Ok, this list might sound a little confronting, so first let me say that it’s is shared both from extensive personal experience, {number 14 is my current reality at time of writing 🤣} and with love! 🫶
The reason I’m sharing it?
Because all of the following are commonplace experiences for all artists, of all types, ages, and career lengths.
And we all kind of know this, but often only intellectually, so these things become an unquestioned lived experience that appears to be ‘just the way it is’, when often we can trace it back to JUST THOUGHTS we’re having about something.
Which is amazing news, because thoughts are malleable things; they’re not the truth, and we don’t have to entertain – let alone believe – them.
Change is always possible, artist friend.
So let’s see if any of these ring true for you:
1 | You don’t use the time you set aside for art to actually make art.
2 | You don’t set aside time to make art at all.
3 | When you’re in the studio {or wherever you create}, you often feel uncomfortable, and find yourself tidying, or rearranging the shelves, or going blank.
4 | You cringe inwardly when opportunities arise to tell people you’re an artist.
5 | You use words like ‘just’, ‘dabbling’, and ‘aspiring artist’, or ‘not a real artist’ when talking about yourself – and then feel kind of deflated.
6 | A skeptical or negative comment about your art – or your desire to make it – can derail you for weeks, or longer.
7 | You can never tell if a piece is finished. {And sometimes you decide to say it is even though you know it’s not, just so you can stop angsting over it.}
8 | You wonder constantly if your art is ‘good enough’.
9 | There’s always a problem around your art – not enough time, no inspiration, you’re ‘too scattered’, you don’t know what your style is, it’s not selling.
10 | Your pet problems live in your head as realities you can’t get past, and affect how often you get to make art.
11 | You’re certain that it’s your lack of degree or any other formal qualifications that means you can’t be a ‘real artist’.
12 | Or wait, maybe it’s because you can’t draw realistically.
13 | You’re always starting new work, because that’s the fun and free-feeling part, while the unfinished pieces pile up around you and start to feel like a weight.
14 | Every time you think about ‘getting your work out there’ – be it sharing on social media, submissions to opportunities, approaching galleries, or anything else that would mean more eyes on your work, and therefore more potential ‘feedback’ – you find something more immediately pressing to do, like laundry.
15 | You trust the opinion of others over your own when it comes to your art.
16 | You routinely feel overwhelmed and insecure about how much amazing art is out there already, and can’t imagine what you could possibly add that would be of any value.
17 | At some level you have bought into cultural beliefs about what an artist is or can do, which sounds like ‘You need a proper job because artists don’t make any money’, or ‘Art is a hobby, not a career – at least, not for you’, or ‘You have to be really good at making an accurate likeness to be able to be an artist’.
18 | You’re secretly and uncomfortably jealous of artists you see doing well. If an artist posts about a sale or an exhibition on Instagram, your brain decides there must be some sort of catch, and their art isn’t even actually that good, so what the hell, and where are your sales and opportunities?
19 | You feel bad because you’re so scattered and love to do all sorts of different creative things, and worry that this ‘lack of consistency’ means you’re not – or can’t be – a ‘real artist’.
20 | You haven’t made art for years, and are having all kinds of fraudy feelings about picking up a paintbrush again. So you don’t.
I want to reiterate that all of the above are totally normal and ubiquitous experiences for all artists at some point or another.
So there is nothing wrong with you if you identify with any or all of them.
All that tells us is that you have some sticky programming in there, to do with your own identity, value, and capabilities.
{Hello and welcome to being a human!}
And let’s call a spade a spade – that is unlikely to change entirely overnight.
I’m not here to sell you The Solution.
This is about self awareness, and that – as far as I can tell – is a life’s work.
BUT –
Many of these things can be mitigated or shifted into something less inhibiting – and even entirely removed – so you get more time in the studio making, and less time angsting and avoiding and feeling low key crap about it.
A lot of my work supporting artists is about this very thing – clearing the path of obstacles to a happy artist life {however you define that}.
So if you know you could use a bit of thought recalibrating, help is at hand – and you might be surprised at how straightforward it can be to undo enough of these thought patterns to feel a lot better and start making more art you love very quickly.
If you’re new here – hello 👋 and welcome!
I’m Tara, and I’ve been a practising artist for 18 years now. I’ve been helping other artists find their way forward since 2013, and I’m always walking the line between feeling fulfilled by what I do, and navigating the ‘demons’ as I call them.
Over the years I’ve gathered tools and insights that have enabled me to no longer be controlled by these invisible stop signs, so I can thrive in ways that feel meaningful to me.
If that sounds like something you’d like for yourself, you’ll find lots of fun stuff on this website to help you, from blog posts to courses, and the Happy Artist Studio private membership.
I suggest you start with the ‘I am an artist’ challenge – it’s simple, practical, and free! Click here to find out more and sign up, and I’ll see you in your inbox soon!
