Introduction
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been creating your art. It also doesn’t matter how good you are at it. And it certainly doesn’t matter how often you’ve created a certain kind of work. It’s all the same, or rather, it’s all subjected to the very same monster that exists in your head: Intimidation.
But here’s the thing: That sense of being cowed in your creativity is normal, and normal with all artists no matter how wildly successful and established they are. I guarantee that on some level, they all have that daunted sense with every new piece. At least they do if they’re doing it right, if they’re pushing themselves into unknown territory to spur growth and evolution. Metamorphosis is often a messy business.
So the real trick is to start and keep going despite the intimidation, but how do we do that? How do we create our art even when it intimidates us almost into inaction? This is a pretty big issue in our demanding art form as recreating realistic little horses is about as difficult a creative task as they come. So let’s talk about it in the hopes of dampening some of those trepidations to get you arting full bore!
The Truth
Here’s the bad news: That monster will never go away. It’ll always be there, usually at the start of every new piece, but sometimes at the start of a new technique or media, or the next tricky stage in the process. One way or ‘nuther though, that monster will show its face to stare at you right in the eyes. That’s just the way of it. Art and trepidation are natural companions. "The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize," observed Robert Hughes. But why is that? Because we have this amazing vision in our head we chase, right? That perfect vision that drives us to create it in tangible, permanent form — that all-powerful inspiration. And we want to do right by it, yes? We want to bring that perfect vision out of the ether and into reality as pristine as it exists in our mind’s eye. Nevertheless, deep down we probably feel two things in response: (1) Fear of failure, of making fatal mistakes to ruin it and, (2) that pesky “not enough” voice whispering in our ear that we’re really not capable in the first place. That’s a terrible one-two punch! And it comes with every piece we'll ever create no less. No wonder so many folks struggle with arting, or why some never even start. It's a lot to carry.
So how do productive artists do it? How do they create their work with this defeatist dialogue going on in their heads? How in the world do they even keep going to finish, and then repeat it all again and again to create a body of work? What’s their secret?
The Tricks
Here’s the good news: There are many effective strategies that anyone can launch to mediate this unhappy dialogue to steamroller right over your intimidation! But there is a prerequisite for all of them, one precondition you need: Your desire to make art, the depth and power of your love for arting. How committed are you? Do you really want to fight for your art? Do you want to defend your creativity? Do you have that gumption inside of you to really go to battle for it? Because to go up against your intimidation, that’s what it’s going to take in some way, and often in some very personal way.
Now if you don’t, it’s time for reflection and recalibration. Something is blocking your desire, and don't you owe it to yourself to uproot that blockage? Dig deep. Ask the hard questions. Like instead of asking, “Why don’t I have any talent?,” “Why can’t I create as good as so-and-so?,” “Why am I so bad at this?,” ask these sorts of questions instead:
- What is the driving force behind my desire to create art?
- Who or what seeded my insecurity and fear, and why is that still important to me?
- Why do I indulge negative, defeatist self-talk? What purpose does that serve?
- What would I feel like if I was creative?
- What do I think success would be like if I was creative?
- How can I make my work authentically my own? How can I find and develop my voice?
- Why am I comparing my work to that of others, and so negatively? Why do I frame it that way?
- What creative challenges am I willing to take on right now? Which ones am I not willing to tackle right now? Why?
- What would my art be like if I learned not to care about other people’s opinions of it?
- What’s one small creative project I can do right now, just for fun?
- What’s the next skill or media I want to learn to use?
- Can a classroom help me take the next step?
Yeah—those kinds of questions, actionable questions. I know, I know, it’s going to be hard, but use them to really dig into that insecurity and expose it to the light. It won’t be easy, it certainly won’t, but it’ll be worth it! You brilliant art is just on the other side!
But now if you do have that battle-ready gumption — you’re set! Nevertheless, those deep-digging questions are still useful to ask even if we’re eager-beavers. They help to amplify that pluck inside us and may even help to tease out our Voice more, and that’s always a worthwhile exercise from time to time.
Any which way, there are fifteen tricks we can implement to thwart the intimidation monster, and we can deploy as many as we wish simultaneously — they’re stackable and come at the beast from different angles, so let ‘er rip! So let’s dive into each one…
First, your work isn’t a masterpiece. Just create you art and follow your original inspirations to the best of your ability. Quit with this unreasonable demand that every piece be a masterpiece. Yes, a lot of hardwork and skill go into masterpiece-level art, as does a ton of sacrifice, research, and blood, sweat, and tears. But the hard fact is — masterpieces just happen. They cannot be forced or contrived. Like I’ve seen so many artists work their fingers to the bone and into near madness creating their masterpiece only to end up with…well…not a masterpiece. The reality is that a masterpiece is something gifted by the Universe for mysterious reasons — they just happen. And yes, you can set up the right conditions and give it your all, but still either come up short or have it appear like magic. It’s a mystery! All we can do is the best we can, passionately and earnestly, and that’s all we can ask of ourselves. As Vincent Lombari wisely observed, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” And as David Bayles observes, “Art is human. Error is human. Art is error.” So quit trying to achieve a perfect masterpiece! Just create your art! If you’re lucky, you’ll create something extraordinary when you’re least expecting it, but if not, don’t sweat it. Masterpieces are overrated anyway. The truth of our Voice is to be found in the full breadth of our work, even in the smallest and most “inconsequential” pieces, so pour yourself into each and every bit of your art with sincerity, curiosity, gumption, and love, and let the creative chips fall where they may. It’s a lot less pressure and a lot more fun!
