In this post, I want to point out a great step that you should add to your art learning journey, which is to critique your own art.
Why do I think it’s important to critique your own art and how to do it?
Why is it important to critique your own art?
Growing up, we learn to rely on our teachers and parents to judge what we do. And it is not that you must ignore these judgments when you grow up, but that you must first work hard to develop internal standards and a high degree of independence. You should acquire the capacity to see your own work with some distance, so that when others react to your artwork, you can distinguish between what is worth paying attention to and what you should ignore. What you want, in the end, is to internalize the voices of those around you, so that you become both an observer and the owner of your work. If you fail to do so, you will have no internal gauge as to the value of your work, and you will be blown here and there by the opinions of others.
It’s definitely not something we hear more often, nor is it the easiest thing to do. When judging our own art, we’re either far too critical or far too generous. But if done properly, we will be able to find our areas of improvement and also be aware of our great little achievements, which will keep us going.
Let’s cut this process into doable tasks:
- Objective analysis
- Identifying what needs work
- Identifying our strengths
- Step-by-step process of critiquing your artworks
I- How to critique your own art?
First and foremost, you resist the temptation to be nice to yourself, and you avoid becoming your own worst critic as well. The secret is to be as objective as you possibly can.
1- Objective analysis
If you want to critique your own art, you will have to stop being biased. Oftentimes, we are aware of our mistakes, and struggles, as well as the effort that went into every piece of art. Therefore, to critique your own art, you have to detach from the load of emotions you carry towards your work and stop comparing your art to that of great artists.
So, to highlight a correct way that has worked for me in the past, I would say to make paintings only for studies.
For learning purposes, you will likely have fewer emotional attachments to the paintings you create. Once your painting is ready, start analyzing it as objectively as you possibly can. Don’t shy away from your mistakes, and don’t ignore the things you did right.
This will help you figure out your weaknesses and your strong points. But, if you can’t tell the difference between both, then I suggest you do a bit of research and learn about composition and the elements of art as well.
You can click here to learn what the 7 elements of art are about.
2- Identify what needs work
Look at your painting as a whole.
Is it pale? Uninviting and bland?
Maybe you need to work on your color palette or color combination. It could also be the quality of the paint you’re using. Some paints just dry paler than they look straight from the tube.
Is there anything too big, too small, or just off?
Maybe you need to rework your perspective, scale, and measurements. Or maybe you painted your artwork while looking at it from a different angle. You should always face your paintings and have them at the same level of your vision; not over, nor under.
Once you’ve identified the problems, you should identify a few areas for improvement next. You should focus on the root causes. Don’t be ambiguous. Why does your painting appear to be off? Perhaps you should improve your dexterity and control. Why does a color seem out of place? Is it because you don’t understand color properly, or because you don’t know how to use it? Perhaps you need to work on your color-mixing abilities. Here’s a little article that could help you with that.
What to do next?
Whatever the weakness you spot, that’s where you should focus your effort.
Start by googling the mistake you made. There are plenty of blogs, YouTube videos, and TikToks of other artists that may have improved the same weakness you have and are sharing their tips. Also, don’t forget about books, they often contain actual solutions to your problems, given by professionals and experts. I highly recommend you read actual books even if it’s not your thing, because you never know what else you can come across while reading art books.
Once you have some data, tips, procedures, theories, etc. on how you can work and improve your painting weaknesses, it is time to move on to practice.
What works for others might not always work for you! You have to try things yourself.
Side Note: Keep in mind that art supplies do help in shaping the outcome of your paintings. Working with the right tools is one of the most effective shortcuts in painting.
A shortcut I said, not a necessity! So if you’re a beginner, don’t stress over having great art supplies, but keep in mind that it helps, and don’t over judge the paintings you create with basic art tools.
But if you are willing to invest in getting new art supplies, I would recommend you check out the article I wrote on this subject, A Beginner’s Guide to Getting the Right Painting Supplies.
Now that we have our areas of improvement noted, let’s move on to our strengths.
3- Identify your strengths
To keep going and never give up on painting, you’ve gotta give yourself credit when credit is due. Painting is hard, and if you have done something the right way and it looks good, pat yourself on the back. But again, you have to be brutally honest with yourself. Don’t boost your ego if you don’t deserve it! That’s harmful.
If your painting looks better than your previous one, acknowledge that!
I’m proud of you if you kept your calm after spilling your paint or making a mistake. And you should be proud of yourself too.
If you’re not judging your work as being ugly and useless, you’re doing it right!
Wins aren’t only about painting the right shapes and mixing the right color, it’s more about having fun and controlling our emotions as we dive deep into it.
So I want you to acknowledge your feelings and your happiness rate in parallel with your techniques and creativity. Note these strengths and use them as a way to calm useless critical thoughts that you have from past experiences.
II- Step by Step Guide to critique your artwork
Last but not least, I want to show you how to critique your own artwork exactly the way I do it.
So, let’s critique a painting I have created so you can get a demonstrative idea of how to do it yourself.
Subscribe to my blog for this part:
Conclusion
While it’s very important to critique our own art on a regular basis, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with others criticizing us. What I’m saying is, mistakes and failures are precisely our means of learning; they tell us about our own inadequacies. And it is hard to find out such things from people, as they are often political in their praise and criticism.
“Accustom yourself to criticism. “Confidence is important, but if it is not based on a realistic appraisal of who you are, it is mere grandiosity and smugness, and it will weaken your will”.
(Robert Greene, (2012), Mastery, Viking Adult)
Such very useful tips, thanks