Overcoming Common Challenges for Artists
The Answer is Simply to Make More Art
How do I find my voice?
How do I make time for my art practice?
How do I decide what to focus on?
How do I become confident with my art?
These are 4 of the most common challenges that artists are talking about, so here are some personal answers that have helped - because we have all been there! So, let's share our ideas, help each other, and learn from each other!
1 - How do you find your voice? Practice practice practice. Take time for what is going to grow your artistic personality and allow yourself the time to explore what speaks to you. If you haven't found your voice, you haven't made enough art to know what lights you up. What style do you enjoy? What colors are you drawn to? Which materials feel like second nature? If you don’t know the answerers, then you need to Make. More. Art.
2 -How do I make time for my art practice? If you're struggling to make time for art, stop scrolling and put the phone down. Turn off the TV. The dishes can wait. Make your creative development a priority. Even if you can only steal away a half-hour a day, the time you spend will add up and it will become something monumental. What you dream about today will only become a reality if you make time for it. First, you must Make. More. Art.
3 - How do I decide what to focus on? We have heard it a thousand times - you love too many things to just stick to one thing, you are multi-passionate, you don't want to be confined. Yeah, you're an artist, it's to be expected. But challenge yourself to stick with something long enough to really see it through. The only way to show up authentically as yourself is to discover what makes your heart sing, what art makes you feel like falling in love? That is a personal journey that you can accomplish by doing one thing - Make. More. Art.
4 - How do you become confident with your art? Become known? If you're struggling with confidence, then the only way to overcome it is to make a lot of art, fail at it in every way possible, and then discover that you didn't suffer from it. You only grew stronger. Look at the community of artists and business owners that surround you. Do you love what they’re doing? Not a fan of how they’re doing something? Let that guide you to creating something, you will not know whether you hate it or love it, until you Make. More. Art.
The solution to all of these things is simple, there is only ONE way to improve your art… You have to MAKE MORE ART. It's only in the doing that will inform you of your abilities and the areas you need to practice, and more importantly the direction of your true path.
You have to make your art in order to know how to make your art. Looking and reading and watching isn't enough to propel you to the next level, it may spark ideas or start tickling your creative inspiration but you must be an active participant in this process.
