Stomping On Your Fear Of Failure

I once read a quote that said something along the lines of…

“An artist can’t really fail, because to be an artist is a success in itself”.

So in other words, the decision to be an artist is quite a brave one. It’s quite a bold move. It deserves admiration.

Some believe it’s not really their choice to be an artist anyway… it’s  an obsession that can’t be controlled.

In regards to failure…

It’s my belief; that you can only really fail if you stop doing what you do.

Energy V’s Profit

Let’s move our thoughts from the common goal that many artists wish to achieve for a moment, and that is to produce salable art.

I think the ultimate reason why an artist may quit is because they did not succeed in reaching a certain level of energy in their art – and not because they can’t sell their work.

I have tested this theory consciously. I discovered that my greatest frustration as an artist was in the struggle to develop a good level of energy when producing a piece of art. It was sometimes a battle because the piece wasn’t going in the direction that I wanted it to. It didn’t inspire me; therefore it had no real level of energy.

I think this is the biggest personal fight an artist has to contend with.

I also discovered something else; I was looking at my art, as I was producing it, through someone else’s eyes. Right there is the biggest cause of failure – trying to produce art in accordance to someone else’s expectations.

Working through some other persons expectations and not your own could well be likened to working with a fear of failure.

Note: Some commission work is based on the buyers input. But if it becomes the buyers project, then you have a real challenge. Avoid getting stuck in any project that does not inspire you. To produce something that doesn’t really have your heart in it, kind of goes against the whole philosophy of being an artist.

Don’t Fear Failure

So how do you remove this fear of failure?

It’s kind of simple really: Relentlessly work at maintaining your natural expression without expectation of applause, money or fame.

The problem for a lot of us artists is that we tend to complicate things. We live in a society that has raised us to believe; that if we don’t see an instant return on our efforts then we obviously aren’t doing it correctly or were simply not cut out for our chosen duty.

The thing is… you can’t really fail as an artist if what you are producing on the canvas matches the message in your heart. You can only really be measured by your commitment, not by how many trophies or ribbons you have.

Share this Post[?]

Are You Sick Of Giving Your Art Away For Free?

Right from the beginning I have always tried to portray high value on my work.

When I first started out I was selling my work for $100 or less and sometimes more.

But even then I always portrayed a sense of value. By doing this I never really had the concerns of friends and family wanting a discount or even some of my work for free.

Don’t get me wrong; I have given a few of my paintings to family members as gifts. But I did this willingly without being “asked” for a freebie.

Value Your Work

By portraying a high value on my work, it helps to give the impression that it would be rude to ask for a free painting or even a discount.

Let’s face it, we love our friends and family and we would do anything to help them out. But that isn’t any reason why you should be at a loss (cost of materials, time and energy) just because dear old Auntie Martha is your auntie and would love it if you could give her one of your new paintings at no cost when you didn’t really want to.

I have a family member who has actually purchased 3 of my paintings, which of course now hang on the walls of his home.

The people who visit his home know that he paid for those paintings and a result this has made my work even more appealing.

I once had a painting that was hot off the easel (so to speak) and I sent a letter out to my collectors before the paint was even dry.

Within hours I had generated some interest from the people of my collector list and some very keen to buy the painting. At the time I happened to be on the phone to a family member and mentioned the interest I was having in this very painting.

She asked to see it. So I sent her my website link.

She rang me back within 2 minutes and told me NOT to sell that painting to anyone. She loved it, wanted it and was going to pay full price for it or even more if she had to in order own it.

Present Your Art Well

While I personally think I produce great art, I also “let people know that I produce great art” in the manner that I talk about and present my art (Confident? Arrogant? Perhaps. But you have to be a self- promoter in this industry).

This adds considerable intangible value to it. I make sure that family are aware of the value of my art. I’m not rude or arrogant about it, but I make it known.

Additionally, I never say things like “Gosh that painting didn’t turn out like I wanted it to. Oh well, I’ll have to try again” – at least not publicly (wink).

If you are prone to doing this you are essentially openly devaluing your work. Remember what rolls off your lips becomes your reality.

So if you are really disappointed by a piece of work, don’t just hand it over a family member for free if you don’t really want to. Paint over it and try again because if you do hand it over for free they’ll never really get to appreciate the value of your work.

