Blog 5
12/09/09
I’m Not Under The Influence

I had no idea what my next blog would be about, i didn’t think i would get inspired at 9am in the morning watching a BBC news interview with Barry Manilow. We all know who Barry Manilow is with songs like Mandy, Could it be magic & my fave... Copa... Copacabana. He still plays Las Vegas and has been here at Proms in the park. He hasn’t always had the best reviews maybe due to people feeling his music may have been cheesy and not popular but his fan base has always been supportive.

In 1973 he had his first album reviewed by Rolling Stone Magazine who said he was ‘Devoid of personality and substance’ He said it hurt, and he now feels he was brave because despite the snowball effect of the bad reviews of the critics he kept going, he was supported by a small group of fans who also kept him going and kept growing, and here he is today.... still going, still working and being loved by his fans worldwide.

I don’t care what music is cool or uncool, I like what I like. It may be Brittney in the gym, Nneka for some energy, Enigma for some calm or some salsa & samba for some fun. I like what I like because it gets me going, not because someone says it should..... Or it shouldn’t!
The same can be said for art. Which critics say what, the person in a powerful position saying something good or bad.... oh well it much be true! NO! I don’t think so! They are human just like me, they don’t have the power to give my work its shine, and they certainly can’t take it away either. It is in the eye of the beholder. If YOU love it then you love it. If YOU hate it then don’t buy it and hang it on your wall...... though you never know it could always grow on you.

I think Barry Manilow is even more inspirational as an artist for having those bad reviews. Why? Because he rose above them, kept strong and confident and had belief in his own work knowing he had his fans behind him too kept him going.
There could be some awful art or music out there which gets great reviews, so people automatically assume it is great. There is some amazing work out there which critics say is crap, so people automatically assume it must be.

I say... stop being under the influence of what someone else says and listen to what your inside you is telling you. Whether you’re an onlooker or an artist, listen to yourself, have confidence in your work however it got there, regardless of what training or lack of it got you to that point. You’re doing it, believe it and don’t stop!

Barry manilow, despite what anyone thinks or says, good or bad, you have inspired me today to keep strong and believe in myself as an artist, I thank you for this!

Inspiration – Emotion – Artist behind the painting - Can you see it?

- Can you see it?

This blog is a ‘biggie’ for me. It’s laying my innermost thoughts out there. Why? Because I think people should know that being an artist isn’t as simple as just sitting down and painting, then popping a price on it. It’s not just about time spent on the piece, money spent on materials, rent on your studio space, utility bills to give you the light and keep you warm. It is also about being unable to put a price on the emotional turmoil and the price you pay as an artist for allowing yourself to go there. I’ve no idea how it is for other creative people so I’ve decided to open the doors to my mind, to get it out there onto paper, to better understand myself as an artist... a bit of written therapy.

I am a highly emotive artist and I have an abstract mind. I’m always interested in the bigger picture, aware of the nature around me and my guides helping me to be creative. I am always searching for something which gives me inspiration. BUT ‘inspiration’ to me is a bit of a loaded word. It is not all pretty sunsets and colourful butterflies (though true, these can lift the mind and make you stop for a moment). Inspirations for me are things which have an emotional influence on my heart and soul. Inspiration is light and dark, it is fast and intentionally slow, it is raw.

Music is my biggest source of inspiration. It encourages feelings to come to the surface. Music pulls you out of your everyday brain – chatter into another level of intensity.
Meditation For me can help my emotions and creativity become clearer, it brings an inner tranquillity, peace and dusts the mind clear from unwanted clutter.
To say I’m in touch with my emotions is really saying I have them on speed dial. Being a lightworker too means I am aware and open to energies around me, I feel things on a deep level, I am affected easily and I am still learning to channel it into my creativity.

Inspiration can be fleeting, it can creep up on you when you least expect it (usually when I am driving or about to go to sleep!) or it can overload you into distraction. I can get completely lost and immersed in my inspiration; it can be feelings of sadness, complete love or overwhelming loss – each emotion feeling the same as each other, almost bitter sweet.

I can be enticed into inspiration so much that my body cannot possibly achieve what the soul feels. From the soul to the brain down my arms into my hand which holds the brush. Travelling that distance dissolves the energy and can never do the feelings justice. This is why I keep painting, hoping to convey the colours my soul cries out to see, hoping to keep becoming inspired, hoping to keep refreshing the feelings of love and loss. It is the tearing apart of body and soul, the uplifting freedom of inspiration, the dark depths of sadness and the bottomless black hole of feelings you can almost touch. When you try to grab hold they grab you back and can almost crush you... all this for a painting!!!

Inspiration is energy; it can transform itself and dissipate if left unused. Sources of inspiration can fizzle out. A song which touches your soul can wear thin after hearing it for the 100th time.
Feelings become sensitized can harden against emotions making the search for inspiration go on. Like a junkie I am waiting for my next fix, creating it and throwing myself into it. I am a slave to scoring a big chunk of pure emotion filled slice of inspiration.

The search for inspiration has to go on for your creativity to live. You have to evolve as an artist, allow your work to grow to keep the feelings fresh and the inspirations raw and new. This is how you are able to grow as an artist; it is out of survival and necessity of your creative gift needing to be fed!

Highlighting helps.

