It is not clear exactly who said “Good artists copy, but great artists steal.” It might have been Picasso. The poet TS Eliot wrote something very similar in 1920. Regardless, the quote brings to the forefront an idea, a concept that I am consistently highlighting in all my Art2Life programs.
It has to do with creating your Art from looking primarily inside of yourself instead of outside of yourself. I teach a lot of workshops and I understand and appreciate the temporary influence a teacher’s work may have upon a students. While this is to be expected, I am not at all interested in having this be the final result for my students.
When someone is copying someone else’s art, it just means that they are looking outside of themselves more than they are looking within. In the beginning everyone is trying to figure out what kind of Art it is exactly they can make. Everyone is influenced. I surely was and I too copied people’s work because I so badly wanted to create work that I loved. I couldn’t see my own work at that point, as it was still unmade. It is far easier and certainly more visually obvious to look at what others – such as your teachers, past artists, those you admire – are making for the answers instead of where the true answers lay: within yourself.
Everyone – and I really mean everyone – is capable of discovering what their own creativity can create if they are willing to take the time to investigate. Every person walking the Earth is utterly unique. No 2 people are the same. However, to really visually represent this difference one must pay attention to one’s self and not so much to what others are doing.
[Tweet “”Finding your own Art is the practice of finding your own Life.” = NW”]
If you are copying it means you are looking over your shoulder at someone else’s art instead of your own. If, on the other hand, you steal someone art then this is something entirely different. Taking inspiration, taking colors, design, whatever and then using it, modifying it as your own actually transforms it into something personal. What matters in the end is your thinking. Are you inside or outside of yourself when making Art?
It is always challenging to find your own expression. It is mired with half starts, uncertainties and can, over time, wear you down, particularly when your art does not match your expectations.
Looking back now I so clearly can remember all the firsts, all the fun and even the pain, and certainly all the tremendous “ah ha!” moments I found along the way. This is what it is all about. The life of an artist is an unfolding, a peeling away of layers… layers of self-doubt, ego, dreams, hopes and always renewed optimism and faith.
It turns out that the practice of finding your own Art is ultimately the practice of finding your own Life. And finding that makes everything else pale in comparison. I want to say thank you, at this years end, to all my readers, all the artists and creatives who I have become connected to this past year. I feel especially grateful to be part of this tribe.
I am so excited about 2016 and all that is coming…. Let’s do this art thing!
Happy Holidays!
8 Comments
Hi! I’m
Nicholas Wilton
the founder of Art2Life.
With over 20 years experience as a working artist and educator, I’ve developed a systematic approach that brings authenticity, spontaneity and joy back into the creative process.
Join me and artists from all over the world in our Free Art2Life Artists Facebook Group or learn more here about Art2Life.
You are such an excellent writer Nick. You put many of my own thoughts into words. I teach a lot of workshops now myself and I know that many come with expectations of one kind or another. I always hope that people can find their own way. There is no easy way to do this. You just have to do the work and get out of your own way. It is a life long process and the journey of art reflects our own personal journey in life. Thank you for your words of wisdom!
I’ve written a blog since I began my art journey and, through it, I’ve explored the “plight” of being an artist. I’ve written about all sorts of dilemmas we face…internal and external. Nicholas Wilton – you nailed this one. You’ve put into precise words this search for our artistic voices! Bravo!!! I am still waiting for that moment when my own voice drowns out all the others, and I am the one I most clearly hear. I feel like I’m on the precipice. Thank you for validating my journey! Merry Christmas!
I like this article a lot. I find as an artist my visual boundaries are thin. Somewhat like a sponge. I think that is why solitude is important.
Copying other artists seems anti art or perhaps the beginners practice. I find myself inspired by others work and it is interesting when I can take a technique and make it my own, through my own symbols and my own personal formulas and practice.
I find if I do enough work and reflect on the work done I find my voice.
Through practice and reflection I can keep my visual vocabulary.
Instead of running after the next shiniest thing that can so easily distract us.
Thanks for your great blog. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!
Yeah that is a good way to describe it- the next shiniest thing! Doesn’t ever last that long…
Just want to thank you, Nicholas for all your inspiration and wisdom through this blog throughout the year! This one is very helpful to me, as I confront this very issue on a regular basis. Thank you for helping me with this. There’s art therapy and then there’s artist therapy! Thank you, Doctor! Peace and Blessings to you and your loved ones!
Hi Nick, Your article takes the whole “derivative work vs. copyright infringement” conversation to a deeper level. You are a great teacher because you acknowledge that all artists want to create original self-expressed art…and you nurture this desire. You also give permission by example to acknowledge an artist’s ongoing struggle through the generosity of sharing your own personal struggles, both past and present. I share your gratitude for this sharing platform. I wish us all a happy and creative new year! Sandy
Dear Nicholas, reading your words “I feel especially grateful being part of this tribe” as well at the topic of our growing through our creative journey. The mental image that came to me of us all sitting around a large fire listening to a storyteller, and this occurring over and over and over with the story changing as it is retold. I feel that this is my journey. I have been inspired by many wonderful artists, and am grateful to you and them for their gift. As I am presently preparing for a show looking through my own paintings and seeing my history and trying to decide what story I want to tell, your article gave me the clarity I needed. Thank you for all you share. Wishing you a brilliant new year, with many blessings
Peace, Marsha
Nick, great article. I still look way too much over my shoulder to your art, because I like it so much ! And more often than not I like it better than my own. Then I see other accomplished artists work and I like theirs better
than my own. Well, there are a couple of my paintings BN (Before Nick) , which I like a lot.
I guess I need to trust more in my own style.
In any case, thank you for your insightful newsletters, which so often resonate with my own thoughts.
I am wishing us all an amazing new year 2016.