“As an artist, growth can be both exciting and terrifying. Not because we don’t want to grow, but because we so often fear what others will think of that growth. We question whether a new style or genre will be accepted … We worry that new and different work might not sell. …
“Artists, by nature, are predisposed to growth; we need growth. I believe we fear stagnation more than we fear anything.
“The art we create is meant to be growing, evolving. It is a process that keeps us in a constant state of discovery and learning. … when we experiment, when we look at things differently, or when we move on to something new … this is how we grow. Insatiable curiosity is not just important to art, but a necessary part of the growth process.”
Lyn Asselta, Saturdays at the Cove 8 May 2021
There are paintings I’ve never shown anyone but the in-house art critic. And there are some not even Alistair’s seen unless he happened to come into my studio when I was creating it. Some experimental, some are failures, but some I like very much. With certain new things there’s a period in which it’s too fresh, too intensely felt, for me to talk about, yet. I’ve also learnt that I tend to cycle back around to favourite subject and locations, using the “new” to explore the “old” afresh. Ripening and replanting are part of nature’s growth cycle as much as growth.