Subject Versus Technique

Thanks to Slinkyspiral for the thought provoking comment on my previous post, some interesting points are raised, it's worth a read.


A last word (for now), on the matter of subject versus technique comes from the fascinating watercolour artist, Barbara Nechis who has perfected a dramatic wet-in-wet approach to watercolour painting:

"Content and technique go hand in hand.  One without the other produces either sloppy work or sloppy thought.  Many good ideas have been ruined by limited technical facility, much of it through omission rather than lack of ability.  The viewer of the painting should concentrate on the idea rather than the technique.  The technique must therefore be flawless or it will get in the way of content."

Look out for future posts where I discuss strategies on how to come up with good ideas, and then how to turn these into good paintings.

The Matter of Subject Matter

All paintings have a subject, but all subjects are perhaps not equal.  Subject Matter, ‘what the painting is about’ is one thing that seems to separate artists into: those that ‘are’, and those that ‘wanna-be’.  Artists know what their work is about and can tell you - a ‘wanna-be’ paints a picture.

It’s not how well you paint that makes you an artist, it’s WHAT you paint, and what you communicate through how and what you paint. 

In an earlier post, I have suggested that ‘real’ art (the stuff that makes it into ‘real’ galleries) is not about recording things or showing off technical skills, so what is it about? 

Paintings do have things like landscapes, flowers and people as their subject matter, and other paintings have unrecognisable content - colours, shapes or symbols, that we don’t understand.  Art can be a record of what we see and a technical exercise, but it is also the artist talking to the viewer.  The tone can be conversational and humorous or petty and cantankerous.  Some works are opinionated speeches or tirades.  Some are cries of confusion or frustration.  Some works shout, some whisper.  There are as many kinds of paintings as there are conversations, as many kinds of paintings as there are people.  Paintings are made by people, about things that are of interest to people and for people.  Some art work is full of intense emotion that we can sense even when we don’t know what it is all about.

Many people look at an art work, expecting it to be a beautiful picture, a picture of something that the artist has seen, (or even imagined) almost like a postcard.  I think an art work is like a postcard, but not the picture.  It is like the writing on the back where the person says something, tells something, sends a message, comments or relates an experience.
   

Some paintings are more like a sum than a letter, a place where the artist works out a problem and leaves the working out on the page.  This is confusing to a viewer who expects a picture and can’t figure it out or understand the method.  We usually appreciate this kind of art more when we know about the artist and his ideas.

A work of art is the way an artist tries to express what he is thinking, and/or feeling.  If I believe this, then I need to look for my own meaningful subject matter in my own thoughts and feelings.  (Sketchbooks, notebooks, diaries and journals are good places to find these.)

Some of my 'thoughts and feelings' in my notebooks, sketchbooks and journals.

So, What Can I paint?

When we look for our own subject matter, we need to look at our interests, for things that fascinate us and make us feel something, subjects that we want to talk about. Just as we harp on certain topics in our conversations, or we dwell on things in our thoughts, we will turn to certain subjects and topics to harp on in our paintings.
 

Our own subject matter is not something that we will find outside of ourselves, like a good photograph to copy.  We need to look inside and get to know ourselves and let that out in our paintings.  We have to work hard to understanding ourselves and what we want to say, and then work hard to be able to say it.  This is a long process. It may take a long time to get it right.  We may never get it right, but it should be fun trying.




Quote of the Day

"In a large measure becoming an artist consists of learning to accept yourself, which makes your work personal, and in following your own voice, which makes your work distinctive."

David Bayles and Ted Orland in Art and Fear 

Meaningful Subject Matter

When a person suspects they may have mastered ‘how to paint’, they begin to ask the more complex question: ‘what to paint’. This is a dilemma, not because all possible subjects have been exhausted, but because there is a growing realisation that making art is perhaps more complex than just making pictures. The search begins for subjects to paint, and essentially, for meaningful subject matter to base the paintings on.



When we look for something to paint, we try and emulate artists that we admire. We look at their paintings and copy their subject matter. We try and find our own meaningful subject matter in this way. I think this approach is flawed, because we don’t always understand the work that we are looking at.


Some people think that art is like a postcard. They think it is a picture of places or things that the artist has seen. If art is a visual record of visual experiences, then a good work would be one that describes places and objects accurately and artistically. There are countless beautiful, moving examples of art that have as their subject places and things, but art is seldom just a recording of these.


Some people expect art to show the artist’s virtuosity, how well and true to life the artist is able to paint, and when these people make art, this is what they do in their own work. Many artists delight in honing and flaunting their skill, but a good work of art is seldom just that.


If art is not about recording things, nor an opportunity to show off, then what is it about?


I think that art is essentially an artist trying to express one of two things: What that artist is thinking and/or: What that artist is feeling. If we accept this, then we can try and incorporate this understanding into our own search for meaningful subject matter for our own work.

Two Big Disappointments

When I studied Fine Art at university, I was surprised that we were not taught art techniques. We were not taught much about the materials we were using or how to use them. We weren’t taught the colour wheel, shown colour charts, or even how to paint. We were not required to complete tonal gradation charts, or know the names of the pigments we were using. We did no preparatory sketching, didn't keep sketchbooks or any records of our work. We studied how to make art without any reference to the craft of art making. I can only assume that the omission was deliberate and that knowledge of materials and technique was considered superfluous to the making of important and avante garde work.



Although I graduated with respectable results, I felt quite unprepared for a career as an artist and struggled to make art outside of university. This was a big disappointment, I had a degree in art, but I did not know how to be an artist. I embarked on a post graduate diploma, qualified as a teacher and I taught.


Unfortunately, it’s difficult to teach art with a poor understanding of materials and techniques. I found that most of my students showed no interest in my highbrow philosophy of art making, they wanted to learn to draw and paint in a naturalistic way.


And so began my second art education – I taught myself the craft of art making. I became knowledgeable and skilled in drawing and painting, in materials and techniques and I passed on this knowledge to the best of my ability.


My students learned to make beautiful, realistic paintings; they understood their materials and honed their skills. But their work was superficial, it lacked substance. This was another big disappointment to me, although my students and I knew how to paint well, this did not bring us any closer to being artists.


It has taken me a long time to understand that art is a complex thing. Technique is a means to an end, but certainly not an end in itself.


So, what is it that sets good work apart?


but more importantly,


Can I make a good work of art?