Get rid of substandard work
 

Robert Genn puts out a "Twice Weekly Letter of insight and inspiration for your artistic career." http://www.painterskeys.com

Here is a paragraph from his most recent letter entitled "Body of Work": I'm going to go and feed my fireplace right now...

Karin,

I tend to keep 99% of my old substandard works. I still have the very first portrait I ever did of my father. They all seem to have a sentimental value to me. It also reminds me of how bad I was before and the progress I am making.

I produce a lot of work and I'd like to think that I'll keep only a very small percentage of the substandard stuff for sentimental reasons.

There are two that I'm keeping for now. The first portrait I ever painted and also a self portrait that makes me cringe, keeps me humble and reminds me of how far I've come. I will keep them in the back of the closet and they will seldom if ever see the light of day. Eventually I plan to destroy them.

Burn it, rip it up!
 

Karin,

Oh yes, do it! I have torn up drawings on $38 pieces of paper, knifed large cavasses on 13DP Claessens, that I spent months on. When I left one of my studios years ago, the other tenants went through my trash, reclaimed some drawings and had them framed. I have my eye on my Sagendorf winner for the next slash and burn. I feel I have done only 3 or 4 paintings worth saving and I only like the work I have done in the last few years.

It keeps the studio uncluttered (hah!) and my output seemingly dear!

There are only 34 paintings attributed to Vermeer, he averaged only 2 paintings a year, but what paintings they were!

It seems today that there are so many painters, most rather dreadful, painting on acres and acres of canvas, ruining reams of beautiful paper, you need many landfills for just them! Georgia O'Keefe talked about the many miles of canvas she trashed! I do not want to add to the pollution and garbage of this world.

Sincerely,

I had a similar thing happen years ago. I stupidly tossed a stack of life drawings (in watercolor on expensive paper) into a trash barrel. I do not know who removed them (all unsigned), but years later I have seen one framed in a gallery on Cape Cod and another one framed in an antique shop in Boston.

I've learned my lesson and it was painful. Right now I ruthlessly use scissors, knives and my fireplace to get rid of the work I am unhappy with.

Indeed, the world does not need any more crappy artwork.

My very first portrait (and my very first oil painting) was ala prima. It was pretty darn good from the neck up and embarassingly awful from the neck down. I keep it because part of it is better than the work I do now. After I "learned how to paint," I lost a certain something that I wish to find again. Maybe we should start a thread on "first efforts" sometime?

Merry
 

Merry Christmas, MOM!-it's what artists have done for ages.

Am I missing something here? Tim, I don't understand your comment.

Lesson
 

The paintings that don't quite come together "not ready for primetime" make wonderful gifts to friends and family, mostly the latter.

Ahhhhh...now I get it, thanks. But I disagree as it is painful for me to look at my "failed" pieces.

If I gave one of these to a friend or family member, I would surely not want to visit them and see that nasty thing hanging on their wall. How could I expect them to treasure something that I consider garbage?

In any event, I produce a lot less "failed" pieces now than I used to. Nowadays my "slash and burn" episodes don't occur nearly as often because I am better at "correction."

My problem is that I have a lot of unfinished canvases that are in the "debatable" range.

I ask myself, am I still interested enough in the subject matter to finish them? Will the paintings ever get good enough to keep?

I need to make some decisions on those canvases and then purge at least some of them out of my garage and studio!