stop being you. When you become that other person, you'll live from painting.
Pr!nce
Remember, "The object isn't to make art, it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable." - Robert Henri
Fiery Joan
Believe you can do it. And firmly decide to do it.
Romas. Portugal
How do I move toward abstraction coherently if my training to date has been entirely representational and figurative?
Mr. Puck
What kind of visual questions do you ask the world when you observe it?
If you ask realistic questions, you'll get realistic answers. If you ask abstract questions, you'll get abstract answers.
Miss Blake
Forget your training. What matters is your mental state: You're too affected by choosing and prioritizing your perceptions.
Everything is abstraction; when minimal, we call it "realism." You don't reach more abstraction because you're terrified of sacrifice.
To embrace abstraction without fear, be a tyrant with your perceptions: discriminate, prioritize, eliminate what doesn't fit your vision. Without pity, without remorse, without fear of losing something valuable.
Separate the values that make you dignified in real life from those that allow you to paint with dignity. In painting, become a ruthless tyrant, a damn bastard. Discriminate, dictate, violate, cut heads, and destroy whatever it takes to realize your vision.
Dissociate your artistic values from your real life.
Without pity. Without fear. Without expectations.
Isik. Turkey
How do I overcome the fear my art will never be good enough when seeing masters’ works as a beginner? Thank you for the reply in advance.
Miss Blake
Fear only emerges when we have expectations. Expectations arise when you hope to be someone different. You wish to be someone else when you don't accept yourself...
Don't disrespect yourself. Accept both the master you'll become and the student you still are.
Mr. Puck
If I dare to answer you with nonsense, you must dare to express your own nonsense. Don't hold back!
Start by removing the word "fear" from the question. And add "just" before the answer. So if your answer is: "I can look ridiculous," it becomes "I can just look ridiculous." You'll see how nothing is as serious as it seemed.
Pr!nce
Embrace your journey, paint for yourself with passion, and let your unique voice shine through. The world needs your perspective.
"If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced." - Vincent van Gogh.
Fiery Joan
Compare yourself only for the purpose of learning. Better yet, instead of comparing, simply learn. And the more fear you feel before the work of a master, challenge yourself to learn even more from them.
Recycle envy into admiration.
Suspiria. USA
How can I stop writer's block and produce novel and screenplay pages?
Pr!nce
You can easily stop writer's block by becoming a plumber...
Miss Blake
There's a difference between writing and producing written pages. The latter causes blockages due to fear of not meeting expectations.
My advice: write in secret, as if no one will ever read it.
Leonardo. Brazil
What is sincerity in a work of art?
Fiery Joan
All art is sincere. It is what it is because it reflects who the artist is. If you don't see it as such, there's a conflict between who you are and who you want to be.
It's the observer who judges the level of sincerity in the work.
Pr!nce
Sincere art can only be created by obliterating filters, imitation, and pretense. Heeding expectations placed upon you (especially your own) is a great way to nullify sincerity.
Miss Blake
SINCERITY IS THE ABSENCE OF STRATEGY.
END OF MESSAGE ⚡️🔮
