Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking

Conversely, catering to fears of being misunderstood leaves you dependent upon your audience. In the simplest yet most deadly scenario, ideas are diluted to what you imagine your audience can imagine, leading to work that is condescending, arrogant, or both. Worse yet, you discard your own highest vision in the process.

We abdicate artistic decision-making to others when we fear that the work itself will not bring us the understanding, acceptance and approval we seek.

One of the basic and difficult lessons every artist must learn is that even the failed pieces are essential.

The artist’s life is frustrating not because the passage is slow, but because he imagines it to be fast.

Uncertainty is the essential, inevitable and all-pervasive companion to your desire to make art. And tolerance for uncertainty is the prerequisite to succeeding.

What separates artists from ex-artists is that those who challenge their fears, continue; those who don’t, quit.

Artists don’t get down to work until the pain of working is exceeded by the pain of not working.

vision is always ahead of execution — and it should be.

Lesson for the day: vision is always ahead of execution — and it should be. Vision, Uncertainty, and Knowledge of Materials are inevitabilities that all artists must acknowledge and learn from: vision is always ahead of execution, knowledge of materials is your contact with reality, and uncertainty is a virtue.