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Tag: art career

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Challenge yourself

Cinnamon Fern, 9X12, oil on archival canvasboard, $869 framed includes shipping and handling in continental US.

I have a friend with the unfathomable habit of rereading Marcel Proustā€™s ƀ la recherche du temps perdu once or twice a year. (I tried it once and didnā€™t get halfway through.) Recently I asked him why he finds the novel so compelling. ā€œAny mental activity is easy if it need not be subjected to reality,ā€ he answered.

This week I had a surprise visit from a man who studied painting with me during his junior and senior years in high school. He was an extremely disciplined, hard worker and had scholarship offers from the nationā€™s top art schools. He graduated from Rhode Island School of Design and after that he just stopped painting. Heā€™s taken occasional workshops with me but he doesnā€™t stick with it, despite my nagging.

American Eagle in Drydock, 12X16, $1159 unframed includes shipping and handling in continental US.

There are many reasons people donā€™t pursue careers in art. They are worried about money (in particular, their student loans), competition, and the seemingly random way the market rewards artists. After all, for every thousand workaday artists like me, thereā€™s a celebrity making bank off art.

Our society doesnā€™t respect art as a career, so many young artists are under social pressure to ā€˜get a real jobā€™. Or, their guidance counselors push them into more stable career paths before they ever leave high school.

These are not foolish considerations. Anyone considering an art career ought to, at the minimum, take some business classes along the way.

Cottonwoods along the Rio Verde, 9X12, oil on archivally-prepared Baltic birch, $696 includes shipping and handling in continental US.

Challenge yourself

The deepest problem of all lies in the perfection of our fantasy life. As long as I never pick up a brush, Iā€™m a genius in my own mind. Itā€™s that disconnect between our mental activity and reality that makes us so afraid to drill down.

Worrying about what others will think if you fail is one problem. Worrying about what you will think if you fail is even more crippling. Weā€™re all under so much social pressure to succeed that failure seems like an unbearable outcome. What if Iā€™m terribleā€¦ or even worse, mediocre?

That leads to setting extremely high standards for ourselves, where even our minor mistakes feel like failure. That would erode anyoneā€™s confidence.

Hail hitting the Cockscomb Formation, Sedona, 8X10, oil on archivally-prepared Baltic birch, $522 includes shipping and handling in continental US.

What can we do about it?

Another artist who started about the same time as my young friend had nothing special in his early work. He did, however, have determination. Heā€™s not overtly competitive and he didnā€™t get wrapped up in the end result. Instead, he kept quietly plugging away at the process. Today heā€™s painting beautifully and people are noticing. Heā€™s an inspiration on the days when I just donā€™t feel like getting moving.

When we start pushing paint around, we all discover how flawed we really are. If you need reassurance on this point, look at Vincent van Goghā€™s early work. Thereā€™s very little indication of the master he would ultimately become.

Insecurity is, sadly, the artistā€™s closest companion. Thatā€™s ultimately good; it means weā€™re constantly striving to be better. Still, it can overwhelm us, so itā€™s important to identify and challenge our self-defeating thoughts before they take root.

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Whatā€™s your creative block?

The Wave, 9X12, oil on archival canvasboard, $869, includes shipping in continental US.

A creative block is a mental roadblock. You feel stuck, uninspired, and have difficulty concentrating. Your creativity is halted or hindered, and nothing you create meets your standards. We all hit these roadblocks in the creative process.

What creative block do you struggle with?

For me, the worst causes of creative block are overwork, breaks in my routine, and pressing problems crowding out my painting time. But my worst obstacle is clutter. (My engineer husband says he isnā€™t bothered by it. Go figure.)

Coast Guard Inspection, oil on archival canvasboard, $435 framed includes shipping and handling in continental US.

Here are some other common causes of creative block:

  • Fear of failure, self-doubt and negative feedback (see Mondayā€™s post for help);
  • Perfectionism, which is the enemy of good;
  • External stressors (including for some people, deadlines);
  • Monotony;
  • External distractions. From what many artists have told me, first among these are household chores.
https://www.watch-me-paint.com/product/american-eagle-in-dry-dock/American Eagle in Drydock, 12X16, $1159 unframed includes shipping and handling in continental US.

How do you overcome creative block?

I work at regularly-scheduled times (Monday-Friday). That quiets my squirrel brain, and helps me sink into the painting state more easily.

I also believe in rigorous daily exercise. Itā€™s good for the psyche as well as the back. And for me, deadlines are energizing, at least until theyā€™re too close. Thereā€™s a fine line between excitement and panic.

