Filling the gaps as a self-taught artist

This week, I want to talk about books. As a self-taught artist with no formal art education past Year 12 AS Level (and I don't even really count this year as they just sort of left us to our own devices most of the time!), I have found that I have some serious gaps in my knowledge when it comes to the art world. I used to think that I was a huge disadvantage because I didn't 'follow my dreams' when I was younger and go to London to do a fine art degree. But the further into my career I get, the more I realise that people who have those degrees have such a mixed experience and, actually, those I meet with formal art educations are not necessarily the most 'successful' artists. Now, I use the word successful carefully here, because, as I have come to appreciate, success looks different for everyone. I know plenty of artists who consider themselves to be perfectly successful artists without ever leaving their home town. Contrary to the limiting belief I held for many years - that you couldn't be a 'real artist' without a fine art degree - I have discovered that there is a vast wealth of information and knowledge to be accessed for anyone willing to learn. My favourite way to learn is through through reading. So here's a review of just a few of the most influential books I've read as an artist.

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The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron has to get the first mention. This book has been around for decades (longer than I have been alive, in fact!) and I came across it quite by accident. I meet people all the time who have been through the 12-week program of rediscovery set out in the book and have subsequently passed it on to at least 8 other people since reading it myself. Julia Cameron helped me see that I was 'blocked' as an artist and I challenged so many of my own demons in the process of releasing that blocked access to my creativity. For over a decade, my artist was locked away in a little box in my head and, even when I took the plunge to pursue my art full time, I hadn't really addressed that fact at all. School, my parents, my teachers, general messages in society - all these things had layered limiting beliefs about my own abilities and self-worth in my consciousness. But now, I know for certain how fucking awesome my artist brain is, and I can say with total certainty that I wouldn't have found this confidence so soon without The Artist's Way. I meet other blocked artists very regularly and every time I do, I send them a link to this book.

The Artist's Curse by Steve Sabella is a book I read quite early on in my pursuit of more artistic knowledge. I knew I had gaps in my understanding of the art world and there was this indescribable barrier between the world of being 'hobby artist' and the commercial art world where I would actually make a living from my work. The Artist's Curse is written in a really unique way with all these little bits of advice, sometimes just a single word on a whole page, and anecdotes from Steve Sabella's personal experiences. It's really digestible in easy to absorb chunks of information and gave me my first insight into what this mysterious 'art world' was like for working artists. When I first read this book, I felt a real imposter syndrome thinking things like, 'This will never be me, talking to galleries or attending art fairs.' But it's one I keep returning to as I experience more of the art world and the messages within resonate with me more each time.

Real Artists Don't Starve by Jeff Goins was recommended to me by a friend ages ago and I kept it in my Amazon basket for at least a year before buying it. I wish I had got it much sooner! There have been a few books in my life that have completely altered the way I think about certain things and this is one of them. If, like most artists I meet, you have anxieties about money and how to make a living as an artist, this book is so worth spending two days of your life reading. Jeff Goins so clearly lays out a road map for working artists that is based in the learned experiences of the artists who have come before. And actually, reading this book confirmed for me something which I had always believed about myself: that being an artist and being an entrepreneur are one in the same thing. I get exactly the same 'flow' or 'buzz' in my mind when I'm painting as I do when I'm planning for my business growth. I'm using the same part of my amazing brain to do these things and they are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to separate them at all sometimes.

Finding Your Artistic Voice by Lisa Congdon is one I have just this very day finished reading. This one has made it to the list of ones I want to mention because it's so down-to-earth and no-nonsense. There's no wanky art speak and it is really empowering for someone who is finding their own way in the artist's life. I have been struggling with this idea of what I want to say with my art for a while now. Although I have made plenty of art and had a few commissions, all but a few of my pieces have felt lacking in soul. Working from other people's ideas is great to pay the bills for a while, but there's very little fulfillment in that as an artist. I have this knowing inside me that I can create something really important and significant with my work, even if it's only important to me. I don't know what that is yet, but this book has given me the reassurance and tools to know how to get there. Lisa Congdon's book is illuminating for a self-taught artist and one I will now be recommending regularly.