I want to create more visual art. I have been neglecting this love for too long.
It gets neglected for a number of reasons—the classic, "I just don't have enough time," being a popular one—but I think the main reason is a lack of confidence. Though I try not to, I care so much about what other people might think, and, the greatest fear, that they might find out I am a fake.
If you are an artist, you know what I am talking about. It is so easy to compare yourself to other creators, and tell yourself their work is real and yours is not. It can cause you to keep your work hidden, or even avoid doing it, because you don't think you are good enough or that you have the proper training, motivation, or lifestyle. Your work then becomes a secret or a whisper only your closest friends know about. Because at the end of the day, you know who the "real" artists are, and you are only a dreamer with a full-time job, a long list of responsibilities, and dusty art supplies cluttering your desk.
But you are not a dreamer, you're an artist.
I recently found a small piece of paper tucked away in an old journal, and in capital, doodled handwriting it read, "I STOPPED BEING AN ARTIST WHEN I STARTED CARING ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE THINK. ENOUGH OF THAT." This paper is now tacked in the center of the bulletin board above the dusty art supplies cluttering my desk.
Whether it is drawn, written, danced or sung, art is always going to inspire opinions. That is its nature. Sometimes those opinions make artists better, and sometimes they don't. But one thing that opinions never do is make art "real." Art is never fake; it is real the moment it leaves the brain and enters the world. Art needs no validation.
And so without the need to be validated, and with a strong sense of self-motivation, art ought to be shared. We ought to confidently call ourselves artists, not fakes, and be excited to discover where our work finds a home in the world.
Keep peace and keep creating,
Parker <3
P.S. Go check out my personal instagram, https://www.instagram.com/harrisonparkerdavis/, to see a piece I drew today in response to this reflection.
