How to Make Art When You Don’t Feel Like an Artist

Hello, it's Antrese, and welcome to another episode of the Savvy Painter Podcast. I am so happy to have you here listening to this episode. This is going to be a good one.

Last week, we talked about how to make art when it kind of feels like the world is burning down. This week, I got some questions. We're going to talk about how to make art when you don't feel like an artist. I'm hearing from artists who walk into their studio, sit down in front of the canvas, or pick up their sketchbook and suddenly think, "Who am I kidding?"

Does that sound familiar? Or maybe you look around at other artists and feel like they have something that you don't. Maybe it's more confidence, more skill, more legitimacy. Maybe you're wondering if you should even be calling yourself an artist at all.

If that is you, first, welcome. Because here's the truth: every artist I know—yes, even the ones you admire—have felt this way at some point. Call it imposter syndrome, call it self-doubt. Whatever it is, it's not about your skill level. It's not even about your experience. It's about how you think about yourself in relation to the world around you.

Right now, I get it. I know the world is a scary place. There's a lot of stress, a lot of uncertainty, and it feels very, very chaotic. Every time I wake up and open anything to look at the news, I'm always very apprehensive, like, "What happened while I was sleeping?"

When everything feels unstable, our brains look for certainty. One of the easiest, most harmful stories we tell ourselves is, "Maybe I just don’t belong here." But I want you to ask yourself—what if that story that we like to tell ourselves isn't true? What if the only thing standing between you and feeling like an artist is just a thought?

So today, we're going to break apart that thought. We're going to be talking about the myth of the real artist and why waiting to feel like one is kind of a waste of time. How imposter syndrome often means that you could be in the wrong room, not the wrong career. We're also going to talk about why external stress fuels self-doubt and how to take back control of your thinking.

Most importantly, we're going to talk about how to stop looking for permission and start making art exactly as you are. This episode builds a little bit on the last one because when the world feels this uncertain, it's even easier to doubt yourself.

But here's what I need you to hear today: nobody has their ducks in a row. Not one single artist, not one single person. If that's the case, then maybe it's time to stop waiting for perfection and start creating anyway. Let's dive in.

I want to start with one of the biggest, I think, fallacies—one of the biggest things that just hobbles so many artists—and that is the idea of a “real Artist,” an artist with a capital A. If you are waiting to feel like a real Artist, you'll probably be waiting forever. The truth is, everyone is making it up as they go.

As far as I'm concerned, that's the fun of it. A lot of people like to throw around this idea that there is a way that artists are supposed to be—that there is the lowercase artist and then the capital A Artist. I think that does more damage than it's worth.

When you are working on your art, when you have a vision that you are going after, that you are trying to create in your studio—when you are consistently working on your art—and by consistently, I mean you are going into your studio and working on a regular basis. For some people, that's every day. For some people, that's once a week. For some people, that's every couple of weeks or every couple of months. That is still a consistency.

The thing that I think is so destructive about this idea of the real artist with a lowercase a and a capital A is that everybody likes to put things in boxes. They like to make rules about what's acceptable and what's not acceptable, but what gets left out of that is the long-term lifespan of the artist.

What artists tend to do is they take a snapshot of a very small period of time in their art practice, in their career, and they’re not taking into account everything else that's going on around them. They are using that as a weapon against themselves. I really advocate that you dismiss all of that and just accept that you are a real artist.

If you feel like you are not working in a way that you want to, that’s a different story. Or if you feel like you're not working enough—like you would like to work more—that's a different story.

For both of those, what I see happening so often is that artists will make a blanket statement like, "I'm not working enough," or "I'm not painting enough," or "I'm not selling enough." And there's zero detail in there. We don't even know what that means. The artist doesn't even know what that means. They just accept the idea.

If the sensation or the feeling that you have or the thought that you have centered around anything like that, then I would highly, highly suggest that you make it specific and understand that it’s not a law. There's no law in the universe that says an artist has to work this number of hours a week or a month or that an artist has to achieve this particular thing by this date, age, or decade in their career, or anything like. That is how it gets used against you.

