Are you limited by invisible critics?

I’d love to say I don’t care what people think of my paintings. But I’m human. We all want our work to connect, to be understood.

“In terms of priority, inspiration comes first. You come next. The audience comes last.” – Rick Ruben

It’s counterintuitive, but the more personal our work gets, the more universal it becomes. Connection with our paintings doesn’t happen because we’ve shown our work off as correct or perfect. It happens when we allow the work to feel alive. Paintings live when the artist making them is fully present to the shifts and surprises in their work. Allowing the process to lead, following their instincts, and being open to the results. This is how we share of ourselves.

Figure 2 – Gabriel Mark Lipper – Acrylic on Panel  – 12″x12″

So how do I tap into my own vision instead of seeing my work through someone else’s eyes?

I start by having a stern internal dialogue with my imaginary panel of critics before they hijack the whole process.

Then I get quiet. I let curiosity take the lead. I chase what excites me instead of what makes sense. Sometimes that means painting a face and then smearing it out completely, just to see what happens. Sometimes it means layering colors I’m pretty sure don’t belong together. Sometimes it means pushing a painting past the point of comfort, past the point of “correct,” into something raw, something unknown.

So here’s to shutting down our imagined critics, quieting the noise, and painting what we want to see, and what we want to share.

What would you create if you weren’t worried about getting it right?

What feels most like “you” in your own work?

Are you limited by invisible critics?