Encourage Criticism (and be excited for it!)
featuring Colley Whisson
Sometimes it can be uncomfortable to ask for criticism, but the point is to make a positive out of a negative. Colley Whisson has seen that human instinct is always telling someone good news rather than the truth. Just about every painting will have a small mistake. If you ask for criticism, you need to say to the person, “I need to hear what you are thinking, not what you think I want to hear.” Like, true love, we fall in love with our work and become blind to our mistakes and weaknesses. Even after 35 years, Colley still has mistakes he does not catch after looking at a painting for hours and hours unless he has someone else’s eyes on it, too. Encourage friends or family who you trust for honest advice to look at your painting and tell you honestly what they are thinking. We always want good news, but we must be prepared for bad because it helps us improve. This is where Colley has genuinely learned the most and believes you will learn a lot if you accept and encourage criticism yourself.
Seeking others’ advice should never stop! A good technique is the windshield wiper effect: have your viewer give you one bit of praise and then one bit of criticism. It is a great way to soften the blow but also a great way to learn. Criticism is a way to get the best out of yourself and your work. Family and friends see how passionate we are about painting, so remind them that it is only holding you back if they are not telling you what they are truthfully thinking. When you don’t accept what you are missing in your work or aren’t open to criticism, your paintings will suffer! You could go on for years making the mistake that others could quickly see. Be accepting and excited about where criticism might take you.
Colley has an abundance of ways you can learn from him! Check out his options below:
Listen more about criticism from Colley Whisson on the Paint & Clay Podcast.