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Queensboro Bridge construction, 10X8, Carol L. Douglas
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Rejection either makes you or breaks you. Some of us walk
away from the encounter so badly bruised that we stop putting our work in the
public marketplace. Others get up and paint again.
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The Dugs in Autumn, 12X9,
Carol L. Douglas
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Rejection is part of the artistic process. Last year, I
encouraged my pal Tarryl to apply for a show that I thought was a slam-dunk.
She was rejected. This year she encouraged me to apply for a show that she
thought I would get in. I was rejected. This has nothing to do with either of
our abilities or worth as people or inherent talent. It’s about the taste and
style of the judges.
It’s paradoxically true that we can be rejected for being
either too good or too bad; it’s easiest for critics to see and understand what
has already been done, what is in the safe middle ground.
“When they organized their first exhibition [the
Impressionists] all already mature artists who had been working for fifteen
years or more... Dissatisfied they may have been, but they did not consider
that they were as yet beyond the pale. Manet, in fact, still endeavored to show
in the Salon, and was bitterly disappointed when he was rejected.” (Richard J.
Boyle, American Impressionism)
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Indiana sketchbook #1,
12X6, Carol L. Douglas
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know if you’re interested in painting with me on the Schoodic Peninsula in
beautiful Acadia National Park in 2015 or Rochester at any time. Click here for
more information on my Maine workshops! Download a brochure here.
2 comments:
my camera is dirty inside. my light exposure skills are inadequate. out of 100 photographs i shoot maybe 3 or 4 are interesting and worthwhile in my estimation. it's discouraging sometimes to fail at creating that idealized image. yet i continue to shoot. each day. last week i received notice four of my pix have been accepted for an exhibition in which there were over 400 tightly competitive submissions...
I LOVE to hear that! Thanks!
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