The hardest thing I had to learn as an artist is that my art is enough.

—

I was scrolling through my Instagram feed which naturally results in a bruised chin as my jaw hits the floor with what feels like every second post.

And like usual a new work-in-progress piece from one of my favorites of all time stopped my thumb dead in it’s tracks.

As much as I hate to admit it, the thoughts quickly went from “ahhh amazing!!” to “I love how she details the feathers in bright light” to “ugh I’ll never be as good as her”.

I was one step away from hopping into my studio and starting a paint thinner-scented burning party.

Have you ever been there?

In that nasty dark space where your mind keeps telling you that you’ll never measure up?

I hate it.

It controlled me for years. And not going to lie, it still pops up now and then.

But one thing that made all the difference was the mental work I did to have my brain learn and understand one thing: my art is enough.

There will always be people that are more technically skilled than you, but also less.

And you know what?

Talent in the art world doesn’t mean a whole hell of a lot.

Here are 3 things that are more important than talent.

1) Your WHY

The great and terrifying thing about art is that it is SO subjective – despite being a representative artist, I absolutely adore abstract art.

Abstract art makes me feel something. When the artist starts digging to why they made the brush strokes they did, and knit this story out of what is representationally nothing, it blows my mind and sinks my heart in so much deeper.

A good story can take something that is lovely on the surface and transform it into something that is breathtaking on the mind. Stories capture emotions, and emotions capture hearts.

We often forget that people buy things that make them feel something. Feel like they’re about to change their life for the better, feel like they are adding light into their souls.

2) How you reach the world with your message

It seems like such a shame to not share artwork with the world. It has the power to move souls, to bring light into the darkness, and adds beauty to the world.

You can have an impact on your viewers regardless of which stage you are in – from the first few times you handle a brush to the 10,000 “Master” hours.

If your message can benefit humanity, then it will help to get your art out there.

Practice presenting your message through daily journaling – write about your process, how it makes you feel, what you believe in.

3) Your willingness to grow

As harsh and dramatic as it sounds, I believe that if you are not actively growing, then you are dying.

Calm down – growth doesn’t have to be earth-shattering and ground-moving. Growth can be a gentle smoldering fire, or it can be an inferno.

But it starts with the willingness to grow. With accepting that you are, and always will be, a work-in-progress, and that is beautiful.

The evolution of your artistic mind and soul is unavoidable, if you allow it.

Take classes, try something new, experiment. Learn from your mistakes, and make friends with failure.

Your technical skill, as long as you continue your craft, will continue to blossom and grow. In a year you will look back at your current work and be so pleased to see how far you have come, and the next year following you will see even more advances.

Accept growth with open arms.

 

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