I'm Showing it, I'm Showing it!

Early on I bought a book by Austin Kleon - "Steal Like an Artist". Since then I had also bought another of his books - "Show Your Work!" and I've taken it to heart.

This drawing is of a "Sinclair" gas station in Summit county close to where my son owns a couple of lots. It's an old timey type of station where the pumps don't match, the building old but with a unique style and there is a "real" Sinclair dinosaur on the roof. Just one of those sights on a back county road trip.

So here it is in a drawing. My drawing is rough, simplistic and has an illustration type style to it, done only in grays. When I first started these, I thought they where next but I didn't feel they were "Art" as it was the style I could do.

But I showed my work to others.

I thought the response would be that they where nice but simplistic (they are) but art? I didn't know. I had fear (read the book - Art and Fear) that they where just ok. The more feedback I got the better I felt about them. Now they are not all winners and I do filter out ones that I know are stinkers (mostly from composition, etc.). The turning point occurred when some artist friends (think full time rent-paying, gallery showing artists) provided me with feedback that I do have a style and others like it.

It keeps me going. Thanks guys and thanks Austin for getting me to show my work.

Comments

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A Person, Artist, Software Engineer, Geologist.

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