Tag: self-critique

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Monday Morning Art School: critique is executive function for the artist.

Pink Carnation, 8X10, oil on Baltic birch, is heading out west for Courageously Created Fine Art Show & Auction, Washington State.

Executive function is a core concept in psychology. It means a set of mental processes and skills that allow us to manage tasks, regulate our emotions and achieve goals. These help us plan, focus and multitask.

Executive function is also a core concept in painting. It’s the ability to critique our work as we’re doing it. We secretly fear outside criticism. But without some way to measure ourselves against artistic principles, we repeat the same mistakes.

Each of us has experienced harsh or unfounded criticism. But harsh words have no place in formal criticism, which is a structured, time-tested tool for growth. (I became a happier person the day I forgave those people, but that’s another story, one of slowly learning to extend the same grace to others that I want for myself.)

Cottonwoods along the Rio Verde, 9X12, oil on archivally-prepared Baltic birch, , is heading out west for Courageously Created Fine Art Show & Auction, Washington State.

“Do you like this work?”

When we submit our work to thoughtful analysis, the question, “Do you like it?” becomes almost irrelevant. However, a strong negative reaction can mean something. The work may be objectively failing or it may prick others’ beliefs or values.

How can you set your ego aside to figure out which is happening? Ask how the work measures up against the elements of design and design principles. Once we learn to ask these questions while our work is in process, we have developed the ability to self-critique. This pulls us out of the haze of subjectivity.

These design elements and principles transcend style and preference; they are the bones of painting.

Blue and purple, Sedona, 11X14, oil on archivally-prepared Baltic birch, click on image for details.

What are the elements of design?

The elements of design are line, shape, color, form/mass, edges, texture, perspective/depth/space. No painting excels in every area; we are mere humans. However, each of these can be strengthened as we get better at critiquing our own work.

What are the principles of design?

The principles of design are pattern, dominance/emphasis/focal points, unity/variety, harmony, balance, contrast, and rhythm and movement. These are different from the elements of design because they operate on a sliding scale, where neither end is best. For example, serenity and energy are both beautiful, but each serves different goals. The question is whether your painting goals are met by your approach.

Fresh eyes

My Painting Clouds class sold out in 24 hours; its goal is easily understood. That doesn’t make it more useful than Fresh Eyes (Critique). Critique is for experienced painters who want to get better, who want to develop that inner voice that guides their painting.

Not all critique is useful, and that goes double for self-doubt. That is vague, overly personal and usually just plain wrong. Disciplined critique is specific, grounded in the elements of design and delivered with clarity, objectivity and respect. It identifies strengths as well as weaknesses. Knowing what works is just as important as knowing what doesn’t.

Cape Breton Highlands, 8X10, oil on archival canvasboard, click on image for details.

This is for everyone who’s ever asked me for private lessons

When you analyze someone else’s painting, you sharpen your own visual literacy. You begin to see patterns: what creates movement, what deadens a composition, how color relationships sing or collapse. You learn the language of art criticism. That transfers directly back into your own work. You become both painter and editor, creator and critic. You’re able to diagnose problems before they harden into habit. The shared experience accelerates learning in radical ways.

You’ll bring your own work to Fresh Eyes (Critique) and we’ll analyze it together. You’ll learn how to self-critique effectively, creating that executive function for painting. This is a short Zoom session (April 14, 21, 28) meeting from 6-9 PM, EST. If you’re ready to stop second-guessing and start seeing your work clearly, register now.

Registration is now open for workshops in 2026! Reserve your spot:

Can’t commit to a full workshop? Work online at your own pace:

Seven Protocols for Successful Oil Painters

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Put down the red pen

Ravening Wolves, oil on canvas, 24X30, $3,478.00 framed includes shipping in continental US.

On Wednesday, I wrote, “Not creating is a safe position from which to operate. Your talent is inviolable, protected, a seed not open to criticism… That gives you the latitude to criticize other creators, as you are protected from criticism yourself.”

That relationship between nonachievement and criticism is famous in art schools, where bitchiness itself is often raised to a fine art. This video was a one-hit wonder but it captures the experience.

The Logging Truck, 16X20, oil on canvas, $2029 framed, shipping included in the continental US.

The best painters I know are also the most generous critics. They’re courteous and supportive of even the most tentative of efforts. They understand how murky and undeveloped radical new ideas can be, and they’re as curious as anyone as to how they will turn out.

“Put down the red pen,” is an editing maxim (from when writers used pens). It means that the editor should read through a piece first, with an open mind, before starting to make corrections. By coming at a piece flourishing your metaphorical red pen, you’re inclined to start rewriting the piece as you would have written it. That leaves no room for the writer’s own voice or goals.

The same is true with painting. We need to first step back and look and think. When we intervene too forcefully at the beginning, we supersede the artist’s ideas, style and voice. We take on the responsibility for refinement without asking whether that’s helpful or not. ‘I know better than you’ becomes our primary message. That might feel good (temporarily) to the critic, but it can be paralyzing to the painter.

Hostile input shuts us down

There’s plenty of science to tell us that the brain just shuts off at the first hint of stress. Comments that are perceived as personal attacks can set off a cascade of chemical events that weaken our impulse control or paralyze us with anxiety. We’ve all seen the Gary Larson cartoon (above) about what dogs hear when we yell at them. The same is particularly true of teenagers, and to a lesser degree, everyone else.

At my age, I don’t need to be diplomatic, but I do need to be kind. That’s not a moral imperative; I just want my students to hear me. One important way forward is to divorce feelings from criticism. I dislike comments that start with, “I feel…” What you feel about the artist’s use of line, color, shape and form is immaterial. What matters is what you think about those things.

Wreck of the SS Ethie, oil on canvas, 18X24, $2318 framed.

Objectivity is our goal

Here is a framework for objective criticism. These aren’t my ideas; they’re standard criteria for design. Obviously, there’s room in critique for the subjective, since art is ultimately a personal expression. However, these questions can also be framed in non-inflammatory ways. “Does this evoke a response in you,” is a very different question from, “is this painting boring?”

It’s far healthier to learn to apply these standards of criticism to your own paintings than to cast around for approval from your peers (although we’ve all done it). Learning to critique your own work as you go will save you a lot of flailing around.

Registration is now open for workshops in 2026! Reserve your spot:

Can’t commit to a full workshop? Work online at your own pace:

Seven Protocols for Successful Oil Painters