"Potainting" and My Need for External Validation

In a playful response to the troll who asked me 'How's the potato painting going?' - I've been making some abstract artworks, using wedges of sweet potato as my mark-making tool. Specifically, I've been exploring the different marks I can achieve using a potato and I'm really happy with how the most recent ones have turned out. I decided to share them on my Facebook page with a request for title suggestions to drive some engagement with this work and was quite surprised by the response. The first painting received 61 comments, the second had 33 title suggestions - mostly food related, it seems. My friend Joel suggested "Potainting" which I thought was hilarious, and I think I might just number all of the potato paintings as a series; 'Potainting 1', 'Potainting 2', etc.

I really enjoy reading my followers interpretations and responses to my artworks but it's made me question whether I have a need for external validation of my creative practice. I watched a video of a psychologist on Tiktok saying that people have a desire to be famous when their needs for validation, approval and acceptance were not met in childhood. And it has made me wonder if the value I attach to this interaction with my work is a result of an unmet psychological need. I shouldn't value an artwork more highly because more people 'liked' or 'commented' on it - but inevitably I do. I'm often accused by critics of "attention seeking" behaviour, and maybe there is some truth to that. Nevertheless, I enjoy the connection it facilitates with my community and I feel like I understand my work better or gain different perspectives on it through external interpretations AKA 'Audience Response Theory'. I often use the best name suggested as the title for the painting and thank them for their suggestion. And ultimately this engagement is good for my social media profile, so I'll likely continue "seeking validation" through my work in this way.