Iina Koppinen: Why visual artists should have a blog, success – and one epic failure

27 Jun, 2018 by Iina Koppinen

Print this article Font size -16+

OHMYGOSSIP – Here I’ am – sitting and staring at a blank laptop screen.  Sometimes it just happens.. if I’am tired, I lose all my good ideas what I was thinking to write about! And that is frustrating.  I don’t want call it a day to be anything like walking away from the laptop.  I always tend to write my ideas up, but sometimes it’s not possible – a couple days ago I was driving my car, and had this wow– moment.   I thought – oh yeah, this is something I can remember without stopping and writing it up.  After I had done everything I needed before starting to write my new post – obviously, I tried, but I couldn’t remember, what the wow was.

photo and sketch with a quote: Iina Koppinen (upper photo taken in Adeje) – “Lazy day artblogger”

I think every visual artist should write about their work.  It’s nowadays almost necessary – if you want to succeed in a career of yours, you know.  I started to write about my life and my work, because this gives me ability to tell my own words, who I am, and what I think, and especially, this is a great way to show my work.. tell what’s behind my work.  Writing a blog gives me possibilities to imagine.  It is also an effective way to make brand as artist.. and sometimes it helps me developing my visual projects better. Writing gives an other way to see myself and my work.  I can’t stay waiting for some fairy of an inspiration to come.  I mean – what would happen if everyone would be thinking – oh, I can’t do my work, because this inspiration thing haven’t been seen anywhere near to me?

I know people are different, and that’s just my opinion.  If I think about inspiration it’s more like those situations like should I go for a walk or jogging.

I want to learn from my mistakes, or someone else’s mistakes.  Always hoping not to repeat those in the future.  Writing about mistakes or troubles does not make anyone weak – but of course I feel that I should not show any sketch which is somehow totally epic fail!  I can tell you, sometimes I am almost too sensitive person – and more like an introvert too.  But I try really hard to become better and better all the time, and find my strengths also in my everyday life as well as working.

Here below is my epic failure sketch..  And I would be so delightful, if you told me what you think about it?

sketchphoto: Iina Koppinen, black and white ink on paper, 2018

“Believe me… I’ve made a career out of being the right thing in the wrong space and the wrong thing in the right place.  That’s one thing I really do know”  – Andy Warhol quote

“Another time Ivan Karp said: Why don’t you paint some cows, they’re so wonderfully pastoral and such a durable image in the history of the arts. (Ivan talked like this)” – Andy Warhol / Pat Hacket

I really love those quotes!  When I was on my early twenties and moved to a new town after art school.. I often heard about my way to speak and articulate.  It had not happened before, in art school nobody thought about those kind of things.  Once I was in some little local pub and this older gentleman took himself a freedom to come and tell me nobody speaks like that.  It was horrible.. I was so shy.  My way of speaking is more like this literary language.  I tried to make it sound more like this normal spoken language, dialect perhaps. Nowadays, when I’ am older, I’am happy the way I speak.. it just happens to be my style and it is unique.

Everyone of us are unique persons and everyone of us have our own different styles to communicate.

Photos: Iina Koppinen – “In a garden, smiling to you”

Sun is shining.  Ther’a a lot to do.  See you soon, again!

Have a relaxed, happy feeling, where ever you are!

xoxo

Iina