What's helpful is to see all of that as, "Oh, this is something that I want. I'm responding to this. I'm having these ideas because I have this desire—this is something that I want." Then, if you know that's something that you want, you can make it specific.

An example would be when an artist decides that they're not a real artist because they don’t get enough hours in the studio. What I see is, "Okay, what you're telling yourself is you're beating yourself up for having the desire to paint more. Let's talk about how much you would like to paint. What is that number of hours? Let's try that on. Let's see if that works in your schedule. Let's see if that works in your life."

There’s a lot of stuff going on in everybody’s life, and that needs to be taken into context. I like to get really, really specific on these things because so many artists try to tell me, "Wait, you don't actually understand. I'm not a real artist because I haven't painted in six weeks." And they forget the fact that for the last six weeks, they have been caring for a sick loved one or they had a baby.

I actually had someone say that to me when they were like, "Well, you know, I haven't really been painting," and I'm like, "Yeah, and you also just had a baby." We take it out of context, and of course, that is an extreme example of it. Hopefully, you laughed at that because I know the artist I was talking to laughed at it. Sometimes we just need to hold the mirror up and see what's actually going on.

But the point of this is to understand that when you accept that you are a real artist and you stop arguing or entertaining the idea—Am I or am I not?—then you can just get to work and start creating your art.

I wanted to bring the big one up first because I know this is something a lot of people fall back on. I've seen artists who work their butts off. They have an incredible work ethic. They are putting their work out, submitting to galleries, getting into galleries, selling their work. Then something happens in their life, and they have to step back or take their foot off the gas.

Instead of just acknowledging that their circumstances have changed and that it's temporary—something they will move through—they use that as a weapon against themselves. Suddenly, they decide, "Oh, well, you know, I'm not a real artist because X, Y, and Z."

The truth is that everybody is making it up as they go along. There is no law that says you have to paint X number of paintings a year, be in X number of galleries, or have sold X amount of paintings—whether that’s in dollars or physical paintings. All of it is made up.

To be honest, that is the fun of it because you get to make the rules. You get to decide for yourself. And when you loosen up and stop playing around with this idea that you're not legitimate, then you can see how making up those rules and making them fit your life—making them fit your desires and what you actually want—is really exciting.

So if you get to make up your own rules (and you do), the question that I have for you is: What is the practice that you want to create, and how do you want to feel when you go into your studio?

So often, this idea of I'm not a real artist or the capital A versus lowercase a, or imposter syndrome—feeling like an imposter or not believing that you belong in any way, shape, or form—most often happens when you are not aligned in your thinking, when people put fitting in to an idea above belonging to themselves. So you have to ask yourself: What exactly am I trying to fit into and why?

Because from what I see with all the artists I coach, a lot of times, what people are trying to fit into is A) they’re not even aware of what they’re trying to fit into. It’s just this vague notion. It’s a made-up ideal of what an artist is supposed to be. And when that happens, what you're doing is you are in somebody else's story. So of course, it's going to feel off.

You're playing somebody else's character—not intentionally, of course—but that's what happens when you adopt unexamined ideals about who you are as an artist, who you're supposed to be, what you're supposed to do, what you're supposed to know by when and how much, and how your success is defined.

When you outsource those, you are living in somebody else's story. If the story you are telling yourself is that you are in somebody else's world—whether purposely or not—for example, that could be the art world, that could be the gallery world, that could be the “successful world.” There are all sorts of worlds that artists believe they should be a part of, and as long as you're playing a part in those other worlds, you're going to feel like an imposter.

And I know, I know—I can hear some of you screaming right now, "But there is the art world. And there is the gallery world. And there is this world. And there is that world." When the assumption or the inner belief is that it's not your world and that you have to somehow perform in those places in order to be accepted, that's what I'm questioning. And that's what I want you to question.

As an alternative, what if you leaned into the idea that—of course—there are people and circumstances that can influence what happens in your art practice, in the results that you get, in what happens with your art, but you get to make your own rules as to how you behave and how you respond within all of that.

