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hc_17
Posts:3
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| 10/05/2007 9:01 AM |
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| Do you think an artist who has depression reflects this in their work? Is it a reason for their creative side in the first place? |
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Grace Dobush
Posts:34
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| 10/05/2007 3:51 PM |
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I'm curious to see if anyone else will chime in on this topic.
I think all art is a reflection of the person who creates it. I don't think there's necessarily any kind of commonality among artists who are dealing with depression. |
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hc_17
Posts:3
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| 10/05/2007 4:22 PM |
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| that is very true. im doing a project for my art class on artists with depression and i thought it would be a good idea to see if anyone had anything to say about it. |
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Quantumluxuries
Posts:15
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| 10/06/2007 4:07 AM |
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Absolutely. I believe the art will reflect the depression. Either you reflect hope, joy,love,etc and follow the admonition of all great men and women that teach about success which is to control your mind and your emotions. As soon as the feelings turn dark control it. Make our yourself think and feel happy. This is very difficult to acheive but the fruit of this discipline will change lives. There is so much being written about this in books like "The Science of getting Rich" which is a free book and will change your life. If you want the link go to my profile on this forum and send an email asking me for the link since I don't think it is OK to put links here. That book changed the way I think in major ways. I feel like if people miss the instructions in this book about life they are missing life. They don't bug you all the time either. Not really about money as much as living an abundant life which will bring you money you deserve for your work. Now I know people have chemical imbalances and that should be treated but other than that all the Masters from Jesus to every other great teacher has written about this.
I love a quote that says "what so ever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."
Diligence |
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auntannie
Posts:5
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| 10/15/2007 3:58 PM |
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I do think your paintings reflect your feelings. I'm not so sure it is
as easy as Diligence makes it sound to overcome depression. I've had
depression most of my life and sometimes I feel better than others.
I've done oil painting, also for years, and have found that the
paintings I do when I am in a better mood sell better than those when I
am in a darker mood. There are things like exercise, diet, medications
and meditation that can help both with the quality of your life and
with the quality of your paintings. I sure wouldn't give up because
while the paintings you do when you are depressed may be of a darker
subject or palette, painting is also good therapy. Keep at it and
you'll win out, I'm sure. Annie |
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one who sees
Posts:508
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| 10/15/2007 6:47 PM |
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i think whatever emotion the artist is experiencing at the moment they sit down, or stand, to work...it will be transferred to their work...
i also think the key is to draw, no pun intended, from this...
dont you think we are artists, because we can be more emotionally connected...unlike most of the mainstream people in life who seem to want to disconnect, disassociate themselves emotionally?
because our emotions are closer to the surface, i believe its easier for us to suffer from depression...
i find myself, that i might run a few weeks feeling fine and strong and working well, but then it begins to wane a bit and i find that i begin to sink back into that low mood, as the wave of creativity eases a bit...
its as though my ~emotional tank~ is on empty...and to refill it i have to step back and try to settle a bit, restore myself, before i can have another ~good run~...
so in my mind this is a natural progression for me....
feel good, work hard...when the work starts to near its end....i too am nearing the end of that creative ~high~....so i end up getting a bit down and mellow...till the next subject inspires me to rise again...which hopefully is no more than a day or so! |
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~I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it~
Vincent Van Gogh
www.bettyannlemist.com |
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jb4u
Posts:2
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| 10/16/2007 2:48 PM |
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it is funny thing what transforms from your drawings. I seem to see in the eyes of animals I draw what I feel. I do not notice it till after awhile. I say yes depression does connect with art I will say also feelings and moods are as strong to effect it.  |
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jb4u
Posts:2
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| 10/16/2007 2:51 PM |
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| Ok I have to add when you are depressed you might think you can not create or what you create might not be what you want to see. just a thought. It is a good thing you can work through alot of issues and people do connect even if they are not sure why |
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eerkes
Posts:20
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| 10/16/2007 6:01 PM |
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I have battled depression all my life. What I have noticed is that I lack the motivation to create when I'm depressed. I just don't seem to see the point when I am disappointed in the world in general. I have sometimes quit creating for over a year! It only makes it worse that I feel tremendously guilty for letting myself be "lazy" as I view it. It's difficult being around other people who are not artists because they just don't understand that I can't function creatively if my mind is not in the right mode. It's definitely not like your average left-brained job, and they don't seem to understand that artists think differently, and function differently.
