The Measure of Success

Last week I wrote

“Likes, comments, shares and online popularity are not a measure of talent or good work.”

But nor are they a measure of our success.

All the time I was drawing as a young child I only ever dreamed of being an artist. All I ever wanted to do was draw. As I got older, I started to visualise what that might mean. Maybe I would be an illustrator of books or a designer of beautiful gowns, but as long as I could express myself through putting pictures down on paper I knew I would be happy. But then it came to a time to make choices about A levels and careers and my parents and school had other ideas. I would never make any money as an artist, I wouldn’t be able to make a living, art wasn’t a proper job… and worst of all from my school chaplain “There have never been any great female artists” In other words, I wouldn’t be successful as an artist.

‘My Favourite Painting’ Oil on canvas

Oh, how I wish I had stood up for myself and had the courage of my convictions to listen to my own voice, (especially in the conversations with the school chaplain) but I believed them. I studied maths instead of art and I became a teacher. It wasn’t all bad and I enjoyed teaching, I just struggled with the maths. I liked problem solving and geometry – all those wonderful drawings – but A level calculus scared me silly. Every day when I walked into a classroom I thought I would be found out as a fraud. My relief was tangible when I finally gave up work to raise my family.

Via a circuitous route I have now returned to art in later years and have spent the past twenty or so working in textiles, mostly teaching, but it was a comment last week from my mother (why do our parents still do this to us… I’m 66 years old for goodness sake) that made me question what we mean by success. I was explaining once again that I have an exhibition of paintings soon and telling my Mum that it would all be portraits. She immediately said ‘Will anyone want to buy pictures of people they don’t know” as if selling my paintings was the only measure of my success.

‘Nothing Compares’ Oil on Canvas

It was the same day that I read a fabulous piece here on Substack by the writer

Elif Shafak

called “The Myth of the Successful Writer” that totally resonated with me because whether we are writing novels or making paintings the myth about being successful applies to us all.

What do we mean by success and its close companion failure, which can be defined as ‘the absence or lack of success’. Does that mean success is simply the lack or absence of failure? Is it one thing or another? Do we either succeed or else we fail? We tend to associate success with material gain, wealth, power, fame but is this what it really means? Can we only be successful if we are rich and powerful? I don’t think so.

‘Joe’ Oil on Canvas

Elif explains how the word success has its roots in the Latin succedere which means to come close after or follow. The word successus means a happy consequence or a good result that makes one feel content. Surely this is a much better definition of success? A feeling of contentment with our life.

So who is a successful artist? Is it the one who sells work for thousands of pounds, the winner of prizes and awards, widely recognised and applauded? Yes, that is one definition of success I suppose, but surely the artist who paints purely for pleasure is also a success. I will be the first to admit that it can bring pleasure and joy to be recognised, for our work to be admired and sort after, but I don’t think I have ever started a painting with thoughts of material gain or recognition. (I would be a very disappointed person if I did). I paint because it makes me happy.

‘Iris’ Oil on Canvas

Success is not an outcome; it is the challenge of the process. It means nothing to me to have someone admire a painting if I know it is not working. If it’s not what I want it to be. Success for me is getting it right for me, working out how to resolve problems, learning and growing. Only then, when I am happy with the outcome does it feel good to share what I have done. If someone else likes or appreciates my work it is a bonus, but it is not a measure of my success.

Shafik talking about writing says:

“If through our words we can reach out to even a single person and touch their heart and make them understand they are not alone, we have achieved our goal.”

And it is the same with art. So, to return to my mother’s comment it doesn’t matter to me if I don’t sell any paintings at my exhibition, wonderful though it would be. It is enough that I have made these paintings over the course of the year, often reworking them, resolving problems or having to start again until I felt happy with them. It makes me happy too that I have an opportunity to share them. It’s a privilege to have an exhibition in which to showcase my work.  And if they bring even a glimmer of joy into a single person’s life then I consider that to be successful.

The paintings here are a sample of those I have on show. If you live in South Cambs or North Herts then you might like to come along and see them for yourself. The exhibition is already open, two weeks earlier than planned. And if you give me a shout, I’ll try to be there to say hello.

And remember the words of the American essayist and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson

“What is success?
To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate the beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!”