Wanderlust Collective

TRAVEL INSPIRATION ARTFAQ CLASSES

“A work of art is the trace of a magnificent struggle.”

Grace Hartigan

Art and Struggle

SEPT 14/The Wanderlust Collective/

Art, Inspiration, Motivation, Struggle

So, when should an artist just throw in the towel, and bid his or her art adieu? I hear so many stories of people that were painters, and then life got in the way. Or, they loved creating but hit so many roadblocks, that frustration, and anger took over.

Photo by Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash

Photo by Hello I'm Nik on Unsplash

I had a class over the weekend, and one artist began to tell me how he just didn’t believe he could make it as an artist because it was too hard to survive and sell his work. He was there because art always pulls him right in, but he knew he could never be serious.

He explained that the final straw was when he started comparing himself to other artists and that finally pushed him to quit. His reasons were, he would never be good enough. He didn’t have time to waste trying to be like the rest. He felt completely deflated, and well, to be honest, had no kind of direction.

How many pity parties have you thrown, trying to convince yourself to quit? This student was looking to justify his actions and wanted my approval. Well, I’ve been there and done that, and one thing I’ve learned is that art and struggle work together. Developing as an artist is not always fun. You have highs and lows, and you won’t always find people to praise your work. All artists that have been in the art world long enough will tell you about how many walls they’ve hit.

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“Perfection is annihilation. It paralyzes us from working from the heart. Humans by nature are not perfect and imperfections are what makes the world beautiful.”

Unknown

I believe that it’s difficult to stay in a state of inspiration and exploration. Our brains want to take control and tell us to only create successful pieces of art. We lose the magic of inspiration trying to make art that will sell. It’s a big problem and it can stop an artist in their tracks. Many artists get paralyzed in their creative process because of this very thing.

Think of it this way, although there are times when we can create beautiful work without overthinking it, sometimes we create our most compelling work out of experiences of struggle.

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There is the internal battle and we wrestle with self doubt, that comes with artist block. But, what if you embraced the struggle and let go? What would happen then? The challenge is to merge the intuitive, playful, experimental side of ourselves.

That’s exactly why I created The Artist Toolbox, to override our brains. To always have a tool to combat obstacles and keep the momentum going. To help us overcome self doubt, fear, artist block, and so much more.

If you want to discover ways to overcome your blocks and continue on your journey as an artist, you’ll want to check out The Artist Toolbox today.

“The worst enemy of creativity is self doubt.”

Sylvia Plath

Photo by Hello I'm Nik on Unsplash