Am I An Artist? / by John Wineberg

This is my struggle lately. Validation is in short supply. Is that the reason to question my art? I make images all the time. Some work and others don’t. I write these blogs, I love some and others, hmm. Regardless of all of this I still create. I still put myself out there, for better or worse. If every artist created with the sole intention of pleasing the audience we would not have most of the art that exists. Most artists create because they must. This is true for me. I create because the idea of not creating is painful.

I’ve photographed so many subjects, landscapes, portraits, city scapes, street scenes and so much more. I’ve done paid work for large corporations and for individuals and families. I’ve shot weddiings, didn’t love it, and I’ve shot events. Now I shoot for me. I wander with my camera searching for new, meaningful images. I want my work to mean something. Telling stories, showing emotion, anything emotion is my goal. This is hard. Not every image meets this goal, but I still shoot. When I shoot film I hope for two or three images that excite me. If there are more than awesome but no far reaching expectations from the 36 frames. When I shoot digital I expect the same. two or three great images will make me happy and feel like the outing was a success.

So I continue my journey, taking my cameras out into the world to capture what I see, both with my eyes, my mind and my heart. Am I an artist? I’m not going to wait for you, or anyone else, to decide, as that is who I am, and nobody can change that.

Until Next Time,

Take Care,

John