I think the more I stress over not getting anything accomplished, the harder it is for me to get things accomplished! What a headache! lol |
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one who sees
Posts:508
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| 10/16/2007 7:30 PM |
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i can totally relate to that...and have been there in the past...unable to create because i was so down..and getting pulled further into what i call ~a black hole~...i am depressed i cant create, now i am more depressed because i am not creating....on and on...till i realized, picking up a pencil and my sketchbook? and doodling? is creating...even if its one line or two...~wink~...and before i know it? yep..i started climbing out of that hole again....dont challenge yourself with a huge intricate project when your down there.......grab an apple from the fridge..~wink~...and just play with pencil and paper and play...no pressure...just play...before you know it? your ~rising~..
circumstances force me to create now, through any black hole, because i cant afford not too...every fall like clockwork...hubby gets laid off...so yet again this year it has happened so i need to really get busy...yep its pressure...but once i settle and sit before the easel...its the only place i am happy and a bit more free of stress...when you view your art work as a place to breathe and be free? its a haven not a hell...promise! |
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~I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it~
Vincent Van Gogh
www.bettyannlemist.com |
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rannlot
Posts:9
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| 10/17/2007 5:52 PM |
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Its so nice to read these last two posts---exactly what I feel...and my husband thinks its so easy to just "go paint" dont we all wish it were so easy! and then the depression sets in, I ususally come up with these grand projects that will only result in "failure" so I get disappointed in myself and fall deeper in that black whirlpool....So to address an earlier point of depression being refelcted in aretowrk? in my case its not because i am not ever creatin anyting when I feel that way.
oh, I have been away too long! |
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one who sees
Posts:508
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| 10/17/2007 5:57 PM |
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i like to make this statement...and hopefully its understood by ones who read it.....
being amongst our own kind? there is nothing like it...because we speak the same language...understand the heart aches and the joys....we KNOW what each other feels...because we feel it....
to the ~norms~? they just cant imagine what its like to be an artist....for me?
its no longer being a ~stranger in a strange land~...~wink~... |
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~I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it~
Vincent Van Gogh
www.bettyannlemist.com |
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Joyce Anne
Posts:1
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| 10/18/2007 7:30 PM |
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Think of the past artists, Van Gogh for example, and yes, most of them have suffered from depression.
I agree that we see things differently. I can see more details than my husband, I notice things he does not see, unless I point them out to him.
I have PTSD, from past abuse. When I am able to pour myself in my drawings and paintings, I do come alive. My work shines, and I stand back and it amazes me how well they turn out sometimes. I am thankful I can express myself through my art. I am truly blessed to be able to draw and paint. It sorta frees me, and I can soar. It's exciting. |
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one who sees
Posts:508
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| 10/19/2007 6:59 AM |
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| morning joyce......i noticed that this was your first post....welcome to the site! i think your words speak for most of us too....we feel so blessed to be able to draw and paint...it frees us...~wink~...see i told ya we all speak the same language... |
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~I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it~
Vincent Van Gogh
www.bettyannlemist.com |
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eerkes
Posts:20
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| 10/25/2007 6:50 AM |
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OWS,
I'm painting again! I started off with something simple like you said, and ideas started just coming to me. I picked up where I left off on a large piece and am happy to be working again. Now if I can just find time with these two little munchkins running around I can finish it. It might take me longer than most people, but I will finish eventually.
I struggled with the marketing aspect of my art for a while now, and it was so darn frustrating. I just decided to paint what I want to paint, and if it happens to sell then that's great. But I am no longer going to sell out to appease the general public's idea of what they consider worthy of hanging on their walls. That decision just snapped me out of it I guess.
And yes, I think it's wonderful to be able to talk to people who understand me better. It's hard when people can't understand why things that seem so easy to them are often difficult for me. Like remembering to take out the trash! Or organization! Man, I am very right-brained I guess. I could spend all day dreaming and creating, and not get anything "productive" done. lol. well, my husband's idea of "productive" anyway. He doesn't get why if I'm not creating, I'm not happy. And if I'm not happy, I'm not creative. It makes his head spin! |
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one who sees
Posts:508
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| 10/25/2007 7:56 AM |
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congratulations toots!...once you learn the tools to get you out of a block or depression, it becomes a bit easier...by no means gone though...you just learn that there are ways to overcome it,manage it,handle it or make it work for you instead of against you....
oh boy do we all understand living with a partner that doesnt quite get why we dont just get up and do it...~wink~..its not that simple yet is that simple....
the majority of women artists have had to juggle family,and partners and manage to produce art....
and for some of us, producing work that might sell can make the difference between making the mortgage or not...
