Okay, so I’ve been thinking. In my last blog post, I had some thoughts about making some kind of YouTube series, but I didn’t have a clearcut concept of what I wanted to do exactly. It was just a loose idea.
I wound up spending a few hours on YouTube watching tons of videos of various artists doing everything from tutorials to TEDTalks. There’re countless videos about art out there: famous artists doing professional interviews, some giving speeches at universities, footage of lesser-known artists working in their studios, artists with absolutely no background in art that are giving painting lessons, and on and on it goes. It doesn’t seem to matter who you are; if you have art supplies and a camera, you can have your own YouTube channel. No problem. It’s fucking chaos.
You’d think this would give me the green light to make a series of videos of my own–do whatever I want. But it doesn’t inspire me one bit.
First of all, I hate how I look, which is why I considered using a puppet. I also hate how I sound, so I’d have to disguise my weak little girl’s voice. If I used a different voice and worked a hand puppet, no one would ever take me seriously. Not that art is so serious, but goofing off isn’t my goal either.
I’m also not the most eloquent speaker. There was a time when I was better at it. I’ve even given speeches at colleges and art shows, but as time passed, I developed more anxiety, and it didn’t bode well for me or my audience. Then I started turning down public speaking whenever possible.
What I’m better at is writing. I’m not the most stupendous writer on earth, but I’m better at expressing myself in the written word than I am in front of a camera. So I’m considering doing a written series about art on my blog.
Maybe it’s bold and conceited, but it can’t be more arrogant than some of the shite I’ve been seeing on YouTube.
Plus, there are other considerations in terms of demonstrations. I don’t do just one thing. I can’t show anyone “how to paint.” I can’t even demonstrate how to paint like I do because I don’t do the same thing every time. I also don’t specifically work in one media. I’m all over the place, though, I have reasons for what I do. I can share that. I can share my art philosophies, my various processes, my influences, or how I arrived where I am today. Maybe that’s of some interest to somebody.
I feel like I have something to offer if even a little. I’ve been at this for thirty-five years. So, I’ll see what I come up with and start filing these things under EsArt Stories.