"...A question of individuality..."

"... so far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was and is and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of individuality ... poetry is being, not doing."*

Back to the questions that I and other artists are always asking - How can you know if a painting is done? and, How do you know if a painting is good?

The quote above by e. e. cummings speaks nicely to this point. You, the artist, must know and judge the completion and the quality of your work. If you are fortunate, you will find an audience for that work that will appreciate it. Just as, when discussing any particular subject, you will find those with whom you agree and those who disagree with you, in art, your vision will speak to those who can hear/see it.

But most of all, you must be honest with yourself when you are working. Because what you do is who you are.


*From six nonlectures by E. E. Cummings (from a selection of poems, A Harvest Book, copyright 1926 by Horace Liveright)

Uneasy Truce

White Fences