Top 5 Struggles & Fixes
First off, Happy Labor Day! (Blog was delayed for the holiday). I hope you were able to relax, and that you had a wonderful time with family and friends!
Recently, I shared my top 5 struggles on my IG story to introduce my Free Journal Prompt For Self-Taught Artists. I would also recommend you get this free download; it will really help you get your thoughts out and on to paper. For this blog post I wanted to elaborate on my struggles a bit, and offer my advise for any self-taught artists that are dealing with the same issues.
1. ISOLATION
As I’ve mentioned before, I started teaching myself to paint during college. I mostly learned by locking myself up in my bedroom (which was my studio as well), playing, experimenting, and fiddling until I saw something I liked on the canvas in front of me. I enjoyed it, don’t get me wrong, but after a while it really does start to get lonely. You become a prisoner to your own mind, the same reel of thoughts and words on replay. You ask yourself questions but you don’t get clear or helpful answers from an internet search. You just sort of stumble along, and work from a “I’ll figure it out myself” mindset… the same mindset you create art from as a self-taught artist (Wow, crazy right)?
But here’s the thing, you should NOT feel bad or embarrassed that you need to reach out to someone and ask for help. Be humble enough to acknowledge that you don’t have all the answers, and sometimes you just need that human touch instead of a cold statement off the internet. IT’S OKAY, in fact, I encourage it. Nothing has helped to improve my mindset, studio practice, and business quite like a solid community of artists has. Seek a community that resonates with your values and goals (and, actually, I am in the process of developing my own platform to build a community specifically for self-taught artists, so stay tuned for that one)!
2. CONFIDENCE
Confidence is something that most, if not all, artists deal with at some point, but especially when you are just starting out. It takes confidence to exercise your creativity, but it takes a great deal more to share your work. You’re forced to be vulnerable, opening yourself and your work up to criticism. It’s scary, and at the beginning of your artistic journey it can really hurt you…. IF you let it.
As a Star Wars nerd, I feel obligated to quote Carrie Fisher here:
“Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.”
TRUTH. The more you create and share your work, the easier it will get. Trust yourself and your vision, you have it for a reason- and the more you’re able to take criticism, the thicker your skin will become. You won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but you will also find that you’re JUST the right flavor for a lot of others!
3. COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHER ARTISTS
This one is HUGE. It affects pretty much all of the other topics I’m bringing up. Whether you’re comparing artistic skills, social media presence, or business (or all of it), you are only hurting yourself. This will kill your confidence, which will affect you in the studio. Comparisons steal your joy, and allow anxiety and fear to fill the void. This keeps you from showing up.
I have trained myself to limit my time on social media, and to remind myself that social media is everyone’s curated version of their life. What you tell yourself about others is often a combination of things that you’re assuming based on their feed. Keep that in mind!
4. CLARITY ABOUT MY ART AND WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH IT
When I started painting, I was exploring and having fun. I wasn’t asking myself questions like, “Why am I inspired by this?” or “Why is art and creativity so important to me?” Becoming an artist just kind of happened, and it quickly grew into my full-blown passion! It wasn’t until I realized my dream of being an artist that these important questions started coming up.
I’ve kept a personal journal my whole life, but it never occurred to me that a creative journal would be just as helpful (duh). A creative journal is just that- you can make it anything you want! I mix words with drawings, watercolor, pastels, textures, all sorts of things. It’s a great way to warm up before you start a studio session, define your inspirations and keep yourself focused on your vision. I usually pick up a mixed media sketchbook from my local craft store for this!
5. INCONSISTENT STUDIO PRACTICE
If you want to build skills, you gotta practice- no matter what we’re talking about. Consistency is super important for your art, your confidence, your business, and beyond. It’s important to dedicate a specific amount of time to your artistic practice every week. Set a goal, write it down, and keep track of how much you paint in a week. Do the same for your business related tasks as well. Start small and build if you feel overwhelmed. I have a planner and I write down my goals for each week. This helps me stay focused, track my time and activity, and of course stay organized between making art and completing business and personal tasks.
If you find yourself falling into at least one of these categories, I hope that my advise gives you some help and direction. These are the lessons I’ve had to learn the hard way, and over a much longer period of time than I want you to have to spend on them.
Are there any struggles I haven’t brought up that you would like to talk about? Visit my contact page!
Love,
Hunter
