When I was in grade five, one day I drew (or maybe just colored) a bird, and I remember being told by my teacher that the colors I used (red and blue) didn't go together. I don't think I said anything, but in my memory I must have had a strange look on my face, because if I am able to keep my mouth shut, keeping my thoughts off my face is a skill I still don't have. I wasn't hurt by that criticism at all: owing to an immense stubbornness and the inability to conform to anyone's expectations, I shrugged it off and kept right on coloring. I was somehow quite confident in the understanding that my teacher's opinion about color compatibility did not make sense, and wouldn't have mattered if it had.
I remember also being told in sixth grade that I “needed to get a life” by a classmate because I showed him my comics at the time. I haven't had much opportunity for real criticism, though I appreciate an honest critique, especially if it is backed up with specifics. When I do receive negative feedback I usually consider it fairly dispassionately: I am always looking to improve myself as an artist, so I welcome an outside perspective. If it is a helpful and constructive critique it may affect my artistic choices. Even if I disagree with the premise of the critique, it is still useful because it forces me to examine those choices, and strengthens my rationale for making them. Because of the experimental nature of my work I take a very fluid approach to technique and hold my vision loosely, allowing the drawing to lead me. I'm very adaptable in that regard: perhaps a bit too much, so criticism is helpful in that it brings a more conscious awareness to those instinctive choices. I feel I need this to grow as an artist: now that I've spent 17 years developing some level of technical mastery in my medium, I find myself more mindful of philosophical and aesthetic concerns.
Praise is often much harder to handle, though I have learned to accept it graciously: I can't stand false modesty. I find the concept of talent quite problematic. In the end it is just someone's opinion, and it gets in the way in terms of expectations. When I am at my most inspired I always have a profound sense that the work is coming through me, more than originating within me. It is easier to separate myself from my art when it comes to criticism, but praise comes with the pressure to live up to the hype, and ego definitely gets in the way when trying to establish that creative connection and get my head in the zone where art lives.
Criticism is helpful if genuine, and admiration for my work can give much-needed encouragement. The only feedback I can't stand is indifference: the casual dismissal or the tepid “How nice.” Art is meant to cause a reaction: even if it is negative, it has made the viewer think about why, and that's a good thing.