Paying The asking Price

There are a couple of ways that you can begin to end the whole hassle of dealing with family asking you for a free painting.

Once way to address this issue is to tell them you are trying to build up a collection for when you have an exhibit.

However, tell them that if they are prepared to pay you for the painting, they will be essentially be helping you out with the costs associated to setting up an exhibit – therefore you can afford to be a painting short for your exhibit because now you have some money to cover to initial set up costs.

If for some reason they don’t see the same value in your work as you do and therefore do not want to pay your asking price, then explain the value they will be contributing towards your exhibit and how many people will potentially coming to view your work.

This could well give them sense of pride, especially if they love you, as they should.

So the big points to be remember here are…

Talk about your work in manner that adds perceived value to it. This will help your friends and family attach a monetary figure to your work.

Avoid giving your work away if you do not feel comfortable doing it. There is nothing wrong with giving a family member a gift in the form of a painting. But if a family member or friend asked for a free one, say yeah no problem, I’ll give it to you for free if you buy me the equivalent value in paint materials or a contribution towards some promotion or exhibit costs.

Also, hang your art proudly in your home.

If your art requires frames, then have them framed and hang them in your home. Some artists struggle with this because they constantly want to make adjustments to their work because they are looking at it so much.

By hanging your art in your own home you are essentially telling people that your work has significant value.

Be Your Own Fan

Avoid being an amateur commentator of your work also. If people say, “Oh that is a nice painting,” don’t say things like, “yeah its okay, I would have liked it to be a bit better in parts but it turned out okay”.

Tell them you agree with them and it was such a joy to paint, I can’t wait to get it out into the public’s eye.

By doing that you have added significant value to your artwork.

At times you can feel a little vulnerable because you have not yet “completely” established that reference value in your work.

So one point to consider is to keep busy with exhibiting your work. You’ll remove a bit of the domestic interest and expectation in your artwork and be able to focus more on the buying public.

It will get easier to say no when you have experienced some  sales. The reason for this is that you will have firm proof of the value of your work because the general public are  paying you for it.

Share this Post[?]

How To Stay Motivated

Determination + Desire = Motivated!

Back when I first started working with oils, I didn’t produce anything that was really impressive.

Some folk may have thought so, but I knew deep down that my work wasn’t that good.

In other words, I didn’t feel like I was showing much talent with my oil paintings – and knowing this could well have been enough to lose complete motivation as an artist.

But I had a real determination to one day produce work that I could look at and appreciate. I also had a desire to make art that could one day be sold.

I achieved both.

If you have a true hunger to be good at what you do, then you’ll discover that you’ll never really suffer from a lack of motivation.

If you have a real desire… a real fire in your stomach, then you’ll always be ready to move ahead.

The idea is to try and remove some of the unnecessary crap we tend to think about too much and simplify what we actually want.

Here are a few simple concepts I plant in my head and things I do to stay motivated with each new project:

1. Define the result I want
2. If I am a little apprehensive about how to go about it I have a couple of other pieces of work (physical or photo) on hand to refer to in order to maintain those “Ah-ha” moments I require now and then.
3. Have a working schedule. I have a set time for doing certain tasks. I sometimes almost yawn my head off when it comes to this kind of organising. But I really tend to slack off if I don’t have a system for doing things.
4. The whole time I am working I keep thinking about how good it will look when it is finished. Confident? Arrogant? Perhaps, but it sure as heck helps me to stay motivated (wink).
5. Play loud music that I really love.
6. Keep my studio modestly clean. Some artists are not fussed with messy studios. The problem I have is that if I walk into my studio and it is messy, I have tendency to walk right back out again and no work gets done.

All you really need to do in order to get or stay motivated is to define what it is you want. Then put a basic plan together to achieve it. Create a deadline and then simply go for it. It need not be any more complicated than that.

When I first started out I lacked motivation because I kept comparing what I was doing with other artists who had become quite successful. All this does is make you jaded. So what I recommend is work with your own purpose – it’s a great source of motivation.

Nobody can do what you do the way you do it.

Share this Post[?]

Perfection Can Be a Health Hazard

I discovered years ago that I suffered from this ailment many refer to as perfectionism. But at the same time I also discovered that while I was focusing on getting each project absolutely perfect, every other area of my life kind of suffered as a result.

