Where do you draw the line...

Hello Everyone,

Sorry I missed you all last Saturday, I came down with the flu, and it wiped me out for just over a week. Don't worry though, my doctor confirms you can't transmit the flu through a blog. Anyway, here I am back to blog with all of you.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a fellow photographer named Lynda. She had been hired to work as our production photographer on a film I am currently working on. I absolutely love photography, so I went and introduced myself. 

Lynda was very pleasant, thoughtful, and humble... way too humble. As a fellow artist I have this sense for when people are overstating their accomplishments, being humble, or have been crushed about their work. In Lynda's case, she has been crushed.

I had asked to see some of her work and I was absolutely blown away. This woman, who I had never met before, came out of nowhere, and displayed her work, and it left me reeling showing me just how far I still had to go. My work, was no where near the level of care, effect, and presentation as her own.

I knew at that moment she had been crushed. I asked her why she would speak so poorly about her abilities when clearly she was a gifted artist. That is when she began to tell me a story I have heard all too often. She poured out her soul, right there as she described moments of pure torture as those she knew, and didn't know (through social media) attacked her work, calling her a Photoshop hack ( among even less polite words), and how she wouldn't need to use the computer if she knew what she was doing.

She would recite very specific things that were said, hurtful things, and I was devastated for her. I became angry, I wanted to know who these "people" were, but she very graciously replied, "I have learned to look past the hurt, I now make art for myself."

We continued to talk, and I had encouraged her, when she was ready, to share this art with the world. She makes such beauty, intrigue and mystery. You would all be blessed as I was to see it.

I share this story, because too often artists are crushed and hurt, even destroyed by the comments of the jealous and mean. I am not speaking of critiquing. We need to be critiqued, it helps us to grow, think about things, and answer the "why" and "so what". What I am referring to is the hurtful comments made by those we know, and those who hide behind the ambiguity of the internet.

The images provided with this blog, are some of Lynda's work. Taking a look at what you see, you can tell why I was so upset. Her work is incredible and deserves to be shared.

If you know someone who is a budding artist, and hasn't quite developed the thick skin yet, to handle such hard words, heck, even if they have, take a minute, draw a line in the sand, and encourage them. You would be surprised how far an encouraging word from a fellow artist will go. We don't all make art we equally enjoy, but we can equally enjoy art together.

Images are (c)2014 Lynda's Photo Art, ARR. Shown with permission. (Lynda Hurd Goodman)