My old art professor told me my paintings were 'too safe'

Was at a critique session 2 years ago at community college. Professor pointed at my landscape and said 'you never commit to the ugly parts'. She was right. I always softened shadows, made colors prettier than real life. Started leaving mistakes in. Paint drips, weird mixing. Got way better feedback after that. Has anyone else had a teacher call them out on playing it too careful?

4 comments

4 Comments

jana_jones1mo ago

Wait, she said you don't commit to the ugly parts?

seth_singh201mo ago

Laughing at myself because I definitely bail when things get messy. I'll clean out a full garage but won't stick around for the emotional heavy lifting. It's a bad habit I'm trying to break, but man, the ugly parts are tough.

violar3525d agoTop Commenter

Oh man, I've been there. It took me a while to figure out that the ugly parts are usually the ones that actually matter the most. For me, I started small by sticking with one uncomfortable conversation or task all the way through, even when every part of me wanted to quit. Turns out, dealing with the mess head on made everything else way easier to handle. Now I try to remind myself that if it feels ugly and I want to run, that's probably the exact spot where I need to stay put.

stellaperry1mo ago

@jana_jones right, she meant I was hiding from the uncomfortable stuff and it was hurting my work.