O is for Owl.
Posted: January 8, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized 10 Comments
I like this one. This one restored my confidence. But while making it tonight, I noticed how much harsher on myself I am with visual art than with writing. I wonder why that is…? I have the same formal training in visual art as I do in creative writing: not much. The critic-on-the-shoulder says things like, “This doesn’t look like an owl. Owls have a much bigger wingspan. It’s not representative. Is it supposed to be? Well it’s representative in some aspects but not others. You’re mixing approaches. If you want to go stylized, your style isn’t realized enough. Tomie dePaola never made anything this confused.” …and so on.
But I’ll just do what I normally do, which is ignore the voice (it’s a BABY OWL, all right?), make lots more of them, explore weird new methods, and get better. In fact I have an idea to create custom-made illuminated letters—they’d make a wonderful gift for baby showers, weddings, anything. Stay tuned.
Here’s the full owl. It’s my nephew Niko’s symbol.
monica byrne 
I think it’s beautiful.
Thank you, D. I thought of you while writing this…I think we talked about the tyranny of representative art at some point.
we totally did, and tyranny is the right word.
It is quite representative of owlness.
Owl-NESS, not necessarily owl! I love it! š
mmmm. love it. yes, good to treat those critical voices casually, mostly.
Keekee, yes. Don’t give them power.
“At least make yourself useful and get me some coffee.”
There is this huge artistic fallacy out there about realism (and technical skill in drawing specifically). I think that writing has different creative properties, which frees it from this “tyranny” in particular but subjects it to others… perhaps just as artistically illogical…? Love the owl.
Thank you! And yeah, I’m trying to figure out where my fixation on realism came from. Maybe because my early talent in realism was praised, and my art teacher in high school was fixated on it, especially…? Anyway, yes, God knows writing has its own tyrannies…