What Makes Good Art

I used to think that happy art would never be taken seriously.

I thought that in order for people to truly value and appreciate your work, your art must express some sort of angst.

“Art must comfort the disturbed and disturb the comforted” and all of the other vexing quotes thrown out in my art seminars would reverberate through my mind and startle me into creating work that matched these sentiments.

But I’ve discovered that art isn’t about expressing any one particular feeling or mood…Art is about authenticity.

If somber, disturbing work feels authentic to you, then it’s right.

If cerebral, intellectual work feels authentic to you, then it’s right.

If moody, ethereal work feels authentic to you, then it’s right.

If cheerful, peaceful work feels authentic to you, then it, too, is right.

I’ve learned to stop creating the kind of work I think I “should“ create, and instead, create work that feels most authentic to me.

I hope that whatever kind of work you create, you learn that what makes your work good, is not the category you fall under, but the true, honest, authentic expression of you.