obstacles

Stuart Bush Studio notes, francis bacon

What to paint – The recipe for failure

What to paint – The recipe for failure I remember just starting out as an artist, and I didn’t know what to paint. The choice seems so vast and momentous. I was often lost in thought as I was worried about making the wrong decision. I wasted a lot of time and energy when l should have just got started. Recently I heard this advice from Herbert Swope (b 1958) the editor and journalist, “I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: ‘trying to please everyone all the time.” Although these words of wisdom do not come from an artist, it… Read More »What to paint – The recipe for failure

stuart bush studio, you don't understand me,

Painter Killed By Critique Of His Own Bad Art

Painter Killed By Critique of His Own Bad Art. Most artists share the same fear and dread, a bad review!  You think it’s all over.  It makes you feel reluctant to share your work. I can imagine the day a museum curator knocks on my studio door with good news, and there is no answer.  The bell keeps ringing…   The curator keeps trying to get an answer until she realises something terrible might have happened.  Eventually, she gains access.  Underneath a pile of bad art, she can see my feet sticking out the bottom.  Is he dead?  Does she run for help? No, she horrified by how much bad… Read More »Painter Killed By Critique Of His Own Bad Art

Stuart Bush Studio Blog, I needed to find my new painting in my last painting

My new painting in my last painting

I needed to find my new painting in my last painting When I started out and sought to develop my work into an artistic practice I often used to get very frustrated and disappointed when I felt I had made an unsuccessful work of art.  As the piece was near completion judgemental voices in my head would take over saying, “this isn’t good enough,” “you’re not good enough” and “you’re never going to make a go of this”.  But over time I have learnt that I need to find my new painting in my last painting.   After a bad day in the studio, I use to stare at the canvas.  I… Read More »My new painting in my last painting

The Rush, Stuart Bush Studio Blog

Wishing for dyslexia

Wishing for dyslexia I recently read a book by Malcolm Gladwell called David and Goliath. The theme of the book highlights how we are misled about the nature of our advantages and disadvantages.  Gladwell explains that it isn’t always correct our disadvantages preventing us from being successful in life.  “We have a definition in our heads of what an advantage is — and the definition isn’t right. And what happens as a result? It means that we make mistakes. It means that we misread battles between underdogs and giants. It means that we underestimate how much freedom there can be in what looks like a disadvantage.”   In chapter four, Gladwell starts… Read More »Wishing for dyslexia

©Stuart Bush, untitled photograph

A painters approach to street photography

I found the question of where to start as an artist after art school an easy one. I had a desire to capture something about now; the present moment in the city.  My camera seemed an obvious place to start. I picked up my camera and took pictures.  Cartier Bresson labelled it “the decisive moment.”  I wanted to capture a split second of an ever-changing mad rush.  By doing so, I found a way to make art; I discovered a painters approach to street photography. My walk with a camera started with no intention of where I was going; not in my steps and not in my art.  Each time I went out with… Read More »A painters approach to street photography

What it takes to paint something original

When I started out on my journey, like most art students, my ultimate goal was to communicate what I see.  I was inspired by other artist’s work. As a consequence, I wanted to make my own significant contribution to culture. When everything has been done before, to have any chance of achieving this goal, I realised it’s important to understand how to paint something original and unique. In this post, I discuss what I have uncovered on my artistic journey.   In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell explains his thoughts about his ‘10,000-hour-rule’ as, “the magic number of greatness.”  Gladwell’s idea is that originality only comes after spending 10,000 hours mastering… Read More »What it takes to paint something original

Dyslexia isn’t going to stop me

I avoided practising my reading and writing skills as I grew up. I easily slipped through the net due to changing schools several times. It took me a long time to read a book, however, I started to enjoy reading in my twenties. At 27 years old I was diagnosed with dyslexia. It took me a while to realise that dyslexia wasn’t going to stop me.   I didn’t enjoy writing before I had a blog. I always felt my writing was poor. The way I used to get my ideas down on paper was confused and in a jumble. In spite of that, I believed that my ideas and content were good. It used to… Read More »Dyslexia isn’t going to stop me

The art of being idle

Congratulations! You have just started reading a blog post that encourages you to be idle in order to improve your creative work.  So relax, put your feet up and read on to find out how being idle can be turned into the art of being idle.   Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America said, “It is the working man who is a happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man.” This quote reflects a common misunderstanding about the benefits of being busy versus the benefits of being idle. It is important to clear this problem up for us creative… Read More »The art of being idle

Stuart Bush Studio Blog, When it is advisable to wrong, My typical day as a painter

I wish I could paint every day

I wish I could paint every day… Every day I paint I have an adventure into the unknown.   Every day I am excited by the possibilities in the work.   Every day I paint I enjoy the production of novelty the most.   Every day I paint, I decide what I want to work on the night before.  My unconscious mind thinks and contemplates it overnight. The next day I effortlessly to know where to start.   Stuart Bush Studio Notes: paint every day Painting Freedom – Albert Oehlen review Every day I paint I don’t make it overly complicated.   Every day I paint my studio has to be… Read More »I wish I could paint every day

Places to go for inspiration

When I enter my studio I often have times when I need to be inspired.  No matter what l do l meet resistance. I walk around the room, or I sit feeling frustrated with a closed mind.  My mind doesn’t feel like being creative.  Fighting this situation never works. All that happens is that l waste the day. I have to get out.  I need to find a place to go to for inspiration.   Over time, l have learnt to embrace these moods and seek solace and inspiration elsewhere.  Near my studio, I have a lovely country walk.  Whatever the weather, I put my shoes on and head off.  … Read More »Places to go for inspiration