How To Navigate Art Feedback And Use It To Develop Your Practice
From Negative Reviews to Positive Growth: An Artist’s Guide to Handling Criticism
Critical reviews can be tough to handle if you’re an aspiring artist. Receiving negative art feedback can feel like you’re being personally attacked and you may get the sense that some of the feedback you receive is unjust or unhelpful.
You wouldn’t be the first artist to struggle with negative reviews, either. Vincent Van Gogh provides a great example of art criticism that was taken poorly. During his lifetime, critiques of his work caused Van Gogh’s self-esteem to plummet and may have contributed to a number of his stays in psychiatric hospitals.
Learning how to handle art feedback is key if you want to grow and thrive as an artist. Being able to handle negative reviews and turn them into positive growth makes life as an artist that much more enjoyable, too. It’s much easier to take up your easel or camera when you are unafraid to fail and are willing to use critiques to hone your craft.
Criticism and Motivation
The fear of receiving negative reviews is enough to turn many folks away from ever-producing art. However, established artists know that failure and negative art feedback is a crucial part of the growth and learning process. This sentiment is echoed by concept artist Tyler Edlin, who explains, “Feedback is the very core of improvement and part of a larger success cycle.”
Without criticism, it’s almost impossible to know how you can refine your skills as an aspiring artist. Accepting this reality can help you stay motivated as an artist, as receiving a negative review from a trusted mentor should fuel your desire to improve, rather than dousing your creative flare.
An example of art criticism that boosts motivation may occur when you receive a few comments on your line work as an illustrator. A trusted teacher will point out the exact faults in your work and should provide tips on how to improve. This can help you set short-term goals like, “By the end of the month, I will be better at hatching or contour drawing.” By taking the negative review on board, you can work on your weaknesses and round out your skillset.
Adopting this approach can be particularly beneficial if you’re surrounded by trusted mentors who authentically want to help you advance as an artist. Receiving negative reviews from folks you trust can take the wind out of your sails if you fail to use their comments as motivation. This means that, rather than putting down your pencil or brush when told that your work isn’t up to standard, you should use the negative reviews as extra fuel when you need it most. For example, if you’re approaching a demanding deadline but are procrastinating, recall how the negative review made you feel and endeavor to put forward your best work this time.
This growth-oriented approach is an approach that renowned artists like Berthe Morisot championed. Morisot was rejected by the Paris Salon early in her career. Rather than seeing rejection as final, Morisot joined forces with the impressionists and spearheaded an entirely new way of understanding art. This completely redefined the way we understand art today and led her to produce art like The Cradle.
How to Interpret Art Feedback
Using feedback to fuel your creative fire is a great way to sustain your motivation and hone your craft. However, if you want to make the most of critiques, you’ll need to learn how to interpret art feedback. This is key, as failing to parse useful feedback from unhelpful critique will ensure that you continue to grow in ways that serve you as an artist. You can learn to make the most of feedback by:
– Establishing an emotional buffer between yourself and your art to ensure that you’re able to authentically listen to the person giving feedback.
– Aiming to identify the purpose of the feedback, so you can streamline future improvements.
– Discuss feedback with the giver once you’re in an emotionally stable state.
– Practice active listening to ensure you connect with the feedback given.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that not all feedback is useful. Typically, unhelpful critiques:
– Are rude, personal attacks.
– Lack of substance and/or clarity.
– Are poorly timed and create more problems than they solve.
Learning to parse helpful feedback from unhelpful critique is key as an emerging artist. Ignoring rude attacks from folks you’ve never heard of is in your best interest as an artist, as you’re sure to encounter plenty of bizarre, emotionally charged reviews if you create avant-garde art that pushes the boundaries of your medium or genre.
When you do receive helpful feedback, be sure to circle back around to the person who offered up their insights. Showing off your progress to an influential figure in the art world is a great way to prove that you’re invested in expanding your skills and are serious about making it as an artist.
If you’re struggling to garner useful feedback, consider networking more within your niche. Networking within your niche can help you gather useful, relevant feedback. Folks who are working on the same types of projects as you will understand the direction of your work and will be able to give feedback that is relevant to your goals as an artist.
An example of art criticism that can help you gather relevant reviews is networking at gallery openings. Search for similar artists in your area, and attend their gallery openings across the state. While in attendance, make time to speak to other folks who have attended the opening, as they likely have the same interests as you. If appropriate, invite these trusted peers to view and critique your work, as this will build your reputation and help you connect with your creative cohort.
Meta-Cognition and Self-Critique
Understanding your own artistic journey can meaningfully enhance your appreciation for your craft and help you grow as a painter, potter, photographer, or printmaker. Knowing how to give yourself art feedback can help you become more resilient as an artist, too, as self-knowledge can lead to heightened self-esteem.
However, self-critique needn’t be overly harsh. Instead, work on pivoting away from unnecessarily negative reviews of your work and aim to embrace a growth-oriented stance to art feedback. This ensures that your motivation remains high, even when you’re unhappy with an initial sketch or a final product. If you’re new to the idea of self-critique, consider keeping an artistic journal that includes simple reflections like:
– WWW/EBI: the “What Went Well”, and “Even Better If” have been used by teachers across the globe for decades — and for good reason. It encourages a growth mindset and helps you pause to appreciate the strengths of your work.
– Changeable Behaviors: Focusing on changes that you can actually make is a great way to constructively critique yourself. For example, rather than stating “I wish I was a more talented artist”, state “I will work on my art one more day per week”. This is a changeable behavior that is in your control.
– Self-Compassion: Saying something kind to yourself isn’t a way to overlook your weaknesses as an artist — it’s crucial if you want to stay in the art game for the long run. So, if you’re looking to start your day with a journal entry, consider noting something you did well in a recent production.
You can also use meta-cognition to improve your understanding of yourself as an artist. Frida Kahlo provides an example of art criticism and meta-cognition with her visual diary. Kahlo’s diary focused on her memories and experiences throughout her life and gave her an outlet to reflect on the way she felt about herself and the world around her. She used the journal to connect with herself and express her thoughts, fears, and emotions. This was a cathartic experience for Kahlo and helped hone her self-awareness as an artist.
If you’re looking to expand your social presence and want to sell more online, you should consider using some of your journal entries as social media content. Audiences love a glimpse behind the scenes of the artistic process and will promote your channel if you post content that feels authentic.
An example of art criticism that you might post online could be a sketch of a subject that you’ve been working on for a while. You can show draft versions of your illustration on your social media page and can include notes about your process in the image description. This approach can help you master social media as an artist and get more from each project that you work on.
Conclusion on Art Feedback
Turning negative reviews into positive growth can be emotionally taxing if you’re an emerging artist. However, all artists have had to endure negative feedback at some point in their careers, and the best know how to make the most out of these moments. You can use the experiences of Kahlo and Morisot as an example of art criticism and its transformative power to sustain your motivation as an artist. This is key if you want to survive in the art world, where negative feedback is as common as glowing reviews of your work.
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