Child in Garden - good or not?

[Alexandra Tyng]

Originally Posted by Thomasin Dewhurst

. . . a lack of trust in my particular mark-making; a fear of the painting not looking like something that has already been done by someone else.

I so agree with what you are both saying. This reminds me of a critique I got from Diane Burko when I was about 20. She looked at some of my paintings and said, "Don't worry about technique--that will happen naturally over time. Just concentrate on what you want to say, and keep focused on that."

This stuck in my mind because I realized that you can't help but be original in your brush marks. Everyone is. And the things you find most embarrassingly revealing about your work are often the the "marks" by which people identify your style. Even if you try to copy someone else's style, it will end up looking like your style.

[Thomasin Dewhurst]

I think that's where critiques help: to find out out whether the feeling of discomfort we have when looking at our own work is coming from something not working or from a sense of embarrassment because the painting is so revealing of ourselves.