We all want to pen the perfect story. Ink that killer drawing. Bang out a catchy tune. Yet what most artists miss is the end product is not the art. You are.
When tackling any creative endeavor, you need to seek peace of mind. If you have a calm and centered mind, then the story or drawing will flow from you. It’s your personality that creates the art, not the words on the page or the notes from your instrument.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? If we could all be true to ourselves, then all of us would be artists already. There are two common traps that capture the would-be-auteur.
Beware the ego trap where you believe you have the Midas touch. Everything you do is beautiful and astounding. That doodle on a napkin — let’s hang it in the museum. Those scribbled notes on a Post It? The next bestseller.
Time is the best cure for this sort of dilemma. Look at your work without those rose-tinted-glasses. You’ll see where you can improve.
The other trap snares most of us. Anxiety. We worry that our art isn’t good enough. The dialogue not crisp enough. Those inked lines too shaky. And so we rework and rework until the whole thing becomes a jumbled mess.
The best cure for this is to read up on everything you can. Become an expert in whatever it is you’re trying to create. Learn about the art form and study how other artists have dealt with the same subject matter. Over time, you’ll build up confidence and realize that you actually can do this.
Bottom line, if the art you create comes from you — the real you — then you are already on the right track.
Tim Kane
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