A word about Clunkers

 

A Clunker of mine that I totally despised! Gave it to a friend, never to see the light of day again!

I'm going to tackle a difficult topic for artists: Clunkers. Clunkers is a word we use to describe paintings that don't end well. Whether lost interest, large mistake, or just a canvas that has been painted over one too many times, we all have clunkers that hide in the back of our closets. All artists fail, and much like many other professions, we don't like to be reminded of it.

Artists often talk about clunkers with statements like, "I'm gonna burn this one to ashes", or, "I can't wait to toss this crap out of a biplane!" I've seen lots of non-artists reel up in horror at this, and they always then respond with a simple phrase: "If you don't like it, I'll take it! I'd pay "___" for that anyday!"

 

A clunker I was able to turn around and save (not too happy with it, but it's OK..)

 

Let me be clear- artists are somewhat divided on this- there are some artists that sell their studies or even their clunkers for small amounts (usually 20-50 bucks a piece) to friends or students, who seriously appreciate them. However, it is important to understand that the divide on this issue is about 80/20 % (artist magazine poll), with the larger group favoring destruction. The issue at hand is simple. Artists don't generally want their failures displayed. Period.

Let's say your an oncologist. Your job is to tell people they have cancer, and then to help them fight it. Let's be honest- not an easy job by any stretch, and even if you're a great doctor, you're going to lose patients to the disease. Let's say somebody wanted to feature you in an article about a recent patient, but the patient didn't survive. Let's also say that the article was putting you on display for great work you did in diagnosis, or treatment, but at the end of the day, cancer won. This isn't a pleasant position, and I'm sure the oncologist would much prefer not to be featured, unless the procedure was groundbreaking in some other way. Nobody in any profession likes to be reminded of their failures.

Being a painter is a very different example (and much less high intensity, obviously, than dealing with somebody's life- no disrespect meant with the comparison!), but the general principle still applies- People do not want their failures displayed, for any price really.

Sometimes discussions like this are hard to finish, as no obvious end can be seen. I've tried my best to present the issue with the generally favored opinion, but I will try again and summarize below:

 

A Clunker I'm currently trying to save... we'll see how it ends up (not too hopeful..)

 

What to take from this:

• All artists have Clunkers. If you're an artist, and you feel like around 1/4 or so of your paintings are clunkers, you are not alone!
• Some artists are comfortable selling their clunkers for a greatly reduced price (often AT COST of materials)- that's fine- it's their work!
• Some artists give their clunkers away to good friends, knowing that they will be enjoyed but not publicly displayed (This is where I fall)- again, it's their prerogative. 
• Many artists are uncomfortable selling their clunkers at all. They'd rather they be destroyed. Nobody should have to endure their failures publicly if they don't want to.