There are times when I don't have enough care to listen to anybody's shit. Therefore, I keep my distance. I saved a lot of friendships that way. There's this one guy on Facebook, an aspiring artist, who occasionally sends me messages. For the most part, he wants me to look at his updated gallery for critiques and possibly a few accolades. As much as I love cultivating new talent, I just wasn't in the proper mind set. Most of you know, I've been quite the mess lately, inside and outside create pursuits. I don't even want to look at my own shit, let alone a guy that's just starting out.

I wanted to tell him to "cut it out" or "fuck off"---something to make him go away. I wanted to tell him to find something else to do with his time because art is a severely punishing grind. The bleak reality is that everybody can't live off of it and if you're taking the freelance route, it really sucks to be at the mercy of disposable income. Getting in a studio is even tougher because there's about a thousand artist gunning for the same thing. Elevating your style or even finding it in the first place can take years of heartache and pain. As soon as you think you're ready, something comes along to kick your confidence in the teeth. I wanted to tell this guy that he's better off finding something a bit more safe and rewarding.

The moment I started typing, I remembered one of my friends telling me about a conversation he had with a professional comic book artist. To a certain extent, he did the same thing, asking for feedback and all of that. Unfortunately, the Pro flat-out told him to quit. Quit.... Q-U-I-T. My friend was in shock because, well... that was the furthest thing from feedback anyone could give. The Pro followed that statement with a brief explanation about why my friend should give up his endeavor. From what I can remember, the guy told him that he needed to be further along, skill-wise. Due to his age, he would be very old by the time his work was up to standards.

After hearing that story, I was pissed off. I remembering asking my friend, "who in the tap-dancing fuck made that guy judge, jury, and executioner of your dreams?" I was livid because that insensitive bastard was a professional and I believe that title comes with a certain amount of grace. If a fan walks up and shows you some art, the least you can do is smile and point out the good stuff. If there's bad stuff, you can point that out as well, but don't crush any souls. There's a big difference between an honest critique and repeatedly stomping on someone's nuts. The aspiring artist should walk away with knowledge and a willingness to improve. If they walk away with a cloud of depression, you deserve an uppercut .

Earlier today, I found myself teetering on the edge of hypocrisy.  There I was, seconds away from stomping on someone's dream because I was in a funky mood. My personal hang-ups about my own crappy situation almost spilled into his world. Thankfully, I changed my paragraph into a few words of encouragement. Did I feed him bullshit? Not really. The thing is, it might take him a little longer to get to where he wants to be, but I don't have any right to take him off that journey. The only thing I can do is steer him away from all the mistakes I made. Besides that, he seems to value my opinion, which is a little weird, but it's still a responsibility I can't take lightly. I told him to keep up the good work. 

Artist need to encourage each other, no matter the level of skill because, at the end of the day, we're all students. Art is something you'll never reach the end of. There's no such thing as "maxing out". There's no "final boss." That's actually a beautiful thing, if you think about it. The audacity to have institutions taking money to learn these things is quite the robbery, but I suppose that's another topic for another time. 

I'm just worried that my struggle is gradually turning me into an asshole.

Seriously... that was a close call.

-KG 

Currently Last Resort By Trentemoller Track: Nightwalker see related