A Brown House and more about my Inner Critic

August 5, 2014 | 3 Comments

Ah! My sketch & walk is just so good for me. I break from my crazy mornings activities between 9.30-10am and clear my head by a little walk, get the creative juices pumping by a little playing with pigment and water on paper AND soak up some of our wonderful Sydney winter sun. Like yesterday the resultant sketch is actually secondary to these other factors!

I hate to admit it but I am getting used to the texture moleskine watercolour paper in this book… look at some of those crazy things that are happening. I was going to take my Beta out but couldn’t find it (note: my studio is not always neat and sorted)


Just a follow-up on my reference to my Inner Critic (IC) and some comments yesterday. I was very happy to get this comment as I means I can share a little more about my thoughts about IC.

“It’s good to know you have this inner critic dialogue with yourself…I would think that someone as prolific a sketcher such as you would feel much more accepting of your skills.”

You know – I hope that I am never 100% happy with my skills or with my results…and I don’t think I ever will be. There is always so much to improve and your IC knows all about this. Your IC can bring up all the sketches you have done in the past and say “Surely you can do better” … so I don’t think IC ever goes away.

I don’t believe in trying to silence your IC – instead I prefer to make friends with it. If my IC says ” that’s wrong, you should know better” I take it on… and ask my IC “why is it wrong, what did I do wrong to get to this point of out of control with my sketch?” You know, I do so much enjoy the banter with my IC – I love it in fact – and I  am determined to come off on top every time!

Once the IC is tested it really starts helping you out. The IC does actually have a lot of useful things to say – just unfortunately at times it gets a bit carried away and becomes a little too personal. Learn to ignore the silly bits and get your IC working for you!

Hmm.. yesterday I was talking to myself… today it is even worse… I am befriending my inner critic!?!

3 Comments

  • Sometimes I put my inner critics on Insta therapy.
    If the IC is attacking a sketch competely overemphasizing the negative aspects I tell him: ok, we‘ll post it (the point where the IC gets a heart attack…). I tell him: people don’t know its a bad sketch and we wont tell them. We‘ll post it with confidence, with a nice text, just pretending it‘s just what it should be.
    Then the likes come. There‘s always people that are enthusiastic about this very sketch for the most different, individual reasons.
    And I tell the IC: have a look at the sketch again. See the aspects people like about it! Can you see it? (IC grumbling but admitting the sketch not ONLY bad…).
    So step by step we train a more balanced and warmhearted approach to criticizing sketches, Insta community helping a lot being so supportive.

Leave a Reply