Motivation

Under my mum’s strict orders my sister used to drag the covers off the bed, then 5 minutes later when I still wasn’t up she would come and grab both ankles and try to pull me off the bed... all the while I was ‘pretending’ to be asleep whilst gripping onto the bed for dear life. When she succeeded I would head off into the bathroom, pop a towel on the floor next to the warm radiator and go back to sleep for a few more precious minutes before school.

I wish someone would’ve taught me how to get to bed early so I could get up early, it would have made my life far easier now I am older!

With my sister all grown up and living in the Scottish highlands there’s only the cat to wake me up as my other half wouldn’t dare go there! I’ve always been a night owl, working in jobs revolving around nightclubs and having a partner who worked night wasn’t a great recipe for a healthy body clock. I struggle to go to bed even at 3am and then have a major guilt complex when I can’t get up for 10am after snoozing for an hour.

Living with this guilt day in day out has a huge impact on how productive you are as an artist. Reading many ‘your life’s purpose’ books I had an ‘aha’ moment (as Oprah would say) when I read...... ‘It is simple, if you are a sportsperson then train at your sport, if you are an artist... then paint’ Oh my giddy aunt, is that is all there is to it? Just go and paint?

I realised that I was becoming bogged down and not moving forward. Never mind the worry of procrastination, fighting against myself when I can’t stick to a schedule it has taken me all week to create. Forget the guilt of getting up late in the afternoon and feeling depressed about it all day. Just get in your studio and paint, regardless of how creative you feel, whether you’re inspired or not, even if you’re not in the mood! It is work. So paint. And paint I did.

Motivation has to be created, it is energy, and it has to have a starting point to gain momentum. If you sit still and wallow in the ‘why is nothing happening’ ‘what should I be creating?’ ‘Why can’t I motivate myself?’ then you are blocking yourself from gaining momentum, from allowing yourself to open up the doors of opportunity.

At the beginning of 2009 I made a commitment to my creative gift, I opened that door, I’m being proactive and it is paying off with opportunities and the occasional commission or sale. The strangest change of all is getting up at 6.30am now my partner has gone on days.

I believe my universe works for me when I work for it; it is as simple as that.

Liz McDonough

http://www.artliz.net/

Feel Comfortable With Being An Artist?

When I decided to put my creative foot down on my life and drastically reduce the hours of my day job (to about 2hrs per week!!) I found I had to change my occupation when asked ‘What do you do?’ ‘I’m an artist’ seems like such an easy answer, it is who I am, what I do, it is everything..... So why do I feel uncomfortable saying it?

I lived in Mauritius for 5yrs. I wasn’t allowed to have a job there as didn’t have a work visa. Most people lumped me in with the ‘ex-pat / stay at home mum / housewife’ category, but as my partner was a native Mauritian I didn’t fit in the ex-pat category, I didn’t have children and wasn’t your typical housewife, there was a genuine interest in me being an artist which was lovely. I used to say ‘I paint’ rather than ‘I’m an artist’ as I had only just started taking it seriously. I had a considerable amount of time on my hands to work at it, no day job distractions, no cocktails in Manchester at six every evening, no going out burning the candle with friends, no salsa, actually.... not really much else to do, once adjusted, it was great!

So, now I’m back in the UK and have decided I am going to take my new career as an artist seriously... seriously though, what is my problem with saying it? Or is it that people just can’t take me seriously? Here’s how that conversation usually goes...

Person A: What do you do Liz?
Liz: I am an artist
Person A: What do you do for a living though?
Liz: I am an artist? (Phrasing it as a question slowly in case they didn’t get it the 2nd time round)
Short pause (it looks like person A is about to say something annoying to me)
Liz: I paint, make jewellery (I add, to convince them and defend myself)
Person A: Oh, do you manage to make a living at that?
Liz: Erm, well I try!!

Why does this always happen? Is it just me? Do I not have the face of an artist, should I act a little crazy to prove it? I find it annoying that people judge you on your income; does it mean I cannot be something if I don’t make bags of money at it? At the moment I am in the volunteering and making the coffee stage of my career, and I love it regardless of the pay.
Not everyone can say they love what they do.

Liz McDonough – Ahem, artist!

http://liz@artliz.net

Connecting and Confidence

Monday I attended the Air Time 09 and A-N Open Dialogue at Castlefield Gallery. I came back buzzing with information, ideas and a something I've never experienced... being around so many artists.

If you've gone to University or share studio space you will be used to being around other artists, creative's, peers and people to bounce ideas off or to get a critical eye on your work. I dropped out of college when I was 17 so I being around many artists in one space was a novelty for me, and is something which is lacking in my life. Because I haven't had others to guide along my journey so far, sometimes I have felt out on a limb. It has taken a long time to feel as confident as I do today about my work.

Being around other artists can have its drawbacks though. I am not 100% confident when comparing myself to other artists. I accept that I am not at the forefront of contemporary art or pushing the boundaries of art, I am a simple artist compared to many others, though complex within my own world, which is enough.
We all have our creative place and creative space in this world, I am proud of myself for doing what I do, and proud of you too for doing your thing.

Monday confirmed what I was thinking.....
Blog - to get it all out of your head Liz!
Read others blogs - as there are so many interesting, inspiring artists to connect with.
Connect - find artists to connect with, to share ideas with, to exhibit with and to have a cuppa with if anyone is in Cheshire.

Oh my, I may have just opened the flood gates, I have so much more to say, but that will do for now. Blog before 9am I can happily check that off my to-do list, I'm not sure if avoiding facebook will have so much luck!
Liz McDonough
http://www.artliz.net