The Artist's Intent | How to Create Successful Looking Works of Art

The Artist's Intent | How to Create Successful Looking Works of Art

Understanding an artist'due south intent is often helpful when interpreting their artwork.  1's  intentions in her artwork tin have a profound influence on whether others view the work as successful or not.  Today I'll be raising some questions almost whether or not your artwork appears successful to other people and how to create successful works of art that stand up to critic'due south scrutiny!

I often hear students poke fun at famous works of abstract art.  It's not uncommon to hear comments such every bit: "I can do that." Or "It looks like my trivial brother painted that".  I could easily compile a long listing of negative comments that uninformed viewers make when not fully understanding a work of art.

The real truth in "I can do that" is this:  the overwhelming bulk of the time I would bet money that that person making the outlandish claim could not, especially non in any historically or culturally pregnant manner. The fact is most famous and successful works of fine art are created by skilful hands and well-trained minds.  Regardless of an artwork's outward appearance it usually takes many years of evolution to get in at such a result.

When you see an artwork hanging in a museum that appears to exist speedily painted information technology is typically the artist's intent.  There are many reasons for the outward appearance of a work of art merely the best artists have their well-idea-out reasons for creating the artwork.  Perhaps they are trying to convey an emotion, or bring the viewer to a freer, more kid-like state of heed.  Whatever the reason, quality artwork is built upon a solid foundation of knowledge and purpose.  Non to say that accidents and discoveries do not happen.  They practise, simply the bigger moving-picture show depicts a clear intention towards the desired results at the easily of a well-informed creative person.

Loose vs. Messy

There's a big difference between a messy piece of work of art created past unskilled easily and a loose work of art made by an accomplished artist.  We can hands compare the art-making process to the art of cooking. There is a difference between some halfwit throwing a cheap pickle onto a paper plate as contrasted with a principal chef garnishing her masterpiece with a sprig of parsley.  Only a fool would argue they are one of the same.  Artwork that is loosely painted or loosely fatigued has been created as such on purpose.  Not every piece of work of art has to be a tight rendering.  Remember: There's a huge difference between a painting in which the artist skillfully and intentionally throws and drips paints versus a person who accidentally spills paint.

Challenging Artistic Conventions

Often some of the more interesting forms of artwork that uninformed eyes take a hard fourth dimension respecting are artworks that simply challenge artistic conventions.  Every so often an artist assembles an understanding of fine art making from a macro-level and attempts to deconstruct and reinterpret the status quo.  These artists understand the historical significance of moving picture making and engage in a dialog that attempts to change the course of picture making.  I of the nearly notable examples of this miracle was Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque's earliest belittling cubist paintings.

Girl With a Mandolin | Picasso | The Artist's Intent - helloartsy.com

At that time (early 20th century), Picasso and Braque fully understood the historical conventions for creating a "realistic" painting and sought to reinterpret the globe around them in a new and refreshing way.  They did this by attacking one's notion of space and how chiliad+ years of artists attempted to create the illusion of space within European art. What is realism anyhow? A painting is not the real thing but but a fixed view of a given discipline from a single point in time.  Picasso and Braque understood this and their work was a revolutionary response to this concept.  Their artwork was neither sick-informed nor some attempt to circumvent hard piece of work.  It was fully intended every bit such and changed the course of history in the process!

Intentional Artwork

The side by side time you sit downwards to make artwork try to exist aware of your intentions and whether or not they are conveying through in your finished artwork.  The greatest artwork is fully controlled by the artist in both technique and concept.  Here are some things to think nigh the next time you decide to create a cartoon or painting:

  • Are your straight lines and edges supposed to look perfectly direct or are they supposed to look manus-drawn?
  • Are the variations in your paint colors intentional or a clumsy experiment in colour theory?
  • Is your artwork a quick impression or does it expect similar a halfhearted attempt to create a highly detailed work of art in which you did not stay committed to the task?
  • Does your unproblematic, abstract works functional on a deeper, conceptual level or are you just copying the outward appearance of some artwork your saw hanging in a museum somewhere?
  • Are your fatigued elements purposely ignoring expected creative conventions or are they simply fatigued incorrectly?
  • Does y'all techniques and materials reverberate the mood of your artwork?

Artwork created by uninformed minds and unskilled hands rarely stand the examination of fourth dimension.  Before you attempt to take shortcuts in your art-making process take a deeper look at the significance of your artistic torso of work and your overall intentions every bit an artist. While there is no real right or wrong in a work of art, the perceived artistic intention is actually what determines whether or non a viewer deems the artwork equally successful, innovative, and honest, versus being an unsuccessful, phony, sham.

These types of posts are more abstruse in idea and sometimes harder for me to write.  I more often than not write about more than concrete examples such as drawing and painting techniques.  Hopefully I've provided a pocket-sized amount of nutrient for thought and created a smidge of creative value for you today.   Delight exit a annotate below.