Conch Colors-6x8-SOLD

i am posting lots of smiley emoticons before i make some people angry with me on todays post. so here they are. breathe deeply and hum your favorite tune till youre sufficiently calm.

:D :D :D :D

i got a comment from doug, a very kind daily blogwatcher, who suggested maybe the cars werent needed on Conch Colors (the first one posted below) but that he liked the piece anywho. i read that and fired back (in a knee jerk fashion) that i "planned" it that way and thanked him for his input. problem was, after much thought, he was right. so i asked my painter friend for a second opinion and indeed she said that just the tops of them didnt do anything for her. you need the whole car on a street if youre going to include them. so i repainted Conch Colors leaving the blobs i had for cars out. guess what? it improved the painting and i'm thankful for doug and diane's input.

then i thought it would make a good post about the best way to give your negative opinion of an artists work.

OK here's the part you might get angry with me about. lets talk about how not to give input, especially if its to an artist. i have had people do this to me, and i've seen it done to others. critique is fine but there are right and wrong ways to give it. Doug did it the right way and i'm thankful for it. if he hadnt i would have dismissed him and not taken his thoughts seriously. to my detriment.

lets agree that the most masterful painting in existence could be arm-chair quarterbacked a million different ways. add on top of that that artwork is a highly subjective and personal creation. here are a few thoughts:

* dont think just because its their blog and you dont have to say it to their face that you can be inconsiderate. my opinion is that anonymity can sometimes breed incivility, in this digital world we live half our lives in. remember there's another insecure human being on the other end of your email of blog comment. youre not the only one. we're all insecure about something right?

*dont be judgmental and assume that the painting is "wrong" because they didnt do it the way you would have. they did the best that they could at the time. remember alot of these things are painted out in traffic with tourists asking you if theyre disturbing you by disturbing you! then just as you begin to draw an 18 wheel beer truck parks in front of the scene for 45 minutes as the light is fading, its easy to say why didnt you do this or do that after looking at it from the comfort of your computer chair or sofa, where time seems to stand still.

* unless youve established some repore (sp?) with an artist, keep your critiques to yourself. make sure they think of you, "this person has earned the right to question my decisions" Until that happens they will not look kindly on your critique of their work.

* use the sandwich method to tell your wife you dont like her choice of dresses, and painters that you dont care for a section of their painting! the sandwich method sandwiches the negative statement inbetween two tasty compliments on both sides of it. one in front, and one in back. makes the nasty part go down much easier right?

i have a person who writes to me all the time with unsolicited advice and unflattering remarks about some of my paintings (without using the sandwich method i might add) but when i go to see what their artwork looks like there's no blog, website, or artwork theyve done anywhere. that burns my hind end! easy to sit back and say this and that but have you put any paint on canvas today? this week? ever? dont critique me harshly and rudely unless youre a painter. i dont go on their stockbroker or MD website where they work and armchair quarterback their job performance. especially anonymously. thats just bad form. i delete this persons email, unread, when i see the address just to keep my bloodpressure in safe territory.

* before dashing of your pearl of wisdom, remember that there are over 2000 decisions made on a two hour painting and ask yourself, "whens the last time i got all 2000 of them right?" If the answer is just yesterday then dash off your wise advice and silently thank God youre so easy on your own stuff . and if you must offer it anyway, please use the sandwich method.

as in the case of doug he did everything right and i still responded from ego more than i should have. hey, we're all human and doing the best we can, right. I'm glad he was so nice in offering his "alternative method of solving the problem" and not chiding me for missing a few things. think about it if there are 2000 decisions to make and lets say 3 or 4 choices per decision thats 8000 ways a painting could have been painted. lets say a person paints two or three a day and thats about 24,000 things to be considered! no wonder i'm so tired at the end of the day! LOL

thanks doug and diane for making Conch Colors a better painting.

note: please dont see the above as an invitation to give me unsolicited critique on a regular basis, unless you painted outside at least five times the week you send it, and its on the internet where i can see them, or we are friends. "D

more happy emoticons in case your miffed with me for saying these things

:D "D :D "D