Accepting Your Work as Art

How exactly can a person define art? We're all shown the same pieces in school: The Mona Lisa, Whistler's Mother, The Sistine Chapel, David. Some of us are even required in elementary art classes to recreate the paintings and techniques of some of the greats. With this all too clearly delineated line between art and not established in school and the public mind, it's no wonder some artists have trouble accepting what they do as art.

Accepting your art can be a very difficult process. For starters, there is the issue of trying to define what qualifies as art. This is easy with traditional mediums like painting or sculpture, but what of other mediums? Do you count craftier pursuits like bead work and polymer clay pieces as art? Or what of sewing projects? Or graffiti? And then, how do you account for non-visual media like music and dance? Are they art too? Or something completely different? The fact is: art is subjective. It's up to the viewer to determine what they consider to be art. So, as an artist, it's a personal judgment call of what is or isn't art. If you made it, and you think it's art, then call it art. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as it seems.

The next big issue deals with experience. Sure, most students have to take art classes at least in elementary school, but that doesn't necessarily make everyone an artist. Some students, myself included, are even told art is not their strong point and are discouraged from pursuing it further. When I became more interested in the visual arts later on, I just had the art teacher's voice constantly running through my head that I wasn't any good at it. Then, I realized I didn't really have formal training. I hadn't studied art theory. I hadn't studied color. I hadn't studied technique. What could possibly qualify a complete inexperienced person like me as an artist? My desire. My drive. My thoughts. My passion. That's what.

The last big stumbling block seems to be the quality. Some people dive right in and want to do absolutely realistic work. They want to make the perfect statue of an athlete or the perfect oil painting of a landscape. It's not going to happen right away. But that doesn't mean your first efforts shouldn't be considered art. I'm personally just not capable of painting realistically at all. So, I've developed my own unique voice as an artist to overcome that. I focus on mood, color, and composition more so than pure accuracy. I don't paint off of a white canvas - I do a mixed color wash on wet gesso and then work from there. The quality of a piece of art is more subjective than the definition of art. If you produce it, and you intend it to be art, it is.

Accepting your art can be a very trying process. It probably won't happen overnight. As soon as you begin to create the art for yourself, your own way, with your own mind set, you'll be able to move towards proudly calling what you do art.