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55 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Still Looking for Vision, January 23, 2006
I would guess that almost every serious artist has encountered a point in his or her career where he or she is dissatisfied with his or her work. Sometimes it's the failure to gain sufficient technical control, sometimes it's the inability to work, sometimes it's a feeling that you are doing the same thing over and over without saying anything new, and sometimes it's a failure of the work to provide any satisfaction. I would also guess that for just as long as artists have had these feelings, someone has said, reach inside yourself, or, get to know your subject, or, work on through it, or try something new, or even, just suck it up!
I've been blocked from time to time and I've tried one or another of these remedies with varying degrees of success. I've talked to other artists and art educators and asked how to jump-start creativity but there doesn't seem to be any magic bullet.
Ian Roberts, a painter, purports to offer 16 principles to clarify and deepen your artistic vision. I'm certain Roberts really tried hard and believed he had something to offer. If you are an artist and you've never heard the advice I described above, this book may be of interest to you. But if you've ever explored recommendations for creativity, this volume will be just a rambling set of platitudes.
Consider some of the principles: searching for beauty; communication; your home turf. These aren't principles or at least they are not rules of action to guide the artist's conduct. Instead each of these is an art-related subject around which the author wanders through his opinions about aesthetics and the sorry state of the current art world without really clarifying how one can get in touch with the inner artist.
I suspect one of the problems is that artists, with the exception of writers, are not word people, and not used to logical explanation. It's reputed that when Edward Hopper was asked how he developed his skills in handling light and air, he said "I just paint what I see". Similarly Roberts says that the artist's subject is unimportant. It is how the artist feels that counts.
Roberts does have things to say that are important. For example, in a principle called "Limits Yield Intensity" he urges the artist to simplify his ideas. But in the next sentence he quotes another author who says "A state of excitement, and it's like a faucet: nothing comes unless you turn it on, and the more you turn it on, the more it comes." This is a poetic description of inspiration, but it obscures the central idea about simplifying. Roberts doesn't follow his own advice.
Perhaps it's impossible to clearly articulate how an artist can discover or rediscover his creative authenticity. Certainly, this book doesn't do that.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Articulate and beautifully written--a must read for artists, April 16, 2004
Articulate and beautifully written, Creative Authenticity is a must read for artists. This book provides the aspiring or accomplished artist with useful guidance for finding and expressing your artistic voice and defining your path in the art world. This is not a "how-to" book. Ian offers thoughtful insight and practical advice for resolving many of the "problems" that plague artists, such as: overcoming procrastination, developing subject matter and style, when to seek an appreciative audience for your work, and finding your own truth. Generously sprinkled with inspiring quotes and personal anecdotes, this book is a delight, an inspiration and one of my favorites.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
READ THIS, February 26, 2004
I am a painter. I know all this! Yet, I NEED to read this book over and over! Ian Roberts is RIGHT ON!.....CLEAR and BRIEF. His "painters soul" shines in this small jewel of a book!
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