For fine artists: do you produce better when in company of other working artists or do you prefer to work alone?

I vant to be alooone. :)
There are certain things I make for special reasons and having others around can be too distracting as I have a tendency to goof off….I am inspired by and love looking at art and nature.Today I will start a painting and I plan on listening to Billie Holiday and Lightnin’ Hopkins to relax and enjoy the process.
Are you painting today? :)

My sister has a small studio in a building separate from her house. She and two or three friends paint together several days of every week. Once a month they have dinner and often exhibit in the same shows.

I prefer to do most of my work alone, but some of my metal work is pretty big which requires an assistant and my girlfriend will help me out in the shop.

Mostly alone but I have painted with artist friends and found that to be of benefit too.

@lucillelucillelucille Totally painting today… and putting on Pandora to Billie Holiday. (excellent suggestion) Now just trying to warm the studio up enough for the oil paint to want to move. It is like working with crisco right now.

@gailcalled That sounds amazing. Can you post a link to her site?
I was in a fellowship once and we painted together and showed in similar shows. It was before I had the twins. I don’t have that luxury anymore. I think in a couple years I will be able to do it again though. :)

@SkulpTor Does being alone help you with the thought process?

@janbb Do you find you paint faster with friends?

@Dog: No web site. My sister uses her energy for painting and lets the various galleries handle the publicity.

I like having feedback, and getting suggestions when I am stuck.
However I absolutely hate it when someone looks over my shoulder.

I definitely prefer working alone—but the company of other artists and the “art scene,” as it were, makes for stimulation. Those rambling pub discussions that touch upon art along with the rest of life. The memorable incidents. The occasional “Yes!” when seeing someone else’s work. All feed The artistic spirit.

I have never “group painted,” but I once did a show [silkscreening a montage of images and text directly on all the walls of a gallery] that necessitated having helpers. Wall screening takes 2 people. However, like a performance piece, this as a case of one artist and helpers, not multiple artists.r

I have taken part in a couple of performance pieces but I see that more as an actor with the artist as director. I have also done prep work for other artists for cash, but that is not creative, just a job.

It’s a very different experience. I have never done anything for real with others, usually when others are around it’s because I have encouraged friends to come over for a painting party! So I am really more focused on the process of painting in hopes to inspire others to let loose and tap into their creative side. When I paint alone I really get to experiment with different mediums and what I start off making usually does not end up as the final product. If other peeps were around, I would feel the need to verbalize the process and that would totally get me thinking from my head rather then just following my instinct…..GQ!

I knew a couple, Clark -Hogan, who painted and made prints together [and ran a gallery] but that ended when they split up. He was making art long before he met her and still is. I don’t know about her. Works done jointly here and here .
Having known him and his work for many years, I would say that the controlling creative input is his.

I like the concept of parallel play. If I am working, I would rather work alone. If I am exploring some new media or am engaged in a repetitive task (drawing a million leaves on a tree), then I welcome the company. I particularly prefer when the other person(s) is engaged in a totally different medium than I am at the time. If I am drawing the outline of a painting, I prefer to be alone as I need to think.

I’m a musician I work with many people. :) oh wait what did you mean by “Fine Artists?” ;P

@Dog I like to do my sketching alone in the dark save for one lamp that I use.

@Axemusica How about when you write your music?

Well playing with other musicians is great for writing music. You get different point of views on certain criteria and most of with is valuable info. In fact most songs are written by more than one person. It might be as small as someone saying, “Play this note here.” Collaboration between each other during the course writing a song is practically the norm, with musicians. Also, it’s really fun. :) Watching a song and ideas come together is something I very much enjoy.

I practice a lot of arts, including drawing, playing instruments (mostly the cello lately), writing poetry, doing improv comedy, and acting. I do my best acting with others, and but for anything else, I do better working on my own and then revealing what I’ve done to someone I trust for advice. I like to be free of distractions when I create. Sometimes it’s nice to have my muse nearby, though. :) He’s an exception.