How Learning What It Takes To Be An Artist Can Help In Your Journey To Becoming You

When thinking of an artist, often a stereotypical image pops into your head. The classic ‘starving artist’ who has gone somewhat crazy and probably won’t be recognized until they are gone.

Well, I’m here to challenge that common misconception.  

To me, an artist is skilled in a trade. When looking at impressive work, it seems it is an instinct to say someone is so talented. However, behind that talent is hours of hard work, learning, curiosity, trial and error, and grit to keep going.

Though I cannot speak on behalf of all artists, I personally believe that what called me to be an artist is that I see the world through a unique lens. On an ordinary day, I am closely paying attention to the way the world looks. Taking in how a shadow changes across the wall as the sun moves, observing how clouds scan so quickly across the sky and completely transform the overall view, and wonder how so many of these ordinary occurrences can feel extraordinary to me but be missed by so many.

Asking questions and wanting to learn more is what made me fall in love with the various processes of art. Each process is unique and brings challenges, but here is what remains necessary for all; patience, being open to failure, and staying humble.

While these might not be the first things that come to mind, I’m going to share why these three attributes are necessary to me as an artist and could be beneficial to you in your life.

Patience.

This is the first because in my eyes it is most important. You must be patient with yourself, embracing that beautiful works of art cannot be created instantaneously. Just like each piece of artwork involves a detailed process, obtaining the skills you wish to have as an artist is a lengthy process as well. One that I believe never truly ends.

In the beginning, it is easy to compare your art to other established artists and feel defeated. Maybe the perspective in your drawing is wrong, the colors you used in your painting don’t go well together, or your figure doesn’t look how you wanted it to. Here is where the patience comes in, improvement takes time! I challenge you not to throw comparison out the window, but to use comparison differently. Compare your current work to your past work and see how far you have come. You were moving forward when you didn’t even realize it.

When you look at others’ work lift them up, they were patient getting to where they are. It is good to find things in their work that inspires you because it could push you to become a better artist, but it is self-sabotage to compare your work to another artist when we are meant to be individual.

An artist must also be patient in the moments of learning. You deserve to give yourself the time you need to grow before you throw the towel in. If you are not an artist, here’s how I think this attribute can help give you the grace you need to be uniquely you. You are a beautiful work of art; you are also becoming a more complex work of art - a masterpiece.  That doesn’t happen overnight. Have patience in knowing that each step you take forward, the hills you climb, the roadblocks you hit, the times you fall, and the times you took a chance and jumped are all making marks on the canvas of your life! Those are brushstrokes, and sharp moments of color, wild textures, or dull points of subtlety that when zoomed out create a glorious piece of art. You just need to remember that having patience with your progress is equally as important as having patience in moments of stillness as well because growth takes time.

Being open to failure.

If an artist wasn’t open to failure, then they would not take any risks. An artist who doesn’t take any risks is creating from a position of comfort and what is known to succeed. While for some, staying in your comfort zone is a better fit but I must share that for ALL staying in your comfort zone is easier. Hands down! It is terrifying to put everything or even just a little on the line and know you might not succeed. Artists must do this to create original work. Artists must fail to get back up and learn from those mistakes. Artists must fail to find new ways of creating, even if they were found by accident.

The biggest lessons for me are learned by doing.

If my ceramics final didn’t blow up in the kiln, I wouldn’t have learned how to properly construct functional pieces. Failure is defined differently for each person. Some people’s failures would be victories for others. The main point is artists must remain open to it, knowing the very real possibility of it every time a chance is taken, and not allowing failure to stop them.

As an artist, your art reflects a portion of you. I believe it is a piece of your soul. Failure hits hard when a piece of your soul is rejected. It could make you want to give up and stop sharing with the world or wound your self-esteem. Though difficult, opening yourself to failure means you change your view to see it as an opportunity to grow. Being open to failure definitely does not mean having a pessimistic view and assuming only bad things can happen.

I want you to know that as an artist the possibility of failure is real, but instead of letting it control you, you can be aware of it. If you are aware of it, then you can better bounce back and look for learning opportunities. Easier said than done!

If you are not an artist, well in your own special way you are. Life is going to throw curveballs, jobs will be lost, your intentions might not come across how you’d like, you might do poorly on an exam, maybe you couldn’t pay the rent last week, etc. Well, my friend, the importance of being open to failure is you can’t let it define you. Instead, look for the successes amidst what you deem a failure. Because though you won’t want to see it at the time, each failure is preparing you for upcoming success. Let failure excite you because you are one step closer to success.

Stay humble.

There are many things to be proud of as an artist. It takes confidence and hard work to be you. Personally, I believe being proud of yourself is extremely important. As an artist, I have to give myself little pep talks to keep going, and looking back I deserve to tell myself I am proud of how far I’ve come. Here’s where I believe it is important to be humble though. You must humble yourself and admit that you do not know everything. Even though you are the only one of YOU, you are not the only person who can do what you do. Let me explain. You must stay humble and allow others to teach you. It's humbling asking for help, but it will get you so much farther than assuming you can do it on your own. I have gotten into big projects where I assumed I read enough about how to do a certain technique or process and was not going to make a phone call and heaven forbid have to talk to someone, only to have to start right back at the beginning. ASK for help from a person who knows more than you!! We were put on this earth to help each other and lift one another up. You know how good it feels when you can share what you know with someone else, well allow someone to do that for you. Stay humble, it will push your creative work further. There are people willing and passionate about helping you get where you want to go because that door was opened for them OR it never was and now they have the chance to be the person they needed. Artist or not, remaining humble is key. Be transparent, be genuine. Nobody needs perfection, they just need you to come as you are. But it’s okay to remember to stay proud of yourself along the way because you are doing this crazy life!

While so many attributes can come to mind when thinking about what it takes to be an artist, three stuck out to me. Patience. Being Open to Failure. Staying Humble. These are important qualities to have as an artist because they challenge you and push you toward growth. During times of stillness and growth beautiful journeys are traveled, often inspiring wonderful works of art that can be transformative.

These are important qualities to have for anyone trying to find/become their true self because that beautiful journey of growth and stillness transforms you into the masterpiece you were meant to be.