I can talk (and do talk) until I’m blue in the face about one particular topic when it comes to artist success: your artist story.

Why you need one, how to tell it, how to find out what it is…all that jazz.

And over and over again I see the same objection from my students.

“I don’t think I really have an artist story”.

And to that I say, “darling, you have a powerfully radiant artist story hiding just under the surface, you just need to reach in and find it”.

Yes, it can take a bit of work.

Yes, it can feel vulnerable.

Might even stir up some uncomfortable or painful emotions.

But that is okay.

That is the power that you hold. Your artist story is one of the key components that you need to standing out among the ocean of other artists out there, and thankfully YOU get to choose what it is.

 

Disclaimer about “your story” versus “your artist story”.

These are one in the same, you just have to change the lens in which you look at them. I know you live for art and creativity. It makes you feel alive, you want to breathe it into every single dang day. Art is a part of you.

And because of that, your personal story, the story of you as a human walking this crazy earth, is also your artist story. Because it all feeds into that beautiful tapestry that is you, and art is a big part of that tapestry.

Your life story, the one that is still being written every single day, feeds into everything you do as an artist.

It influences what you create, how you talk about your creations, and how you put it out into the world. 

It affects who you want to share it with, and how you share it. 

That’s why these questions that we’re about to dive into dig into the realm of your life, not just your art.

All good? Let’s jump in!

We’re going to dig in deep here with some questions, so grab something that makes you feel cozy and snuggle in.

Let’s start easy mode, something with a little less inner work.

 

Question to Ask Yourself #1: What do you feel yourself drawn to?

This doesn’t have to be the art styles you like, or the paintings you find yourself drooling over from other artists. This can be shows, movies, books, vacations, hair styles, colors, relationships, what have you.

Pick one thing and break it down.

 

I’ll use myself as an example.

I freakin’ LOVE tea. I drink several mugs per day, a huge range of flavors and types. People in my life associate tea now with me, so gifts are often extremely tasty.

So why do I love tea? And how on earth does this squeeze into my story?

I started drinking tea when I was younger, and pretty lost, really. I was in that awkward phase of life where you just feel unshapen. I was craving direction in life, I wanted to know who I was.

There was this girl in my class that was always drinking tea.

She seemed so put together. Conversations always flowed easily, and her smile had this lazy I’m-a-natural-at-everything-I-do vibe. Obviously I wanted that.

And my mind at the time took the easiest route, as nature usually does, and thought that “aha! Tea! That must be the answer to her earthiness, I wish I could be more like her in that way”.

Silly, looking back at that, but hey, our minds can be silly.

Either way, I started drinking tea and naturally fell in love.

Obviously it didn’t turn me into her. But in that effort to become more grounded and earthy, I fell in love with something that still brings me a bucketload of joy every single day.

Tea is part of my artist story now, because it shows that I value being grounded, which I now see shows itself in the way that I talk about my work and the stories behind my paintings.

Hell, I’ve even made tons of art with tea!

So – what do you feel drawn to, and how does it feed into your artist story?

Question to Ask Yourself #2: Why Did You Create Your Latest Painting?

This exercise can be expanded to more pieces, but let’s just focus on the most recent one for now.

Doesn’t matter what it is.

 

Imagine your latest painting was an oil painting study you did of say, an Arctic Fox.

Why did you choose to create that art?

Well, I think they’re adorable with their little squishy faces and smug grins – I love animals. They’re beautiful, and I want to share that beauty with the world.

But why did I choose to do a basic study, straight from the reference photo without any of my usual artistic flares?

Well, at the time I was feeling a bit burnt out from working on a big art collection that demands a lot of my creative energy. I desperately needed to paint to sooth my mind, and the straight-forward “put this brush stroke here” aspect of a study was the balm my artist soul needed.

Plus, I also wanted to create a beautiful new painting for the students inside my painting program that teaches them how to paint realistic wildlife. I wanted to deliver something packed with all the juicy value they are craving, and I had a shocking about of students request a tutorial for an Arctic Fox.

 

So let’s break that down.

I’m inspired by animals, which definitely started by growing up surrounded by nature and wildlife. Hence why I paint animals.

I use art as a form of personal therapy because it brings me joy when I’m drained or in pain, and I want to show others that they too can find joy within the brush strokes as well.

I also live to teach – the amount of joy that fills my heart when I can help others improve their art while having fun in the process seriously lights me up.

See how that one oil painting of an Arctic Fox study illuminated so much about myself as an artist?

Question to Ask Yourself #3: What Do You Believe In?

Getting a bit deeper now.

We all believe in something, and there is a good chance that it again feeds into your art, and your artist story.

Are you passionate about saving the rainforests? And because of this you only use ethically-sourced, earth-friendly materials in your artwork?

Maybe your dream is to end poverty on this planet, so you run promotions on your artwork and send the proceeds to families that need that life-changing money.

Perhaps you went through a tragedy in your own personal life, and your art is created in an effort to heal those wounds. And a conversation with someone about your paintings made you realize that your brushstrokes can have healing powers for others that went through a similar tragedy.

Your beliefs are powerful, and they manifest themselves into your everyday life, naturally weaving themselves into your artist story.

These questions only scratch the surface of what your artist story is, but I understand that extracting it can be a tricky process. Painful even. Mine was.

But once I got clear on my artist story, and started sharing it with the world, everything changed.

So hopefully these 3 questions allowed you to flex those story-extractin’ muscles, and you’re well on your way to stepping into your spotlight!

 

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