If you are making your own rules for you that focus on your goals, your desires, and your authentic self, there's no way you can do it wrong. It's just a matter of using your innate intelligence and creativity to take the steps you need to take in order to get the results that you want. You get to decide within that who you surround yourself with.

Recently, we had a conversation in Growth Studio on the importance of finding your people—and first, identifying who is not your people. Deciding intentionally and purposely: Who are the people that you want to surround yourself with? What are the things that light you up? What are the things that inspire you? What are the things that get you to ask questions, that inspire you, and that invoke curiosity? That's what you want to be surrounded by.

Maybe... maybe you want other things. The point is to decide for yourself what those things are. And also, part of that can be deciding what you don't want to be around. Maybe you don't want to be around people who are complaining a lot or people who are highly negative, or whatever it is. Knowing what you don't want is as important as knowing what you do want, and sometimes answering the what you don't want question first can guide you towards what you do want.

I was joking around with some of the artists in Growth Studio, and there's a meme that's going around. I don't have it in front of me, but it's something along the lines of, "Before you decide that you are doing it wrong or that you are not fitting in, first you want to make sure that you're not actually just surrounded by a bunch of idiots."

I had a good laugh about that—I think it's hilarious. But you also want to be very, very clear about what it is that you actually want, because part of creating your work and making the art that you are here to create is feeling safe in your studio, feeling safe in your practice. A huge part of that can be the people that you hang around with.

This is why community matters so much. There are communities that you can become a part of that are online, and there are local communities. Allowing yourself to feel safe and to be particular about who it is that you surround yourself with eliminates imposter syndrome, and it makes creating your art so much more fun and light—as it should be.

That's one big piece of it: deciding for yourself what your own rules are and deciding how you will show up in all of the spaces, how you will connect in all of those different places—whether it's within the gallery setting, whether it's in the art fair circuit, whether it's in any artist group. Allowing yourself to understand what are the pieces that light you up is going to go a long, long way in making you feel safe and comfortable in there knowing that you create your own rules and that you're not required to follow anybody else's—you decide how you want to be in those circumstances. That’s so, so powerful.

Just think about that for a minute—what it's like when you go into these situations knowing that you can feel confident, you can feel secure. You don’t even have to consider the idea that you might be "doing it wrong." You've already decided how you want to show up in those spaces, so you go in with this knowing that you are doing it right.

I think right now, we are all so much more susceptible to self-doubt and to questioning ourselves because when the world is uncertain, our brains automatically look for the places where we can control things. Sometimes that desire for control turns us toward self-doubt.

What I mean by that is that there's so much happening in the world right now, and the stress we feel from all this uncertainty that’s happening in the world can amplify the idea that there’s a way that we're not aware of that we’re supposed to be creating our art, or that with all the stress, we tend to be more prone to the idea that we don’t belong in our own practice.

All this stress can amplify imposter syndrome and make us feel like we're not doing enough. The reason why is because the human brain craves certainty. And when we can't find it externally, we will turn inward—and we will often blame ourselves.

A lot of times, in an attempt to gain that certainty when things feel really crazy, we try for perfection. Perfect. It's a misguided belief that many human beings have—that if I can just do everything right, then everything will be okay, and I will feel better. It's that false logic that leads to this idea of, “If I were a real artist, I would be handling this better. If I were a real artist, I would still be getting work done. If I were a real artist, I wouldn't feel so unsettled with everything that's happening.”

It's also why comparing yourself to someone who seems to have it all together is a trap. Again, I just want to rephrase this as many times—or reiterate this as many times as possible—so that it really sinks in. Everyone is doing the best that they can. Nobody has it all together. Everyone is just trying to do the best they can, and they're making it up as they go along.

When I say making it up as they go along, what we're really doing is we are responding to what's happening around us. When you can accept that—and that you are one of those people who is just doing the best that they can—then you can have empathy and love for yourself. You can have empathy and love and appreciation for how you are showing up in your studio.

