Do it like you know it!
Confidence is closely linked to, and indeed is the fruit of, a well-connected and present mind.
The confidence you need as an artist comes from knowing how to paint so well you don’t have to really think about how to do it while you’re doing it.
Your confident mind maintains a “bank account,” if you will, of your memories for painting art. This account contains information from all the art you’ve ever been exposed to. And all the art you’ve ever made. At the end of the day, make sure you’re continually depositing good art and good memories into your account.
Questions you can ask of yourself:
- Where did I put forth quality effort in painting today? Name it!
- What success did I have due to my effort? Name it!
- What progress did I make as measured from yesterday’s results? Name it!
Now, when you approach that next painting, you’ll have a full account you can withdraw from. An account loaded with effort, success, and progress. This creates an upward spiral that will feed on itself, resulting in increased confidence with each brushstroke. Then make sure you deposit the successes you have on each painting into your account that evening for an even better day tomorrow.
With a full account, you’ll be seeing things you’ve never seen before. You’ll be making marks you’ve never made before, because you’re giving yourself permission to rely on what you already know. Your overly critical, second questioning, and judgmental mind just needs to step aside for a while.
Words matter
Whenever you get nervous, scared, or timid feelings, don’t call them that. Instead, call them excitement, energy, or passion. Use words that speak to the behavior you want.
While I was painting on location in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, a lady came up to me and we started talking about art. She was an artist too. I asked her if she ever painted outside before or entered the Paint Cedarburg event. She said, “Oh no, that’s too scary, I’d be way too nervous to do that.” I said to her, “Please don’t use those words on yourself. It’s much better to use the word ‘excited’ whenever you want to use the word ‘nervous’.” I then told her that “The brain doesn’t know the difference between the two emotions since they are so close to each other. Also, ‘excited’ leaves a positive door open for discovery and adventure that will just add more excitement to your life.” She stood there for a minute and quietly said, “I have to go now before I start to cry.” We said our goodbyes, hoping to meet again in Plein Air.
The Great Transaction
When viewing art that was painted with confidence there is a beautiful transaction that occurs between the artist and the viewer. I’ve seen this happen on too many occasions to count. I’ve experienced this as an art instructor, student, judge, and as an artist and casual viewer. I’ve seen this happen in the field, in classrooms, during demos, in shows, in galleries, and in art museums.
When people view art there is a transfer of emotion to the viewer. The brush never lies. If during the time the brushstroke was laid down you felt tentative, unsure, nervous, or scared, the brushstroke will be laid down with that emotion. If you are uncertain about a shape or a stroke, you’ll go back over it and smooth something out, but you’ll end up blending it into other strokes equally laid down with uncertainty. The constant dabbing, repainting and fussing over shapes until you feel it’s acceptable communicates just that: fear, doubt and uncertainty. Whether you realize it or not, the viewer seeing your painting is also feeling your fear, doubt, and uncertainty. On the contrary, when a stroke is laid down with certainty, courage, and bravery, (whether it’s 100% right or not), it will read better, communicate deeper, and connect more strongly to the painting and its viewers.
John Singer Sargent would lay his brushstrokes down this way. If the stroke didn’t look effortless, he’d scrape it off and paint it again until it did. He understood the power a confident brush has on communicating, and connecting to the subject and its viewer.
Fix what does not work by scraping it off and paint it again. Dwelling on mistakes and the constant blending, dabbing and smoothing paint around doesn’t work. When you get it right, you know it in your heart, it looks good. Make a mental note and put that into your ‘bank account’ for tomorrow.