Just as I’ve been moving my work more vigorously towards painting abstract in style, l get a strong tap on the shoulder. You know the one. That part of you that tells you, leads you, compels you, calls you to do something.
This particular tap was compelling me to enter a local and prestigious art award with the theme of Landscape.
This brought up a major stumbling block for me;
- Although I love traditional landscapes, I don’t really paint them, so what do I enter?
A second challenge presented soon after;
- What if I don’t get in?
So, as I’m getting this tap, which is coming to me as constant reminders through social media and friends sending me the promotional material along with that feeling that this experience is somehow going to be beneficial, all I’m thinking about is traditional landscapes. It’s just not where my heart is.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m in complete awe of artists that can depict a realistic landscape. I know some artists whose technique and abilities are outstanding in this regard. I also know that traditional landscapes are not for me. I don’t know how I know; I just know. So already, I’ve got myself in a bit of pickle about this. Feeling compelled to enter but not wanting to produce a landscape or what I think is a landscape.
I was falling into an old, self-limiting trap around art and how I define it rather than what it is. Asking others with more training and experience added to my confusion as people’s definitions of landscape artwork, varied.
The First Step
I started with the basics… I took a look at the previous winners of the art award.
This is an award I hadn’t entered before and most of the promotional material around it and also from my own memory of attending as a patron was traditional landscape in nature.
I quickly discovered, much to my delight, many of the prize winners had abstract-like landscapes and designs. My heart lifted immediately. I wasn’t limited to a traditional landscape.
The opportunity had opened up and lead me to learn more about what the differences between abstract art and contemporary landscape art.
Abstract Art
Abstract art, according to the Tate in London, doesn’t attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead use shapes, colours, forms and gestural marks to give effect.
It is described as non-objective or non- representational. This means it is not trying to accurately represent something. Some say this departure from the accurate reality can be slight, partial or complete. Others disagree and say that there can be no representation of visual reality.
Contemporary Landscapes
Contemporary art is distinguished by the very lack of a uniform organising principal, ideology or ism.
“Contemporary Landscape Painting is a genre in contemporary painting in which outdoor environments or natural scenery are depicted―think of mountains, fields, forests, rivers, or seas. The artist does not strive to obtain a pure naturalist depiction, rather to develop a contemporary perspective on the genre.” (CAI)
According to CAI, a contemporary landscape painting needs 4 components;
- Created between 1960/1970 up to today
- The artist intends to take on the genre in a new and contemporary manner
- The aesthetics are time-bound to painting today
- The landscape becomes relevant in a contemporary context.
We’re only going to look at the first two points for the time being in this article.
While the first point is pretty self-explanatory, Created between 1960/1970 up to today it’s the second point I want to draw to your attention.
It implies that the artist’s aim is not to paint the landscape in the tradition, style and technique of a traditional landscape painting. The artist is not trying to replicate the landscape as it appears in ‘real life’ but see the subject matter through a different lens and then applies that contemporary perspective to the landscape. Meaning that the artwork may not resemble the original landscape much, if at all.
So, a contemporary landscape may look a lot like an abstract painting but the difference is intent!
A contemporary landscape artist is intending to add a different and new perspective to a landscape scene. An abstract artist may not have this same intent.
For me, it’s about feel. A contemporary landscape has a scope, a connection to the land in some way. Well, that’s the way I create contemporary landscapes – they all have a connection to the land or sea or another natural feature.
Deeply connecting the artwork to the subject matter, thought or feeling is such a joy as an artist.
And part of my endeavours as an artist is to design and create works that encourage the viewer to see past the rocks, water, trees, hills, mountains, sun, sky and fields as they appear to the eye and see through the eyes of the heart that feel the essence in the artwork giving an experience more than just visual but heart felt and moving.
As for my own stumbling blocks, I’ve learned that most of the time, I don’t need to know the all the little intricacies of styles of art and their definitions to paint from the heart and express myself authentically. But ‘throwing the baby out with the bath water’ is not helpful either because it’s through experiences like this that I add to my own art knowledge, build courage within, unravel and refine old motives and engage with my inner coach.
My Takeaway Learning
Assuming doesn’t work!
My assumptions about what landscape art is and how my work did or didn’t fit this definition was such a huge artistic block.
Taking time to engage my inner coach helped me become aware of my motives for inaction.
Shining light on my need to get it ‘right’ or the worry about wasting time submitting the wrong work for the category of landscape or even spending money to enter, highlighted my underlying fear that my work maybe rejected/not accepted and I had quietly internalised that fear to mean that “I” maybe rejected, rather than my artwork.
It’s so easy to internalise the rejection even when there could be 100 different reasons why an artwork doesn’t make the final cut into an exhibition.
The Result
While still feeling tense about submitting my entry to this particular art award, I did it anyway.
And guess what…?
I didn’t get in.
It happens. My next challenge was not letting the outcome stop me from getting back on the horse and entering the next art award.
For more about working with your art process, overcoming creative blocks and getting yourself ‘out there’ try the art process section of my blog, or perhaps you’d like to try one-to-one coaching with me.
Source:
CIAcontemporary art issue gallery (www.ciagallery.com): http://www.contemporaryartissue.com/the-best-contemporary-landscape-painting-a-complete-survey/
Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/abstract-art
https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/what-is-abstract-art-informel