"The hand that rocks the cradle, shucks, the corn, and
plows the field, will never write the great American novel."
… I don't know who originated the above … but … I will add … "paint the great American painting" …
… the above quote was a metaphor [mantra?] … and one of the many answers to the ongoing questions [asked by men of the 1960s onward] … "oh yeah? Well where are the great women writers? Where are the great women painters?" … no male ever asked me that question because they knew I had an answer … "she's scrubbing your kitchen floor and her name is mom or wife" …
[btw … later …. "Art News" magazine asked the above "where" question and below their headline was a photograph of 50 female artists …]
… the 1960s was a passionate era for women … [and the 1970s and 1980s, and so on] … an era tersely described as "women's lib" … or … we were "bra burners" … an era now slowly disappearing from memory and going into digital history … I never burned my bra nor marched with the others … I was way-too-timid … and … busy learning a skill … and … plowing the "back 40" …
… once I committed myself to be a portrait painter … I turned to books written by those artists who came before me … as I usually like to do … it's amazing the wisdom one can pick up … and the wisdom I found in making it as an artist [books written between 1900 and 1960] … each first sentence began with … "First you must get a wife." … oh … well …
… but … finding a pro-active spouse is the least of any artists' concerns …. our primary concerns are life's distractions and demands … "to plow or not to plow" is my metaphor to ask the question "do I do this or do I do that?" … a hanging question throughout every moment like an arm attached to our body … rarely do I have a sense of accomplishment after a finished project … behind my busy creative mind is the sense that I should be doing something else … or … something else is not being done … because … on the whole … life's necessities are pretty much equal in importance … as are some distractions … I hear my mind mutter …. "oh … give it a rest and go play a computer game" … luckily … I learned [the hard way] my mind needs to be refreshed and my body needs to be strengthened …
… and so I'll step away from all that thinking and water my garden … but of course … every moment in my garden is filled with "I should do this and I should do that" …
… and … therefore … artists learn to hold several contradictory thoughts at one time … we become quite skilled at it … and some … like me … develop the ability to a high art …
… wait … does my garden need watering? …
… I don't know who originated the above … but … I will add … "paint the great American painting" …
… the above quote was a metaphor [mantra?] … and one of the many answers to the ongoing questions [asked by men of the 1960s onward] … "oh yeah? Well where are the great women writers? Where are the great women painters?" … no male ever asked me that question because they knew I had an answer … "she's scrubbing your kitchen floor and her name is mom or wife" …
[btw … later …. "Art News" magazine asked the above "where" question and below their headline was a photograph of 50 female artists …]
… the 1960s was a passionate era for women … [and the 1970s and 1980s, and so on] … an era tersely described as "women's lib" … or … we were "bra burners" … an era now slowly disappearing from memory and going into digital history … I never burned my bra nor marched with the others … I was way-too-timid … and … busy learning a skill … and … plowing the "back 40" …
… once I committed myself to be a portrait painter … I turned to books written by those artists who came before me … as I usually like to do … it's amazing the wisdom one can pick up … and the wisdom I found in making it as an artist [books written between 1900 and 1960] … each first sentence began with … "First you must get a wife." … oh … well …
… but … finding a pro-active spouse is the least of any artists' concerns …. our primary concerns are life's distractions and demands … "to plow or not to plow" is my metaphor to ask the question "do I do this or do I do that?" … a hanging question throughout every moment like an arm attached to our body … rarely do I have a sense of accomplishment after a finished project … behind my busy creative mind is the sense that I should be doing something else … or … something else is not being done … because … on the whole … life's necessities are pretty much equal in importance … as are some distractions … I hear my mind mutter …. "oh … give it a rest and go play a computer game" … luckily … I learned [the hard way] my mind needs to be refreshed and my body needs to be strengthened …
… and so I'll step away from all that thinking and water my garden … but of course … every moment in my garden is filled with "I should do this and I should do that" …
… and … therefore … artists learn to hold several contradictory thoughts at one time … we become quite skilled at it … and some … like me … develop the ability to a high art …
… wait … does my garden need watering? …
Ida Kotyuk, Portrait Painter©
If you get fewer than 2,000 rejections a year, you are not
working hard enough
