It has been a pleasure for me to share my thoughts and the thoughts of my art friends during the past few weeks regarding how to evaluate your own work or perform what I call Self Critique. Feeling good about what we do is really great but living in a state of delusion is unfortunate so we have to learn how to find what might be changed and celebrate what is perfect as it is.
Here is a list of ideas on how to help you hone your skill at looking at your work with a sharper eye.
- There are many answers for any issue in art whether technical or conceptual. Be willing to take a chance on your ideas. Be brave and give yourself credit where it is warranted while remaining open to hearing the opinions of others.
- Work with intention and then evaluate whether or not the finished work fulfilled your intention.
- Be willing to occasionally suspend judgment and allow your intuition to lead the way.
- When you view your finished work ask yourself if you would be engaged by this work if it weren't your own?
- Compare your work to someone's work you admire. What are the qualities in that work that you admire? Can you find those qualities in your work?
- If you attend workshops, look at your work and see if your work still carries too much influence from exercises you may have done. Have you processed what you learned in a workshop or class in a personal way or does the work still carry the stamp of a workshop project?
- Does the work have presence or soul? Can you see or sense the "something special" factor?
- Consider how your work fits into today's world. Does it look fresh or tired?
- If you are unsure about a work, hang the work and study it over time. Invite ONE respected friend to address specific questions or concerns you may have. Remember when doing this, you're looking for input but you don't have to agree with all or any of the possible observations.
- Be willing to put the work away and review again later.
- Be willing to invest in your work by spending the time required to know yourself and what you want to say.
Thank you for spending time here at
Studio 24-7.