i personally? dont feel i am selling myself out...i produce the work i want to...but not one hundred percent of the time ....
i do commissions...but normally i am lucky enough to get commission work that inspires me....makes me strive to find something in that mage they want done....i have been very lucky...
i have been commissioned to do whippets,and recently winston,a english standard chocolate lab, that was an incredible animal.....the owner brought him to me a few times so i could meet him and run my hands and eyes over him....but she was an artist,metalsmith...so understood the importance of that connection...
i have done portraits that pulled at my heartstrings...made me smile..and commissioned to redo paintings that i originally did for myself....i really cant say that i have been offered a commission that i couldnt find something about it that inspired me....and thats one of the keys i believe....
so definetly produce the work that excites you, inspires you, and that work....will be seen by customers who also love that type of style and work, and they will come to you with similar images.....~wink~....
produce work that you arnt excited by, and you put out the wrong msg to customers who think you enjoy that type of subject.....catch my drift?
when you get stuck?....put that piece of work where you can see it,walk by it,sit and view it...and something will speak to you....work on several pieces at the same time....a large one as well as maybe a series of small studies, relaxing type of work....
working with kids about? well we, a lot of us, have done that toooooo...but children grow...and moments snatched here and there will increase eventually...besides, your giving them something others rarely will ever get.....growing up in a creative home...being taught how to ~see~ rather than just marching through life trompling right over things.....its always surprised me how lil time some mothers/parents take to truly show the beauty of the world to their children....or even sit down and teach them how to pretend....make believe...imaginations have to be cultured and nurtured toooooooooooo, just as surely as one must teach them math,english,history ect......give your children the gift of ~sight~....and it will be something that remains with them their whole lives....and? who is to say you dont have another artist growing up in your house????? it starts soooo early....one just has to learn to seeeee the signs...~wink~ |
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~I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it~
Vincent Van Gogh
www.bettyannlemist.com |
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one who sees
Posts:508
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| 10/25/2007 7:57 AM |
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| ps...dont ever forget that when you do have children...you have models in the house that you can always quick sketch too!....its a fantastic way to learn the three min sketch....cause rarely do children stay put for longer! LOLOL |
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~I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it~
Vincent Van Gogh
www.bettyannlemist.com |
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jason
Posts:107
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| 10/31/2007 8:54 PM |
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Hi , Nice question about depression and art.You might also add artist block into the subject. Similar , not the same, but some of the solutions are similar. To have a look and art of depression have a look at art therapy books and the subject.
I did put out a book that helps with artist block and develops creativity- in youngsters. Creative Painting For The Young Artist. I worked in biofeedback with anxiety disorders, special education , life coaching, creativity, and art. I combined all this experience in the book , but made it colorful for youngsters. What I have found is that many people have a fear of failure and excessive worrying about what others think. Fear of performance, fear of success and being noticed- being taken to a new level and out of your comfort zone. I think the best solution for this problem ( and mentioned in the book) is to change a seemingly defeat into a success. To think of a mistake as an opportunity to learn from. This is also the winning concept for self employed business people. Other important techniques to help channel depression as well as anxiety would be to learn guided imagery. I think also that the artist should place his works in art fairs and sit with his work and hear the direct feedback from the people looking at it. It will blow the blues away as he/she will have a connection with the people buying the art and give purpose to his painting- not just for his emotions but the bring art to others. 
http://jasonalster.googlepages.com/creativityandrelaxedconcentration |
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Jason Alster MSc
http://jasonalster.googlepages.com/creativityandrelaxedconcentration |
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idlewild
Posts:24
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| 11/01/2007 11:24 PM |
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| I think our emotions play a big role in the outcome of our artwork. I think our hands are the creative extension of our mind, and since we all see things differently that is what makes our artwork unique. You can give several different people the same still life yet they will all be unique, so I think if we are down, happy, tired etc, it will show. I think we put alot of pressure on ourselves sometimes and that may also reflect in our art. The thing that gets to me is that great aunt gerdie thinks that you should start painting daisys, or Grandpa Fred thinks that if you would just start drawing war planes, or cousin calvin thinks it would be great if you could just start drawing rodeo pics! |
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"you don't realize what you have until you transform it" |
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BecArt
Posts:71
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| 12/01/2007 1:26 PM |
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I think everyboby suffers from depression at one time or another, and I think that artists feel it more. When I'm depressed (which is often) I try to paint or draw what I'm feeling then just forget about it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
I have really enjoyed this forum because I get to talk with other artists, I don't know any in person, I wish I did, but I don't, so this forum has been really good for me. |
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