Others have found these ideas helpful:

  • Change up your environment. Thatā€™s one of the beauties of plein air; itā€™s never the same from day to day.
  • Take frequent breaks. Give your brain a chance to recharge. If nothing else, reading the news makes me eager to get back to my easel.
  • Do some creative work that isnā€™t directly related to your main discipline. Thatā€™s why Iā€™m teaching a session on words and art in June, but anything that you enjoy will help. That includes reading, which is a fantastic spur to the imagination.
  • If deadlines panic you, set benchmarks. ā€œToday Iā€™m going to finish the grisaille and then Iā€™ll reward myself with a cappuccino.ā€ Recognizing your smaller accomplishments gives you a sense of momentum.
  • Put ten, and only ten, things away every morning. Five minutes of putting things away every morning stops me from sliding into a big housekeeping binge when I should be painting.
  • Peter Yesis and I both (coincidentally) spent a few years doing small warm-up exercises (fifteen or twenty minutes) before we painted. I no longer need them, but they helped me bridge the gap between real life and my studio during a long period in the creative desert.
Breaking Storm, oil on linen, 30X48, $5579 framed includes shipping and handling in continental US.

Some distractions canā€™t be ignored

There have been phases in my life (parenting, illness, grief) when my work slowed or even stilled. Yes, I believed at those times that I could never regain my momentum. However, here I am, and if youā€™re in one of those phases, you will too. Itā€™s helpful to remember that life comes first, no matter what your discipline.

Creative blocks and interruptions are a natural part of life. Be patient with yourself.

Iā€™m in Britain on another lovely, long, blister-inducing hike. Iā€™ve turned my phone off and while Iā€™m gone, Laura will be running the office. Just email me as usual if you have questions or problems registering for a class or workshop. (Who am I kidding? She fixes all that stuff anyway.)

Reserve your spot now for a workshop in 2025:

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Ten ways an art career can drive you nuts

Coast Guard Inspection, oil on archival canvasboard, $435 framed includes shipping and handling in continental US.

“Finishing, mounting, framing, prepping, switching out the last mixed colors on my paletteā€¦ this art @#$% is a lot of work,” one of my students texted as he prepared for a show.

That’s why my first question to someone who wants to become a professional artist is, “Do you really want to work that hard?” I’m blessed to be able to support myself as an artist, but I’m under no illusion about what goes into a successful art career. Some weeks, very little of my time is spent painting.

Toy Monkey and Candy, oil on archival canvasboard, $435 framed.

Here are the ways an art career can mess with your head:

Financial instability: Many professional artists face financial challenges when starting out. It takes time to establish a reputation and generate a steady income from art sales, but it can be done. Professional artists are the canaries in the coal mine when itā€™s time for an economic downturn, and they will come. Make sure you have a backup plan.

The need for endless self-promotion: Yes, a successful art career rests on marketing ourselves and our work, and building a brand is crucial for success. But self-promotion is challenging to most normal people. I never want to be the person who says, ā€œBut enough about me; how do you like my hair?ā€

Subjectivity: While there are objective standards by which to judge art, success itself is highly subjective. It may have more to do with your external circumstances (your strong white teeth, who you know, being at the right place at the right time) as the quality of your work.

All of us hate rejection: Yesterday I was texting with a person who was rejected for a show for which I thought he was a shoo-in. Weā€™ve all been there. Over time, we either develop thicker skins or we move on to doing something else, but at times we all complain bitterly about jurying. The wisest of us do it quietly, to our trusted friends.

Back It Up, 6X8, oil on archival canvasboard, $435.

The push and pull of communication and isolation: Art is communication, but creating art is a solitary activity. Thereā€™s great tension between needing to talk through our work at the same time as we should be buckling down alone in our studios. (Resolving that tension is one of the benefits of classes and workshops.)

Balancing creativity and commercialism: The professional artist must find a balance between creating art for personal fulfillment and art that sells. Omphaloskepsis is the luxury of the person who doesnā€™t need to work, but at the same time, thereā€™s no point to churning out lighthouse paintings on black velvet. Your art career needs to find a happy medium.

No job security, no 401K, no PTO: As bad as corporate benefits have become, professional artists are, in comparison, out on the highwire without a net. We work project-to-project, often a year or more before we show our work. Our financial management must be very keen or weā€™ll be working at Walmart before you can say Jack Robinson, whoever he was.

Constant skill development: You never totally master painting; you just keep refining your skills until your hands fall off. A successful art career requires mastering new technologies and concepts. Staying relevant means continuously leaning into them. The art world bears little resemblance to that of my youth. Overall, I think the changes are great, but they do keep me on my toes.

Brooding Skies, 8X10, oil on archival canvasboard, $522

Constantly foraging for opportunity: Securing exhibition opportunities and commissions is competitive and challenging. Next time youā€™re debating curling up with a good book or going to that opening, consider your art career and put your shoes on.

That blasted time management: I started writing this because something knocked me for a loop yesterday. I flitted between unrelated tasks all day rather than buckling down to what I had intended to do. Juggling multiple projects is the hardest part of my job.

Reserve your spot now for a workshop in 2025: