Part 3, my response to Rob. I’m reposting in full because I think it is important.
Hi Jane. Of course your right about other peoples reasons for painting being dead and that its not dead if you dont want it to be, that is very well put. Pushing the boundaries so that painting is relevant and with patience and searching for the right opportunity with the right brief I am sure that is achievable. And that is undoubtedly one of my ‘sometime in the future targets’. All your conclusions are exactly the same as mine. I wanted to describe the corner I found myself. Part of this this ‘self pity painting rant’ is really a cathartic stratergy to actually start painting and I am planning ‘painting’ to be part of the journey which lies along the ‘Turn Left’ option on my Blean project. In fact the point of my Blean blog was to place myself in a situation so that it did not matter if my work there was paid or unpaid it was to provide a stimulating arena to make work. As it turns out now there is a paid element to it. The best of both worlds. A very public way to show my thought process, but that is the point of a blog. I am proud not to have completed my MA, but I had hoped it would enable me to re-learn how to explore ideas which stimulate me in a personel development way, not a client stakeholder agenda way. I failed to achieve that. So turn left in the blean and blind searching will be on show? I have 5 paid projects all going on now(including the Blean) so unpaid personel art time will be small, but most importantly ongoing. And I know you’re not arguing, as this is an essential exchange of views and perspectives that never could happen in my shambolic attempt at academic study. My learning is done in a situations like this (in public? I am a public artist remember), just that this is a blog one! as we used to say at junior school ‘Power to your elbow’ Jane.
Dear Rob, thank you for your comment and good nature. One thing further I would say in response to your comment: I am proud not to have completed my MA, but I had hoped it would enable me to re-learn how to explore ideas which stimulate me in a personel development way, I failed to achieve that.
I would say it is not you that failed; it is the MA programme you entered which failed you.
You are enabling yourself to re-learn how to explore ideas which stimulate your personal development as an artist by undertaking this process of finding your own way back to painting. Re-learning ways to explore ideas is not something that someone can teach. It is a path we must forge on our own, but most certainly it is a path to forge in the company of others because as you said, there is stimulation in discourse.
I hope I can accompany you sometimes on the journey.
