Podcast Interview
In case you want to hear a bit of the East-European pidgin English, please go to
Mark Harchar and Aaron Miller, from http://www.drawntoday.com/, have done recently a podcast interview with me. This is how they announced it on their Drawn Today website:
In this special interview episode, Aaron Miller and Mark Harchar sit down with Serbian illustrator Petar Meseldzija and discuss holographic art museums, working for the Medicis, working methods and halushki (ok, the halushki discussion didn't make the cut, but email Miller and he will give you some recommendations)…
The Sketchbook Bron van Verbeelding - Source of Imagination
I think I have a good news for those of you from the US who have tried to purchase my Sketchbook from the Dutch publisher, but failed in the attempt. There is a book seller in California that has recently imported a certain number of copies. In case you are still interested in obtaining a copy of this 364 pages book, that features a selection of sketches and drawings done over the last few decades, please go to
Today’s bonus
This painting, titled The Gate Girl, was created in 1995. Being one of my first proper fantasy pieces, it marks the beginning of my journey into the world of fantasy illustration.
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| Preliminary drawing |
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| The Gate Girl, 50 x 70 cm (19 1/2 " x 27 1/2", oil on masonite |
Hi Petar, I really enjoyed your interview. It reminded me of our conversations we had about similar subjects over the last few years.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to the next podcast Interview. I would really appreciate your thoughts on a subject of preserving joy and playfulness in art making process. Have you ever lost the joy of painting because of impossibly high standards you have set for yourself, or any other reason?
Hi Dragan, nice to hear from you again!
ReplyDeleteHow to preserve joy and playfulness during the process of creation – this is a very interesting, complex and tricky question! I am afraid I am not competent enough to talk about it, because I am still wrestling with that issue, and therefore, in a certain sense, I have not become a master when it comes to this. The only thing I can share is my own experience with this problem.
As I already mentioned in the podcast interview, the technical side of painting is not a problem for me anymore, but my high expectations, or high standards, as you would say, and my perfectionism. These things are causing me troubles. And, YES, I did experience many times that feeling of not having joy anymore while painting. But somehow, that unpleasant feeling did not stay within me for a long time. Most of the time, after a few days of rest, I was fit enough again and eager to go on wrestling with my painting’s demons . These days, after having been working very hard on a painting for a whole week, I get tired, sometimes even exhausted, but generally speaking, I do not lose the joy of painting or the enthusiasm. I have come to realize that painting has become my second nature, and creating art my life. To reject painting, or the joy of it, would be the same as rejecting myself. It makes no sense. Secondly, as I grow older, it becomes more clear to me that finding yourself and genuinely and profoundly living yourself (also through art), is the safest and swiftest way to happiness. Striving to become the best painter or illustrator of the world, is not something I am spending my energy on any more ( Although I must admit that there was a time when this was an issue and it almost killed me). This notion is a privilege of youth, and I am not young any more…fortunately, in a certain sense…
But, there is one thing I am quite convinced about when it comes to losing joy of painting or creating – a true MASTER never creates without joy, elation or playfulness. Creation and joy are the synonyms on that level. I only can hope that I will one day be able to climb to that level and enter that realm.
Love the emotional clarity you have when it comes to your work. Only the people who truly love creating can put enough of themselves into the process to succeed time and time again for decades at a time :)
ReplyDeleteHi Nate – Yes, I like creating very much. As I said, it is my life. I have a wife (my best friend), no children, and my family is in Serbia, 2000 kilometers from where I live now – I see them only once or twice a year. So, I spend my days creating pictures, beside a few other things like reading and writing…
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