Second, imagine three steps ahead. Often times, imagining ourselves a few steps ahead and the way those finished steps make us feel can do a lot to keep us going through the tedium or scary steps. Because let’s admit it: A lot about creating equine realism is un-fun tedious work. Sanding, Dremeling, prepping, waiting, reworking…there’s some drudgery involved. On the other hand, some steps are just plain scary! Talk about intimidation! So imagine how you’ll feel past all that — pretty good, huh? Ride that feeling through them. Allow that feeling to realign your fears into action and move forward — you can do it! Yes, you can!
Third, practice wabi-sabi enthusiastically. Embrace the Japanese concept of imperfection and the love of the creative process with zeal. Create simply for the joy of creating art, and let the rest go. Truly, it’s good for you and your art. Heck, it not only improves your experience, it somehow inexplicably improves your art as well. Perhaps it acts as a proverbial jaws-of-life to release that vise-grip our perfectionism has on our necks. Maybe it recalibrates our priorities where they better belong, on the process, not the outcome. Maybe it’s a pressure-valve for the tensions and burdens we place on ourselves as we create, allowing a more natural expression to come through. Who knows — it’s a mystery! But it works!
Fourth, baby step. Start small and with something immediately actionable. And create without judgment or expectation — just art, and allow it to take you wherever it wants to go. You can even just create art in fifteen or thirty minute sessions. Make a schedule if you want to because maybe that kind of structure will help. It can build momentum, and once your creative momentum gets going, it becomes a glorious creative steam-rollin' freight train! And celebrate every accomplished step! Even if it’s messy or not what you wanted or even if you think it’s “ugly” — celebrate it! You created something that’s never existed before and that’s such an amazing thing!
Fifth, experiment and explore. In fact, make experimentation an easy 50% of all the art you create — make it a happy habit! Indeed, I make all my work about exploration, every piece is a fresh foray into something new and uncharted in my skillset, narratives, or design sensibilities. This creates a nice balance between your innate creative curiosity and a challenge that pulls you forwards with its own momentum that somehow makes you more comfortable with making mistakes and pushes you out of comfort zones. It’s an experiment, remember, something new to explore and so any mistake, detour, or wrong note is a potential new discovery, not a catastrophe. And even if it gets hosed up — so what? It was an experiment! And in experiments, even “failures” are a tremendous opportunity to learn!
And exploration can come in near any form. Like try a new technique or medium. Hey, try something as unexpected as color pencils, oil pastels, alcohol markers, or watercolor — why not? Or try painting or sculpting or prepping or whatever in a different way, a new process. Switch out the colors on your habitual palette. Start small if you need to, like using a new kind of sandpaper for prepping. Starting small isn’t so much to bite off and will inspire less anxiety. Breaking things down into smaller steps to see how you can tweak each one can be helpful too in finding new ways to experiment.
Sixth, create for yourself first. “The audience comes last,” said Rick Rubin, and he’s 100% right. Create the original art that inspires you most, and only you. Forget about everyone else! Seriously—just forget about the opinions and expectations of others, even those closest to you. The only person in the room you should be creating for is yourself, and just yourself, all the time. “I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free,” said Georgia O’Keeffe. Spot on! Along those lines, you can now separate out your self-worth from your art because if you’re creating it just for yourself — who cares, right? You love you work, you know your Truth, you enjoyed created it, and that’s all that matters! Indeed, that’s all that will ever matter.
Seventh, take breaks. If you start to feel overwhelmed, that’s a form of creative exhaustion — you need to step way to do something else for a time, creative or otherwise. Time to hit that reset button and recharge! So indulge another skill like writing, knitting, journaling, cooking, gardening, whatever. Or relax and read, swim, play with your pet, take a walk, listen to music, spend time with friends or family, whatever trips your trigger. Then when you’re ready, return to your art with renewed passion and inspiration.
Eighth, take a class or join an arts community. So often growing with others and group learning can be a great source of recharging your batteries or bolstering your battle-readiness against intimidation! Also, too, the structure those avenues offer can be quite helpful for giving you timelines, goals, and instruction that helps to create more actionable steps.
Ninth, journal your fears. Writing through your fears, intimidations, and insecurities can be incredibly helpful in finding some enlightenment and release, helping you reconnect with your creative passion and maybe find some insights to really help you grow.
