ANNOUNCEMENT:

☼ Since tomorrow is Easter Sunday, we're postponing our YouTube chat until next week, April 27.  I hope you'll plan to join us then when we'll be discussing Painting in Overcast Light, at 2 p.m. Eastern!

☼ If you've not yet discovered my new book, give it a gander. Read a sample by clicking the link underneath the cover's photo.

Something new has emerged as a part of our monthly workshops, something that's fleshing out to be more important to our artistic growth that I could have imagined.  We are re-writing the meaning of evaluating an artwork.

Like so many who somehow have worked our way to the forefront, I've often been asked to jury art shows.  The idea of being a judge for an art show goes against my grain, but if my schedule allowed it, I've accepted some of those requests because of my deep belief that objective evaluation is deeply lacking among too many juried shows.  And my presence always reinforced that belief, many times among contentious arguments.

A caricature by the Charles Amédée de Noé of critic's reaction to the first impressionist exhibition in 1874

But that's not the only objection I have to juried shows.  During a lifetime of teaching on the one hand, and socializing with fellow artists on the other, I know how some will put together a painting according to the judge's "taste," rather than submit work from their own unique expression.

ANOTHER WAY

These experiences have caused me to hesitate when from time to time, my workshop students expressed a wish to see what the other students were doing. Then in December, I got the idea that perhaps a sharing session in which students talk about their individual process for solving the exercise I assigned, and other students asking them questions might be a way of doing this.  

We've been testing this method for the past four months. My "ground rule" is no judging, meaning no compliments or criticism by the other students--just asking questions and/or describing what they observe regarding an individual's process of using the principle being taught.

BINGO!

It is working!  

Students are gaining deeper insight into how to be flexible when using the visual language, how to appreciate diversity of ways to use that language, and how to appreciate the differences among their peers.  

TRY THIS:

When a member of your Facebook group or "friends" posts a painting, rather than commenting with "Beautiful" or "You are so talented" or "I love your painting", try describing to that person something you observe about how they have used the visual language, and avoid saying that you like it. (Doing so might boost their ego, but not for long.)  You will be amazed how much clarity you can get and how other commenters might follow suit.

And I think you will discover that this approach will be a lot more meaningful to the artist posting than for you to comment with a meaningless cliché.

Light and Shadow: The one thing that lets our eyes see.
Visual Movement: What our eyes do when images are visible.
Seeing Beyond the Image: The possibilities beyond just describing what our eyes see.
Freeing the Artist Within (Curiosity): Finding our individual interpretation to what our eyes are seeing. 
Composing:  Finding ways to put together all that we discover.
Drawing:  Searching the potential of images.
The Craft:  Continually forging our skills to visually communicate what we continue to discover with our eyes, mind and soul.

And the eighth:

The Art:  The results when all the above are working together.