When you can tolerate this feeling of uncertainty, then you're no longer susceptible to all the ways that we try to avoid the discomfort of feeling that uncertainty. Think about that for just a second.

The better able you are to tolerate the discomfort of uncertainty, of not knowing what's going to happen—which, as a species, we don't like that, human beings really don't like uncertainty—but if you can tolerate it, if you can build your tolerance and raise your threshold for your ability to sit with that discomfort of uncertainty, then all of those other things start to melt away.

All of this tendency towards perfectionism, all of this tendency towards looking to measure against how other people are doing—which really is just another way of asking the question, “Am I okay?” so, comparing ourselves or ranking ourselves against other artists, then we can get back to what actually matters—making the art. And by making the art, creating a better world, and just loving on all the people around us.

Because the thing is, regardless of what's happening around us, we get to choose our thoughts about what is happening. We get to choose our response and our reaction to it. If the thought is, “I don't belong,” then your experience will reinforce that.

If your thought is, “I belong to myself or I create my own belonging,” then your brain is going to start finding proof for that too. As you create that belonging for yourself, you are creating trust in yourself. You're creating this space where you can feel safe with your art and with your work.

If you're at all familiar with Byron Katie's work, the first question she will always have you ask is—when you have a thought like “I don't belong or I'm not a real artist”—the first question you can ask yourself is, “Is this true?” And then, whatever your answer is, "Is it really true?"

So, really digging into and questioning, not just taking it on the surface level. Asking yourself, "Who would I be without that thought that I'm not a real artist?" Just imagine that for a second—what it would be like if you never, ever, ever for the rest of your life allowed yourself—or not even allowed yourself, but it just didn't occur to you—that you were not a real artist.

Most likely, you would behave as if you were a real artist. You would paint more. You would be focused on the work that you're doing and not the validity of the work that you're doing. This is the power of questioning your thoughts and questioning what it is that you think about yourself—your self-concept in your studio.

All of this goes such a long, long way to creating an environment where you can just settle in and just be—be relaxed, be free, be comfortable in your own skin, in your own studio. Sit with that for just a second and imagine what that's like because it is absolute beauty and gold.

I wanted to create this episode because I have been hearing this come up a lot—as a response to what's going on in the world right now, as a response to a lot of the chaos, and just as a response to this general sense of unease and uncertainty. I just thought we should talk about it.

I just want to remind you again that when it feels like things are a little bit off or a little bit wonky, or whatever it is, just know that everyone is also trying to get their ducks in a row. Everyone you admire—everyone—is also chasing their own ducks. To be honest, some people don't even have ducks. They might be chasing cats or two German shepherds—I don't know.

But instead of waiting for everything to be the way you suppose it's supposed to be, you can allow yourself to just start making the work, knowing that uncertainty is part of the process. You might be feeling a lot of it right now. You might not be. But uncertainty is part of our lives, no matter what.

Uncertainty is part of being an artist. We don't get the crystal ball that tells us how things are going to work out. We just get to trust ourselves and enjoy the process of making the art. That's what allows you to create even more art. Trust me, we need your art more than ever.

Nobody ever feels like they fully belong all the time. It's just human nature. So, when you start finding yourself thinking those ways, you can have some more compassion for yourself because you're not broken, and there's nothing wrong with you. You are just simply behaving like a human being.

However, you do want to question it. You do want to notice what you're thinking and how those thoughts are impacting your creative process—how those thoughts are impacting your capacity to go into your studio, to show your work, or to submit that portfolio. All of those things.

In a nutshell, I just wanted to say that your art is valid. You belong. The end. That's what I have for you this week. I hope you have an amazing week, and I will talk to you soon.

Hey, if you want to take what you are learning here on the Savvy Painter Podcast even further, join us in Growth Studio. This is where you will take what you've learned here on the podcast and apply it, practice it, and take these concepts from just good ideas that maybe you'll do someday to habits that become part of your practice. Growth Studio is a unique community of artists. We meet multiple times a week for live coaching, critiques, and demos. Just go to savvypainter.com/join.