Artist Negar Kamali shares her artistic wisdom.
Each Wednesday I ask a different artist the same three questions.
This week’s artist is from Iran. We have connected quite a bit through Substack, she’s a very interesting person indeed!
1. What first sparked your interest in creating art?
For quite some time, I just wanted to have a hobby but wasn’t sure what would be my choice. After I defended my MA thesis in 2018, I got very depressed because I felt like an outsider in the world of teaching English. That was when I got familiar with an art teacher whose style was very different from what I had seen before. I had my doubts about her, fearing that she would be like my previous art teacher. After some time, I saw that she was really superior to the previous one. I started with pencils and contés, then upgraded to watercolors, and now to mixed-medium pieces.
2. What are your regrets?
My regrets? Well, my only regret is how my lack of ambitiousness and bloody perfectionism (I’m a slowly-recovering perfectionist) is ruining my progress.
3. What wisdom would you offer someone beginning their art career, or exploring art for the first time at any stage in life?
My advice? Don’t ever be afraid to make mistakes or errors. They should buy as many drawing papers as possible so they can later crumple them if necessary.
