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Confidence is key for women artists

Do you allow yourself to believe youā€™re good at what you do? If not, why not?

Campbell’s Field, by Carol L. Douglas. At the time I painted this, I thought I was a pretty poor painter. 

I rudely eavesdropped on a conversation about negotiating salary. The speaker, thirty-something, was describing input from friends and family. ā€œDad said, ā€˜ask for the highest figure in their range,ā€™ and Steve said, ā€˜ask for $5000 more.ā€™ā€ The negotiatorā€”a womanā€”asked for $1500 more. She low-balled herself. At her age, I would have done worse. Iā€™d have meekly accepted whatever was put on the table.

The gender pay gap is more complicated than simple sexism. It starts with college graduatesā€™ first jobs. Part of this is based on the college tracks women prefer (non-STEM) but part of it is simple confidence. The responsibility for that rests with us, as women. No manager has ever insisted that a candidate take more than what was first offered.

Bridle path, by Carol L. Douglas. Same vintage.

The confidence gap is even more of a challenge in the art world, where success is based on selling oneself. Frankly, women are lousy at it. Iā€™ve written hereherehereherehere, and hereabout gender disparity in the art world, and it hasnā€™t gotten any better. The gap between menā€™s and womenā€™s pay in the arts is worse than it is in the economy as a whole. Thatā€™s a clue that the gender gap is about far more than just majoring in STEM subjects.

My daughter and her husband have turned job stereotypes on their head. Sheā€™s a computer programmer; heā€™s a social worker. ā€œWhen she knows sheā€™s excellent at something, sheā€™s very confident about it,ā€ he says. That is new. As a recent college graduate, she was unsure. She allowed herself to be hired at the bottom of the pay range. Sheā€™s wised up and is working to narrow that.

Upper and Middle Falls, Letchworth, by Carol L. Douglas.

I often tell people I only know how to do two things well, and one of them is not cooking. I can paint, and I can write and teach about painting. In those narrow tracks, Iā€™m competent. More importantly, I know it.

But I wasnā€™t always that way. Paintings I did twenty years ago are no less accomplished than my paintings today (albeit in a different style). Why did I feel then that I was a poseur and today I feel capable? What has changed?

In part, I was influenced by what others said about me. There are supportive communities and others that subtly undercut our self-esteem. Think back through recent interactions with your peers. Did they encourage you to take risks, or float good ideas for improvements? Or do they subtly discourage you? If the latter, perhaps you need new friends. (Family is not so easy to change, unfortunately.)

Lower Falls, Letchworth, by Carol L. Douglas

Sometimes the person who smack-talks you is not your so-called friend, itā€™s you, yourself. Your inner monologue has a critical impact on your confidence. Try to listen to your own commentary and analyze it dispassionately. If you find yourself constantly running yourself down, stop and redirect those thoughts.

Start by intentionally choosing a posture of thankfulness. I know of no more powerful tool to reframe our attitudes. In giving thanks, we focus on whatā€™s right and good, rather than on whatā€™s broken.

Women, in particular, are trained to be modest about their achievements. But thereā€™s a fine line between humility and self-effacing meekness. Confident people take credit for their own achievementsā€”to themselves as well as to others. As a teacher, Iā€™ve noticed that people who were successful and confident in their careers bring that expectation of success into painting.

If you donā€™t have that, donā€™t despair. Instead, challenge yourself in some area thatā€™s far outside your experience. Doing something risky and difficult is a great way to start to understand your own strength. The time Iā€™ve spent alone in the wilderness has been a powerful spur to my own self-confidence. We send boys to camp to get filthy and learn to start fires without matches; we donā€™t send our daughters. We should.

Women are trained to be helpers andā€”as I mentioned beforeā€”that can be a trap. But itā€™s also a strength we can build on. I have found mentoring to be a great spur to my self-confidence, if for no other reason than that the people Iā€™ve mentored admire me.

But thereā€™s something to be said for plain old age. I think in some ways Iā€™ve simply outlasted my insecurities. Theyā€™re exhausting, and at this age I have better things to do with my time.

Itā€™s too soon to wipe that painting out!

Weā€™re our own worst critics. A little time and you might realize that painting has flashes of brilliance.

Adirondack Spring, 11×14 in a cherry frame, will be available through a fundraiser for the Gerhardt Neighborhood Outreach Center on October 17. This is a mission that provides medical care, job training, after school care and more to the residents of North Rochester, and one I’m delighted to support. If you’re interested in my work and in supporting a great city mission, contact Annie Canon.
As I set down my brush after a long painting session, I have one of two reactions. Itā€™s either, ā€œmeh,ā€ or ā€œthatā€™s pretty bad.ā€ All I can see at that moment are the ways in which the painting has fallen short of my inner vision. I donā€™t see the things that are going right, like audacious composition, new ideas, or bravura brushwork.
Iā€™ve been at this long enough to ignore that reaction. I no longer question whether the work is good or bad. I just ask myself if itā€™s finished.
Yesterday, Ken DeWaardspoke to the Knox County Art Society (KCAS). He said that he takes plein airwork back to his studio and leans it face-in against the wall for a few days. Only after the struggle has faded from memory does he turn it back around. Then he can dispassionately analyze what it needs.
Fog Bank, by Carol L. Douglas.
The worst self-doubt happens when youā€™re in a plein airevent and your work is overlooked by buyers and judges. Itā€™s very easy to think youā€™re painting terribly. This happened to me this year with Fog Bank. I was unimpressed with it, since itā€™s largely atmosphere and no composition. Three months later, I like the painting more than anything else I did at that event. My goal was to show the movement of a North Atlantic fog, and I think it worked. That nobody else was thrilled by it is immaterial.
I had a similar reaction to another painting in 2017, They wrest their living from the sea. At the time, I thought the whole thing was too fussy and overworked. But set against my intention, the painting is a success. I wanted to contrast the tiny houses of Advocate Harbour with the vast landscape in which its people fish and farm. There are times when skies arefussy and detailed. Sometimes we have to square up to that and paint them realistically, instead of stylizing.
They wrest their living from the sea, by Carol L. Douglas
My old friend Marilyn often wiped out paintings she didnā€™t like. ā€œAnother board saved!ā€ she would say. I donā€™t do that. Even failed paintings tell me something about my process.
Sometimes a painting is uncomfortable to look at because itā€™s pointing the way forward. It can seem like an awkward outlier when you do it. Five years later, you realize it was a bellwether and the best thing you painted that year. Youā€™ll blunt your development if you wipe out everything that makes you uncomfortable.
In students, this discomfort with change can result in paralysis. They fuss and get nothing done in class. If that’s you, try falling back on strict exercises that force you to stop thinking in terms of results and start thinking in terms of process. (I’ll get into these on Friday.)
Grand Bahama Palms, by Carol L. Douglas
The last painting in this post is one I did on Grand Bahama in 2017. There is never any guarantee that a moment of beauty will be there when you return. This young palm is in one of the hardest-hit parts of the island, and I imagine it was drowned and broken. If the painting survived, I hope it reminds the owners of the former glory of their patch of land, and is a promise that beauty will return soon.