'How to' hogwash

Jan 10, 20156 min read

Deviation Actions

Published: Jan 10, 2015

3.1K Views

_{Disclaimer: I am NOT fishing for compliments. I share this with the intent to help any and everyone who might share similar feelings.}

I find that I totally get sucked into those "How to be a better artist" headlines thinking that when I reach the article's end it will magically transform me into a confident unstoppable creative force! 100% of the time I reemerge from said articles...exactly the same as 5 minutes before I was sucked into the click bait. I hadn't achieved that amazing zen moment I was looking for. You know the one. Where you suddenly feel awesome with the style you've developed and the artistic abilities you've cultivated. I realize now that when I went chasing after these promising titles I wasn't looking for tips to improve my skills. I know those tricks. I went to school for those tricks. What I wanted was not "how to be a better artist" but rather "how to be a confident artist".

I am totally guilty of comparing my work to others and then using that comparison to hulk smash any little gems of confidence I have floating around in my brain. It's not a very nice thing to do. Those little gems are precious and those self-defeating thoughts quickly strip away any feelings of worthiness and accomplishment that I might have had. I brought it up to a close friend whose insight gave me more food for thought than any "how to" article I chased after. She asked a lot of very pointed questions that made me do some serious reflection. I just wanted to share what she had to say with you. I hope that, if you share the same struggle, you too might feel the hope that I do. That we can overcome those nagging, punk thoughts that make us feel like our work is stupid. That we can grow and improve by comparing our work now to where it was a few months ago - and not to other artists. And that we can go forward with confidence in our talents and abilities.

From Apple-chan _{(read this as though she were speaking to you)}:

A few things…
1) Do you engage in art to be the best? You’re right about the validation not ever fully easing the enduring insecurities that you’re not unique enough etc. But maybe it’s not about that. Maybe you need other reasons to put your art out there other than being more unique or different from the other stuff out there. For instance, being able to appreciate your art on its own - independent of what other art is out there. Do YOU like your art? Do you enjoy your own style? Is it possible that other people might enjoy your art and your style and your ideas too? Even if they also like other artists? Even if yours isn’t the best or most unique (though I think your style is very unique and very likeable). As for how to maintain confidence, I think it’s unrealistic to think you can maintain a sense of confidence in yourself while comparing yourself to others as a way to determine the level of “good” your art is. Because then it’s not about your art being good… It’s about whether or not you perceive or others perceive your art as better than someone else’s.

You need to determine the worth of your art on its own ground. Once you develop a sense of confidence that your art is good by its own merits and not just because it’s more creative, skilled, or unique than someone else’s I think being able to go forward with confidence in your own art can then take place.

Slightly lame example of my relation to this concept… My whole experience at my job has been me trying to prove to my boss that I’m good enough and that he’s just blind. I had an interview with the marketing director on the downlow yesterday for a marketing position. I got to represent myself as just me. Not, I’m just as smart as so-and-so in accounting! Or, no see this is why I’m so good even though you refuse to see it! It was just me telling the marketing director what I am good at independent of other employees and managers and their expectations of me. After that interview I walked out feeling AMAZING. I felt a sense of confidence I hadn't in a long time. I felt like “you know what?! I AM good at what I do and intelligent and a great worker even if my boss doesn't think so!” I felt like I was worth more. I think it’s because I wasn't determining the level of my “good” based on how my boss perceived me… But just based on my own understanding of what I had to offer. No competition with other accountant peeps, no “I have to prove to my boss even though it’s totally impossible”, just, “hey, I am good at these things and I like the worker I am.”

Apply that to art.

I have been miserable with my work life for a while now because I’m fighting a losing battle of trying to prove myself to everyone else… And the moment I stop and assess my own work ethic from my own perspective I felt like I was more than enough and I was on fire.

You have a shaky relationship with art. Is it because you are stuck in a cycle of trying to prove yourself to everyone else? Have you been able to stop and assess how you feel about your skills on your own regardless of what other people think about it all? If you like your art… You enjoy your style, you find it fun, you connect with your pieces, or anything positive, let that be enough. You don’t need everyone to feel the same way about your art in order for it to actually be good.

In reality, I think your art is wonderful. I find it fun. I find it unique. I find it creative and it provokes the fantasy world in my own head to come out and play with the pieces you create. But if you don’t feel that way with your own art and your own style… Then I don’t know how you can go forward with confidence in your own art. Like you said… No matter how much validation you get from others on how great of an artist you are it won’t be enough. Even if your art were the best or the most unique out there, even that wouldn't be enough if you don't have that relationship with your own art talent and style.

It’s so much less about the onlookers and so much more about the creator of the art.