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Last month I launched my Watercolor Pets Mentoring Program! I'm pleased to report it's going really well! My student artists are some of the most interesting and delightful people I have ever known. Each of them is learning and growing consistently, but most of all, they are learning to TRUST THE PROCESS. (Which I'm pretty big on pounding into their minds. 😂)
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Some days though, I suspect that I am learning the most!
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It's true! My students have become my teachers in a lot of ways.
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The most profound thing we've uncovered in our sessions together, is that, beneath all the varying obstacles and challenges we each face in our watercolor journey, there lies something common to every.single.one.of.us. (It's kind of sinister.)
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It's FEAR.
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In her book, "Choosing Clarity," Kimberly Giles says that we all have one or both of these two basic fears: The fear of Loss and the Fear of Not Being Good Enough.
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What does this have to do with watercolor?
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This persistent, pernicious VOICE that we are ALL familiar with, creates ten-foot walls around us that trap and stifle our inner artist!
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Here are just 4 ways fear stops us from being the artist we dream of:
1. Fear encourages you to play small or shoot low. It can kill innovation, risk-taking, and even creativity.
This is where we become afraid to use that "nice paper" or sign up for that workshop. Heck, it stops us from painting at all!
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2. Fear makes you think your value must be earned. Fear says you need to get validation or recognition from other people in order to feel that you have value as an artist. It says you have to be perfect to be good enough.
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3. Fear is the critic in your head that says your art has to be "Insta-worthy." It is that nasty, mean voice that judges everything you do and compares it with everything other people do. It says if your work isn't exactly how you envisioned it in your head, YOU aren't good enough. Since "perfect" art isn't possible, fear always tells you that your art isn't good enough!
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4. Fear covers up who you really are and blocks you from creativity. Fear makes you forget that your value is infinite and encourages you to hide yourself and your art away from the world.
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Are you nodding your head yet? We all deal with it. We are all walking around scared and struggling students in the classroom of life. You get it. So...what can you do about it?
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It's actually fairly simple. You have to decide. Here are 4 things you can DECIDE today:
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1. Give yourself permission to be a scared, struggling student on a perfectly imperfect journey! Give yourself permission to be exactly where you are meant to be; a work in progress!
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2. Decide NOW that mistakes you make and "failed" paintings you experience are just locations on your art journey! They are just lessons, and they do not determine your value as an artist.
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3. It's not up to ANYONE else to decide if your work is valuable or important. That MUST come from inside you!
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4. Finally, here's a big one. Make a rule against COMPARISON. Teddy Roosevelt taught us that "Comparison is the thief of joy."
No longer allow the voice of fear to compare your art with others. We are all just at different locations on our journey! Take a deep breath, let it out, YOU ARE ENOUGH!!
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