When I was a student, I wanted to participate in a (friendly) group show and I submitted a few works. The work which I included here, namely an oil colour (and oil pastel) on board, was one of the works. The committee decided that this work would not be allowed “show time” because it was too sentimental. The little ceramic dog which I included, was simply too much for them. I accepted their judgement; they were older than me. However, two of my cubistic works were included, so I did not give their “sentimental” reference too much head space then.
Now that I am much older, I have come to realise that if we bother too much about what people say about our work, we may become side-tracked or bitter or we may even stop producing art. I believe as creatives we have to be careful not to become too “aloof” for our audience; many art buyers may still prefer “sentimental” to more daring works. The beauty of the (art) world is that there is room for everyone and his or her peculiar taste.
Andy Warhol said, “Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” Let us try to put Warhol’s advice into practice; opinions are opinions; paintings are wonderfully visible.