Thursday, July 3, 2014

The Eye of the Artist. (The Importance is not in the equipment.)


I have a story from my life that I feel like needs to be shared. 
This story has inspired me constantly as an artist. 

I hope it can do the same for whoever reads this. :)



My college photography professor told me a story about how one of her best students entered a series of photographs taken with an Iphone into a large judged gallery showing. She ended up winning the whole gallery showing. Anytime people in my college class would brag about equipment or tell others they needed better equipment my college professor would remind every one that her best student she had won the gallery judging just off of Iphone Photography and the fact that it's not about having the most current expensive device, but rather about the eye of the artist. 

As I've gotten older it becomes more apparent why my college professor would drill this story into our heads; A lot of people are very concerned about having the best of whatever equipment because "having better equipment equals having a better piece of art"

Well it's not true.

The real source of great art is the artist's mind and their mind's eye.
Not the thousands of dollars or hundreds someone has spent on top of the line supplies. 

Please keep this in mind whenever you're making any form of art; you are an artist, equipment doesn't matter. What does matter is the ability to put emotions onto paper or convey images or sounds properly, your goal is to make the viewer feel an emotion (good or bad) and get them to think.

Stay Spooky!
Allison Eckfeldt

6 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing that!
    One of my mediums is make up - & sometimes I get a little down seeing all these other enthusiasts with really expensive materials, brushes, carriers, etc. (the Naked palettes? $53.00 a piece? For so little make up? D'8), but then I remember that I can make the same or very similar, with products are way less, b/c I've taken time to learn how to apply & the mechanics behind everything, & I'm not relying on money (just skill & experience). D

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think this is such an important thing. I draw mostly with the cheapest ball-point pens I can get and on paper off-cuts or just plain white copier paper/utility paper. My drawings still sell, my attention to detail does not alter with my materials, and I actually think it is easier to shade with cheap ball-point pens than with expensive ones, as the good quality ones have a far more even flow of ink and the the cheap ones are more pressure-sensitive.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh I do agree so much with this. Many talented artist use scraps and trash and it makes them stretch their imagination even further. I use my phone camera a lot more than my digital because it's absolutely good enough.

    ReplyDelete
  4. completely agree. took me a long time to realize this myself. it's a shame a lotta people are too focused on "stuff" and not on what they're meant to be doing, or aspire to do.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love this a lot and it is true.
    I honestly do not care what materials I have on hand as long as I can create what ever I want.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love this a lot and it is true.
    I honestly do not care what materials I have on hand as long as I can create what ever I want.

    ReplyDelete