Don't be a bully

The world needs nice artists. Are you one?

Artists are very hard on themselves. So hard, that I have 4 rules in my classes, mainly designed to help students with this problem.

1. Not too many rules

2. Be nice

3. No mistakes allowed

4. Mix your colors instead of using out of the tubes (we use a mixing set of pigments)

But when I get to "Be Nice" I explain that the hardest part is being nice to yourself. I tell students, "you wouldn't turn to the person next to you and say, 'wow, you can't draw very well. You aren't a real artist'. Yet you will tell yourself that exact same phrase."

Don't tell yourself mean things, especially things that make you feel like you can't do art. Not only do we say mean things to ourselves, we do it a lot, and our subconscious believes ourself more than any other source of information. So it really, really hurts.

Practice being nice to yourself. Don’t be a bully.

You might have also noticed that #3 is a bit shocking. What do I mean, "no mistakes allowed"? That sounds horrible and against what I just said about being nice. Yes, you're right, and I do it this way to get students' attention. It really works. Heads jerk up when I say this, and there are some horrified expressions. Artists are so fearful of hearing scary things about performance.

But the real meaning of rule 3, is that it is impossible for an artist to make a mistake.

It.
Is.
Impossible.
For.
An.
Artist.
To.
Make.
A.
Mistake.

In our language, the word, mistake, is used for something you should always avoid. When we complain about mistakes, we regret them. A mistake might be bumping into a chair, dropping a glass and breaking it when we're already late for a meeting. We wish we didn't do that. It is all bad. I did not learn anything. I already know that chairs should not be walked through.

But with art, even if you hate the work you create; even if you cringe and want to immediately burn the drawing you just finished; even if you are embarrassed about a painting; nevertheless, you have spent your time incredibly well - learning and improving your abilities.

You're always going to learn whenever you create art. Accomplished artists will deliberately attempt new and sometimes crazy methods, knowing there is a high likelihood of a trashy result, because of the learning involved, and the discovery of new things. In fact, you can only learn by making practice work, or "learners". These are works that are not yet up to the high standards you hope for. But you cannot get to those standards until you make a bunch of learners.

Here's a thought experiment. If I gave you a photo of a face, and said to you that I would magically impart the ability to draw the nose perfectly accurately, you would be ecstatic. But if I then explained that you'd have to spend 2 hours folding 20 sheets of paper into tiny little triangles... you might be a little bummed, but you still get a pretty good tradeoff. You would probably be happy afterwards when you could draw that nose so well.

However, if I told you to spend those 2 hours drawing embarrassingly bad noses on the 20 sheets of paper, you might cringe. What's the problem? The materials used and time spent is the same for the desired result. What's more, is that doing 20 drawings of that nose will actually impart the ability to draw it well. There's no magic needed. You will learn that nose for sure.

The difference is our belief that creating a bad drawing means we can't draw. That is a myth. But the myth makes us scared. We've been conditioned to believe that "real artists" don't ever draw badly. So when we do a drawing that we don't like, that fear is too much to handle. 20 poorly made nose drawings would be devastating if you believe this myth.

And we do believe it.

The truth is that no one knows the nose until they have practiced - a lot. Every single artist who can draw well, took the time to get through all those very-many-not-yet-good versions before they became better. Take heart, and muster the courage, because it wasn't magic that made Matisse and Monet great artists. They did a lot of practice drawings that we have never seen.

Their practice drawings went into the trash, just like yours can. Then they heaved a sigh, and did another one.

I honestly think the great artists struggled with the myth too. They probably had an inner voice say a mean thing. Matisse even said it bothered him that he didn't draw like everyone else.

Be nice to yourself and go draw something bad today.

Thanks for reading!

The world needs happy artists,
Dennas