Delighting in Other People’s Artwork

A big trap that artists sometimes fall into is comparing their own work to other people’s in a way that creates discouragement. Viewing art as competition can make every great painting into a personal insult. It blocks inspiration. 

I grew up looking at a big book of Maxfield Parrish’s artwork. Are you familiar with his work? Oh it’s wonderful! I looked at it over and over again and I STILL do. I am amazed by that guys paintings! As a child, they sent me into imagining. It was like going into another world. Of course my own artwork didn’t look much like Maxfield Parrish’s. But it gave me a beautiful star to reach for. I learned how to draw faces from tracing the faces he drew. I learned how to draw fabric and choose colors that complimented one another by studying the pages of that big clothbound book. 

His artwork was my teacher and my delight, not my competition. We can learn from and delight in one another’s artwork! So, when you create a masterpiece I will rejoice!

~ Amy