The art teacher who said my brush strokes were 'too polite'
I was at a tiny gallery opening in Portland last month, just browsing, when an older woman came up next to me at a painting I was staring at. She asked what I thought, and I gave this usual careful answer about color balance. She laughed and said, "Your brush strokes are too polite. You're asking permission from the canvas." I had no idea who she was, but it turned out she taught figure painting for 30 years. That one line stuck with me all week. I went home and started using my stylus way more aggressively, bigger gestures, less undo button. Made three pieces that actually felt like mine instead of a copy of someone else's style. Has anyone else had a stranger's critique that reframed how you work?