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Today I was interviewed by children’s book author Mindy Hardwick, on the topic of mentoring. The interview is up on her blog today! http://mindyhardwick.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/carla-sonheim-interview/
Thank you, Mindy!
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In the interview I mentioned John, an 80-year-old out of Florida who first wrote me in November after finding my work online. He bought “Drawing Lab” and sent me some cool drawings! Then, in late December he wrote the following:
Carla,
I just spent several days reading/living with ALL of your post on the Snowball Blog.
It was a very wonderful trip. Thank you ever so much!
However, I fear I am copying your work and that bothers me, and it only slightly better than not drawing at all.
My hunch (said Quasimodo) is this must happen to you frequently.
I know you are very busy, but could you point me to something you may have written on the subject?
John F.
* * *
Dear John,
I can’t remember specifically writing about this before. I definitely should clarify my thoughts, though, and thank you for the opportunity to start the process by writing to you!
I’ll start by saying that I really don’t think there is anything new under the sun. We are all copying each other, taking inspiration from those who inspire us! For me, the art that has inspired me are the works of Picasso, contemporary illustration, Outsider Art, children’s art, Iranian children’s book art, and Dr. Suess (in “The Cat in the Hat,” for example, there is a tiny illustration of the two kids with surprised expressions that really amazes me, as the faces are about as big as a green pea! So much expression with just a few dots!).
Especially when first learning, it is easy to create works that are similar to the artist you might be currently studying. It’s kind of similar to the experience you might have had at school where you read an author with a specific voice, and the next essay or letter you write has some of the sensibilities of that author. Or, when you go to Texas and suddenly find yourself talking with a little bit of a twang. This is normal and temporary, and I don’t think you should worry about it. What happens next is that you will find another artist you admire, and those sensibilities will be incorporated as well, and then another, and then of course (and most importantly), “YOU” will dominate the process: your experiences (what interests you), your media likes and dislikes (pencil vs. crayon vs. paint vs. computer?), your physical health (shaky hands?) — all these will mix together to create your own “John F.” style.
In fact, like life, the YOU is so strong of a force that your own drawing and painting style CAN’T HELP but develop and be unique.
(I should point out that from the drawings you have sent me, I can already see a style that is very separate from mine. Your Santa Christmas card, for example, was amazing and something I couldn’t have ever done! It was a mixture of Picasso’s one-liners, cartooning, a tiny bit Carla, and mostly YOU! )
John’s Santa:
You might have read this on my blog recently but it bears repeating here:
From “Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice” by Ivan Brunetti:
“We all begin by imitating the styles of our favorite cartoonists, much like apprentices observing a master. Your own work will likely be derivative for quite some time; constant practice, however, will make your work unique.” —
So I think my advice is to try not to worry! Just draw. Look for other artists that resonate with you, and try to copy their style for a session. Ask yourself what you like about a particular artist’s style, and compare it to what you know of yourself and your personality. File it away. Then, draw from life and your imagination and your wealth of experiences and memories. Have fun!
Carla
P.S. Oh! I should add the drawings of Saul Steinberg to my list of inspirations!
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UPDATE: After seeing today’s post, John sent this drawing… fantastic!
Thanks for the great, clarifying post Carla. And for sharing that absolutely fantastic Christmas card of John’s!
Carla and John – Thanks for asking the question John! I, too, have worried about this. Asked my art teacher daughter, too. She responded just as Carla did. Just keep drawing. Appreciate you all addressing this question as we all try to figure out how to encourage our inner individual as we learn more about our own drawing.
Very well put. Great advice, thank you!
Thank you Carla and John.
I think this is something we all think about when we are learning from another artist and you have such a good response.
Thank you both for sharing your work. This blog is so inspirational to me!
XO
-Dawn
I was experiencing exactly the same thing while I read your blog from the start and tried to do Silly 1. I mean, me drawing a bird? Come on! But for now I decided it doesn’t hurt – and for me, it doesn’t even hurt in the long run, because I just want to have fun. But when I finally get around to doing the Portraits, I hope I get drawings different from the… birds and the fishes and the elephants. (Me? Elephants? Unthinkable!)
Incidentally, yesterday I got my own copy of “Lessons from Lucy” and again, they were different Carla drawings. I can live with that.
Thank you, Carla.
Dear Carla, Your response to John is so insightful and honest. Good heavens, if we could all look at our learning processes as you do, wouldn’t life be wonderful. You have climbed so high in my estimation, that I would recommend you to anyone/everyone as a very exceptional teacher and mentor. Thank you so much for being in my life. Hugs, Ethel
Thank you.
Wonderful question and response! It reminds me of something the American painter Robert Henri wrote in The Art Spirit. “Don’t worry about your originality. You couldn’t get rid of it even if you wanted to. It will stick with you and show up for better or worse in spite of all you or anyone else can do.” I try to keep that in mind.
Forgot to say how much I adore John’s Christmas card!
What a great letter to John! I’d love to know more about Outsider Art! Thanks for the great interview on my blog today!
What wonderful letters! Love John’s letter, made me smile & then think “hey, I know what he means!” Your response is great and provides a perfect way to think about it.
Thank you Carla. Great interveiw. I loved the letter from John. I too have wondered the same thing. What a great answer to his letter. I just adore his Santa!
dear carla, your answer to john was helpful to all of us wannabe’s. you put it all so nicely! thanks and thanks to John for posing the question. his santa is wonderful and not you!
Dear Girls,
I can’t tell you how exciting it is to hear from so many lovely women at my age. Where were all of you 50 years ago??? I’ve always been fond of women! My mother was a woman, as you probably know. And, Carla with her exciting, humorous approach is a pure joy. I thank all of you from the bottom and top of my heart for your comments on the Santa drawing. All of you have really made my day a very special one.
John F.
Carla, what a great story – I couldn’t agree with you more, we start off using someone’s work as inspiration and then we make it our own. I remember reading your post about how you were going to sit down with some drawing books you had and try things out and in that post you also explained how it then becomes your own – I agree!
Thank you Carla.I go from artist to artist and seem to be just copying. Your comments have given me hope.
Carla, thanks for the insightful post, I especially liked your reference to embracing a shaky hand;…as part of our own individual artistic style!
And John…all I can say is…send more! Your work is delightful! Thanks.
My mother asked me one time, as we were looking at a quilt that I did not like, “What about it don’t you like?” I had to stop and think about it, before I could answer. That really taught me something. Since then, I bead in colors I never would have before, and I try things I turned my nose up at before. It’s always good to pay attention to things you like, but don’t ignore the things you don’t like.
Oh I couldn’t agree more! I am always fearful of being seen to copy someone else, and yet like has been said – we all take inspiration from each other, so something familiar will be there, yet in our own unique style. I think my style is…erm….very unique! hahaha!