Amateurish?

So question: ‘when does an artist becomes a professional’? Or what is amateur art?

On a sunny morning, I decided to go to an art exhibition in my neighbourhood. I had no idea about the exhibition and when I arrived and walked around I felt a bit of a disappointment.

It wasn’t the exhibition, because that exhibition was beautiful. But it was the way the art and artists behind the creations was described. ‘Made by an amateur artist.’ 

Now here it is. What I saw in there was not my interpretation of amateurish art at all! My interpretation of amateurish has a negative meaning. It means someone just created something without a thought, idea or background in creating art. It’s even different from intuitive creation. It’s like painting on number and call it art. That is my interpretation of amateurish. Amateurish is meaningless.

 

A few years ago I followed a painters course, because I just needed to learn how to paint humans. Actually I wanted to learn to paint in a different way then I was used too. I needed to study the ideas in my head and after a few years I decided I was ready to paint and explore that world on my own. 

The people in my class where so good! It was like being back on art school when talking and discussing about art and I felt insecure, because most of them where way better in their techniques then I was back then. 

And here it was, I still had a prejudgement and it was there all a long without being aware, about how much it influenced my own work as well. 

You know the voice in your head? It says you are not good enough to call yourself an artist. Change the word artist for every occupation or hobby and there you go. You never enjoy fully -and in your own freedom, how to master any art, because that voice will hold you back, unless you ditch the fear and start practicing. 

It’s a bit the same when someone tells me they like my work, because they aren’t creative themself. Well, every idea starts with creativity. Every piece of art starts with creativity, even making a phone script on how to convince others to buy a stupid product from an organisation is somehow creativity. However I won’t call that art. But it is creativity…

And everyone has creativity as a skill in them. You are born with it, remember that when you feel the urge to create something and don’t do it because you have a prejudging voice in your head you aren’t good enough…

 

So when does art becomes professional? Is it when you are successful? Or when you can make a living out of it? Is it professional when you make art every day when you’re coming home from a completely different job, or is it a hobby then? 

Well, it’s a bit like Elizabeth Gilbert is saying in her book Big Magic; ‘if you can make a living out of it, then you are a professional’. But that doesn’t mean that, if you can’t make a living out of it, you are an amateur! 

It means you can still make beautiful things and study on ‘the how to’. 

I decided to stop calling art amateurish. It’s not ok. It’s like telling a volunteer in healthcare who has years of experience it’s worth nothing, because there was no professional education behind it. But in the end that volunteer helped many people feeling better. 

All art that is made with feelings of expression, is art. And yes there are studies on how to, but in the end when you have finished your idea to a physical object of satisfaction, it is art. Studies can be art too. But that is for another time to write about…