Sunday scribbles #10: Make art for yourself or for others?

A joy about writing my Sunday scribbles, is that there are days that I have no idea what to write about. Today is one of them. Often I have been very busy during the week, that in most cases I write these texts on Saturdays. Yeah sorry, Sunday scribbles aren't literelly Sunday scribbles. But I do have a Sunday feeling when I am writing. Whenever I get behind my laptop, open up my web builder software and click on 'write new post' I get this Sunday feeling. It has some sort of calming effect on my mind, even though my mind is already quite at ease. Let's hope it stays like that most of the time. Some days it may take some energy or exercises, either mental or physical, to remove the clouds in my mind, but in general I am very happy with the place I am at right now. One moment where my mind is far off that center zone of calmth or contentment, is when I am painting and the result isn't exactly what I want it to be. This brings me to the question of making art for myself, meaning making stuff I love, or make art for other people, and end up with paintings I am only 80% in love with.

With the technique I am using in my art, I have the fortune of being able to make several paintings a day. Unlike other techniques they don't take days or weeks to make. This is nice because the total amount of art you create is easily increased. The downside of this amount, is that chances are higher of ending up with paintings you don't love 100%. This is something that I am still struggling with. I started out making art for myself, and because I love doing it. But because the feedback is so diversive, I also want to keep as many people as possible entertained. So when I am in the arena, I find it hard to decide if I am making something which I adore myself, or something that will be loved by the masses. Maybe this is a struggle some other artists also have had, or maybe this is something no artist has. I don't know, I am still quite new to this. Describing myself as an artist is still feeling quite strange. Then again, I never was very fond of describing someone with just one word.

So, thinking about wether or not I should make art for myself or other people, I got back to the basics. Why am I doing it? Because it makes me happy, and I like making beautiful things. Okay, now we're getting somewhere. I can make myself happy making things I like. I think that if I were to discuss this with a child, the child would be quick to say: 'If you are more happy making things you love, without thinking about someone else, then why don't you always do that?'. Guess I have my answer there. Often times when I am overthinking stuff, I wonder what a child would have to say about it. During my teens I have often been a babysitter, and I remember getting the easiest advice ever from those kids. I assume the saying is actually true: the truth comes out of a child's mouth. It may not be the best approach to certain problems or dilemmas, but it's another interesting point of view, and that can always help.

At the moment I am reading the book 'Thinkers of today, for the world of tomorrow' by Alicja Gescinska. It's a Dutch book about a woman interviewing great thinkers of our time. I got this one from a good friend who thought I would find it interesting, and it is. One of the interviewees is Theodore Dalrymple. He's an art lover in a very broad sense of the word and he said the following: "Life without art would be pointless, empty and superficial. Humanity needs artistic expression. I can't imagine a world where nobody tries to express themselves." So combining the idea of expressing oneself, and focussing on making myself happy, it's an easy answer to the question. Yes, I make art for myself, and if people don't like it, it's not going to make me less happy. Luckily it will make me even happier when people like it, but let's not try to control those external factors. I know what kind of paintings I make, are making me happy, and that is something I can control. So I will gladly listen to words shared by the likes of Tony Robbins, and focus on the stuff I have control over. That is something I cannot highlight enough: please do whatever you like, and stand by what you do. There's no use in doing it slightly different just to please others. Just keep doing you for the full 100%, it'll be way more fun that way ;-)