david shrigley
important things to bear in mind
- focus on the work
if you make good work, you'll probably be a successful artist. don't think about anything else. just think about the work. and try and think about the project rather than the finished artwork. so set yourself a project and focus on that and don't think about the finished artwork. an artwork is the residue of a process of a project rather than something that you see and then have to realize thereafter.
- enjoy being an artist. being an artist is the best life you can have if you want to be an artist. it's definitely not for everybody though. that's for sure. being in the studio is not what everybody wants. that's kind of what i want and what a lot of other people want. i really enjoy it but it's not for everybody. sometimes you go to art school and you end up realizing that you want to do something different but it's still sort of art, creative whether a filmmaker or making music or whatever. it's you have to find your own way so don't be afraid to figure it out and don't be in a hurry either. i think you don't have to make any big decisions until you're 30 anyway.
- you are on the right track if you are excited about what you are doing.
- i think if you're smoking weed or drinking a lot of alcohol, you should do that at a different time to when you're making art. to be honest, i'm probably not doing too much but i think if you are well-rested and sober and well-fed, you can usually trust your instincts about what you are doing.
- sometimes making art is difficult and it has to be a challenge. if there is not a challenge, you're probably not doing the right thing. but it has to be enjoyable as well. more exciting than enjoyable perhaps in a sense that sometimes making art is a bit of a slog, you have to force yourself to do it in order to get it done. it's not like eating cake or something that's really sensually pleasurable. it does require hard work. you do have to work hard in order to make art that's any good, i think. you can work hard and still not make up that's any good. when i was in art school my friends taught me a lot and i think you have to be open to learning something from everybody, from every experience. i think you tend to learn things from doing them from making mistakes.