Tenth, remember your art isn’t forever. Nothing in this world is permanent. It all decays after a time. Even all the art in museums is degrading no matter how hard conservationists try to preserve it. Heck, Pollock paintings are shedding paint dots every year. It’s just the nature of things — that wabi-sabi again. Embrace the impermanence of life and release that anxiety about getting your work just so for posterity. There is no forever.
Eleventh, realize you can always try again. If you hose up, no biggie — whatever you create you can often re-create. You’re the maker here! Nearly every medium gives you a second try most of the time — even third and fourth tries, or more. Nothing is precious, and everything is up for grabs, remember that. There is no shame in restarting and trying again. Besides, if you create art, you come to realize that the real process is mostly trusting yourself to fix things as you go, starting again over and over and over in connected micro-steps. Like, have you ever watched a time-lapse video of the creation of a single piece? All those little corrections made along the way? Yep, that.
Twelfth, dump the second-guessing. Try not to live in regret wondering how your piece might have turned out like had you done it “right.” Sure, we have our beautiful vision in our head, but it’s an impossible windmill to chase so let it go. Because here’s the thing: If that piece could have turned out any other way, it would have. Think about that for a minute. If that piece could have turned out any other way — it would have. What a liberation! So quit with the regret! You tried your level best and the Universe — the mystery of arting — had other plans, and that’s absolutely okay! In fact, a lot of our best work happens that way when you really brass tacks it. As Martha Graham astutely advises…
There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.
So as long as you kept that channel open and created in your authentic Voice, how ever your art turned out is exactly the way it was meant to turn out. Let that sink in.
There’s a flip side to regret, too — you wonder how your piece would’ve turned out had you followed a tickling instinct, had you taken the creative risk. If that would still bug you five years from now — take the risk. See what happens. As long as it’s not dangerous or catastrophic, try it! You’ll feel a lot better having tried it — success or failure — than having not if it means that much to you. Like I took a risk trying to paint oils light over dark for a white grey — I failed miserably the first time, but oh…what fun I had faceplanting and learning! Then on the second try, I took what I learned and spun it into a new risk with a new approach and lo!…it worked! Triumph! But had I never taken that risk, none of this good stuff would’ve happened — failure and success — would it? Don’t deny yourself that same fascinating journey! More times than not, we don’t regret the creative things we did, we regret the creative things we didn’t do.
Thirteenth, instead of fixating on what could go wrong, ask yourself, “What could go right?” Focus on the possibilities, not on the potential failures. Sure, things can go wrong — we all makes mistakes and correct them as we go, but also think about all the things that will go beautifully right! Why throw the baby out with the bathwater? Be bold, be audacious, delve deep into that moxie, and just dive in!
Fourteenth, practice art play. Adopting a playful mindset when you create your art is far more important than you may know. It keeps you “light” and less weighed down by your expectations and judgments, and it releases the perfectionist pressure you place on yourself. Like if you want to rediscover art play for reals, draw with your child! Children get it, and you can remember it, too. Indeed, all the best art is a product of art play, when the artist has just released their burdens and simply creates in joyful abandon!
Fifteenth, recognize that action conquers fear. This is the most crucial component to understand — you’ve got to move forward to conquer intimidation, which is really a form of fear. You see, your fear wins when you stop. That’s its goal, that’s the point of its existence, to keep you from arting. Don’t give it that satisfaction! Because on the other hand, taking action — of designing actionable steps to a goal — breaks the cycle of fearful inaction, procrastination, or regret, and you’ll move forward. You’ve got the take the first step! Start anywhere! Even blindly and despite all the “what ifs,” even when you have no idea of the outcome — take that step! It’s a leap of faith. Then take another, and another, and another, and soon you’ll have primed that pump and your creative momentum will take over, and off you go! And every productive artist takes that leap with the creation of every new piece, over and over again, and before they know it, they have a body of work. Because yeah — the most effective antidote to intimidation is just doing it, just starting, just taking that risk despite it all. What have you got to lose? Darn the torpedoes and full steam ahead!
Conclusion
You see, there’s lots of strategies for blowing right past your intimidation every time it tries to get the upper hand! You can even corral it with these boundaries to keep it hemmed in if it gets uppity. Now it may not calm down completely, but it can certainly be kept at bay. And here’s the great news…the more adept you get at all these strategies, the better a monster-handler you become — it does get easier! You gain confidence and boldness, you start to really trust your wings and become more courageous, and in light of all that, your intimidation isn’t so insurmountable after all.
So keep at it, keep strategizing around your intimidation and then just watch how much art you can actually bang out as a result! You see, creativity feeds on itself, it gains a force, an unstoppable energy the more you use it so even when intimidation shows up — as it inevitably will — you have the means, motivation, and moxie to blow right past it to forge ahead, fully creative, coasting along on a new kind of compelling momentum! And with that powerful powertrain propulsion, you can outrace your intimidation monster in no time! Beep beep!
“When you hold back, it holds back; when you hesitate, it stands there staring, hands in its pockets. But when you commit, it comes on like blazes.”
— David Bayles