I have been a musician for many years and spent many hours in a studio environment producing my own songs. The problem I suffered in the early days was this need for perfection in my music lead me to smoking a packet of cigarettes and drinking about 10 cups of coffee throughout a day’s session. On top of this I was hardly eating anything.

The worst part was though; I was very much unaware of what I was doing. I was in the zone, absolutely focused on one thing and one thing only.

My cousin visited me during a recording session one day and remarked, “This isn’t as much of a creative room as it is a killing room”.

Of course he was referring to the ashtrays of cigarette butts and empty coffee cups we left around the studio.

Additionally, I simply never had any time for anyone or anything else outside of my working environment because I had to keep working to get it right.

Get The Job Done Properly

I believe that with anything you do that is worth doing you have to work to get the job done properly. In other words, I don’t cut corners, don’t make excuses and I ensure that I get done what I set out to get done with an adventurous attitude.

But as for fighting for perfection, well… I really try hard to avoid getting caught up that mindset these days.

I discovered that behind my need for perfection actually stood a big fear that I was not really consciously aware of at the time. In other words, I was fighting for perfection based on a preconceived public expectation. Of course, there was no public expectation at all. But my mind was working in accordance to this “preconceived” expectation.

The problem with seeking perfection is that the harder you work to attain it, the further you move away from your real objective.

The best thing you can do is to really work hard at what you do. Be the best that you can be, but do it with a passionate mindset rather than a perfectionist mindset.

The new “perfect” is doing what you do with absolute passion and doing it consistently.

I make mistakes. In fact I think I have made more mistakes than anyone I know. But you can’t really hear the colour in a note if you are not allowed to make mistakes.

There is so much fun in striving towards discovery instead of perfection, so try to avoid looking for the perfect ending because it doesn’t really exist. Work hard at being yourself instead of working hard for perfection. It will show on the canvas too.

If you wait to reach the perfect moment you’ll never really get much done anyway.

The idea is to work as hard as you can and do the best that you can (challenge yourself) and chances are you’ll naturally get so close to being perfect that people wont be able to tell the difference (wink).

Share this Post[?]

An Artists Adventure

I have always believed you need to incorporate a sense of adventure when creating art. I discovered right from the beginning; if you don’t adapt some adventure to your work, you can often get caught up with all sorts of obstacles like doubt, frustration and procrastination.

An artist should be adventurous in order to discover new concepts – to discover new ground.

I know from my own experience, when I adapt the right attitude and look at each painting as a new adventure, I experience that “flow” and get a lot of work done.

When you adapt an adventurous attitude to your work, you quickly discover some really great ideas pop up, and you can quickly incorporate them without hesitation.

If you really want to discover your “best” then get adventurous. You will discover things about yourself as an artist that you didn’t think you were capable of.

Dare yourself to break some new ground. Forget trying to “get competent” as an artist. Why not “get challenged” instead. Say “goodbye” to preconceptions for a little while and work with an open mind.

In other words, learn to trust your own instincts; that way you’ll begin to develop your “working flow”.

Do everything you can with regard to being adventurous to genuinely “amuse yourself” while you work.

Are you going to make mistakes? Well yeah, I can pretty much guarantee that you will. But that is where the whole concept of “gaining experience” comes into the game of being an artist.

When you hear someone looking at your art say, “Hey, this looks like you had a lot of fun putting it together” or something along those lines; you know that you are on the right track. I mention this point because these are the very types or remarks I receive quite a lot from people viewing and buying my art.

I once smartly remarked, “Thankyou, I appreciate your comments – and yes, I do know how to entertain myself (wink)“.

An artist needs to get inquisitive about what they are doing, or at least what they are trying to do. It’s kind of like being a kid again. A child has this genuine wonder about almost everything. They are free from cynicism, opinion, “the known” and preconceptions. They are free to explore – to be adventurous.

So in many respects, if you ever feel you are getting a bit stale standing in front of the canvas, then adapt a sense of wonder when working.

It’s kind of like taking on this attitude that says, “I wonder what would happen if I did this…”

Getting adventurous is all about fighting that fear of the unknown, and discovering the adventure of the unknown.

So get some adventure into your creative diet!

Share this Post[?]

« Previous Page