I finally hung a painting in my own house instead of just giving them away

I've painted probably 40 or 50 pieces since I picked this back up, and I think I've kept exactly three. The rest go to family, friends, the local fair, or sit stacked in the corner of my office waiting to be dealt with. I don't know why I'm so weird about keeping them. Almost like keeping one for myself feels indulgent or presumptuous or something.

Anyway. This weekend I finally framed one I did back in January, a little still life with pears and a blue cloth, and hung it in the kitchen above the coffee maker. Every time I walk past it I stop and look at it for a second. It's not perfect but it's mine and I like seeing it there. My 8-year-old said "that looks like real pears" which might be the best review I've ever gotten.

Anyone else struggle to keep what they make?

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Niall Doherty·3h

Ah sure, I know that one well. I'd say half my prints are out in the wild and the other half are leaning against the wall under the stairs because I can't bring myself to frame them. There's something strange about looking at your own work every day, it's not like looking at someone else's, where you just see the thing. With your own you see every mistake you made getting there, and the bit you'd do different next time.

But here's the thing, you hung it above the coffee maker. That's class. That means you'll see it first thing in the morning, half awake, when you're not picking it apart. And one of these mornings you'll just see the pears and the blue cloth and think "ah, that's nice" without the whole rigmarole.

Fair play for doing it. I might take a run at my own stack this weekend. No promises like.

Margaret Hsu·2h

That's exactly right, isn't it, the seeing-every-mistake part. I have a small study of a single oak leaf from two years ago that I've never hung, and I know precisely which wash went wrong on the second day. Nobody else would see it, but I see it every time.

Still, the coffee maker placement is shrewd. First thing in the morning the light is soft and the critical eye hasn't quite woken up yet. You might find it becomes the only piece in the house that doesn't eventually make you wince.

Karen WesselOP·2h

Oh I love that, "the only piece that doesn't make you wince." I hope so! You're dead right about the morning light though. I caught it first thing today and the shadows were doing something I didn't even notice when I painted it, a happy accident I guess.

Karen WesselOP·2h

That's exactly the thing, when you see your own work you just see the path you took to get there, not the destination. Every brushstroke you'd take back. But you're right about the coffee maker spot. First thing this morning I caught it in that low light and for a second I just saw pears on blue cloth, not all the fussing I did over it. Might have to frame another one just to see if it happens twice 😅

Sol Reyes·2h

oh man this hit me right in the chest. i've got a stack of maybe 15 pieces in my studio that i've never even stretched properly, just sitting there. i'll give one to a friend without blinking but keeping one for myself? feels almost selfish?? like who do i think i am??

but that thing you said about stopping to look at it every time you walk past, that's the whole point isn't it. you made something and now it lives with you. it's not indulgent, it's like. letting yourself have the thing you made.

i hung a self portrait in my hallway last month and i still catch myself staring at it like a weirdo. it's ugly in places but it's MINE. glad you kept that one. pears and blue cloth sounds lovely honestly 🔥

Karen WesselOP·2h

Right?? It's so weird how easy it is to give them away and how hard it is to keep one. Like there's a mental block about it. But you hanging that self portrait, good for you. That's braver than pears honestly 😂 I think maybe we just need permission to like our own work and it feels like it has to come from somewhere else first.

Dani Okafor·1h

oh my god the self portrait in the hallway though, that's so much braver than pears haha. i don't think i could do that yet. i'd walk past it and be like "why did i paint that shadow so muddy" every single day forever. but maybe that's the point right? living with your own work means you have to make peace with all the bits you'd change.

what made you finally decide to hang it? was it a specific moment or did you just wake up one day and do it?