Nobody Likes a Copycat

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Don’t be a copycat.

I teach a lot.

And every once in a while someone will ask me, “Aren’t you afraid of copycats?”

My answer to that is: no.

No one has the same vision as me.

I can teach people the same techniques, but it’s the vision and the voice that make the viewer stop and ‘see’ my work.

I recently finished a course by Robin Rice called “Training Your Inner Warrior” and she shares this explanation of the different levels of being a student:

• Shu (pronounced, shoe), meaning: hold
• Ha (pronounced the same as “Ah-HA!”) meaning: break
• Ri (pronounced, re, like we), meaning: leave

In Shu, you give everything over to the teacher/master because even though she is not all wise, she is wiser than you when it comes to the matter at hand.

You keep her rules just because they are her rules.

She followed them and gained mastery. If you want to learn what she has learned, you must as well.

In Ha, you are following the rules and the teacher/master is guiding you along, but you are allowed to stray outside the lines.

You know the rules and can now experiment, but you will still seek advice.

In Ri, you are on your own. You don’t lean on the teacher/master anymore. You make your own way.

Most of us go through this process….

…and, at least in the beginning, there’s potential to copy another’s work.

I mean, we all need to take inspiration from somewhere, right?

But artist and educator Megan Auman had this to say about inspiration,

“Taking in inspiration is the key to creative energy, in much the same way that taking in food is essential for life. But just as with food, the creative energy you put out is in indirect proportion to the kinds of inspiration you take in. Take in a diverse and nutrient rich blend of ingredients and it becomes easier to create a unique and distinctive body of work. Fail to do so, and the result is mediocre products that look like so much of what is already in the marketplace. Garbage in, garbage out.”

In a nut shell, we should be aiming to take in inspiration and then translate it into something new. Something that is our own.

The greater the diversity of inspiration, the easier we’ll be able to move past the copycat stage and create our own unique work.

Never be content to simply imitate others.

Getting to the Ri stage, where your work becomes an extension of yourself, should be the ultimate goal for any creative.

Of course it’s scary to put yourself out there.

You’re no longer just taking pretty pictures and turning them into works of art. Your vision now becomes an extension of yourself.

As an artist you have to be true to yourself, because if you’re not….you’ll never be happy.

Always strive for the Ri in your life, and in your work.

 

Learn the basic techniques of encaustic photography, hone your signature style and create stunning pieces of art in my signature online eCourse, The Artistic Image. 

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Would love to hear your thoughts on using other artists work as your inspiration.

Be well….be creative,