“Harvest Memory” ©Ruth Armitage 2013, Acrylic on Paper 15″x22″
At last weekend’s open studio, a recurring conversational theme came up with fellow artists who stopped by: the artist’s ego. Ego is a fragile thing in artists and demands a delicate balance between humility and hubris. It can be looked at as a negative, as pomposity, and as narcissism. But inner confidence and drive is necessary for success. One artist I talked to last weekend said that she felt her ego got in the way of her being more successful. I asked her to explain. She said, “I almost think that I feel like I’m better than I am.”
This got me to wondering, since that is not a thought that ever runs through my head, and this artist is what one could consider successful by any measure: selling high price work, represented by major galleries in cities across the country, and producing beautiful work. Perhaps I need to be a bit more egotistical about my work, more confident.
Visiting my friend Patty’s studio and gleaning some tips from this successful artist, I noticed her clear affirmations immediately upon entering her beautiful space:
“I paint what I love, I love what I paint.”
While some artists have stated that ego is fatal to the artistic process, Robert Genn describes ego in its purest state as the part of our identity that deals with our higher vision. He says:
“Bravado aside, ego must still prevail: “For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)”
In the creative process, you must believe that you can be successful, in order to persist in the trenches and pursue the next, better, painting.
In this Ted talk by Elizabeth Gilbert she talks about distancing herself from the creative mystery, and relying on divine intervention, both as a way to minimize ego and also to minimize the fear of failure. Let’s face it, failure is always a danger when one is risking truly creative work. This is why we still see artists churning out hackneyed paintings of trite, traditional subject matter. Doing truly creative, different work does not interest them, it frightens them.
But Gilbert also takes on that mystery that many of us have felt, that sense that the work is coming through you, not from you. She says that asking a creative person to accept responsibility for that mystery is like “asking someone to swallow the sun.” She would much rather just let the record show that she did her part by saying “I showed up.”
I believe that both the mystical and the egotistical are necessary. If you are a viewer of my work, please know that your comments, your purchases, your support is what keeps me going as an artist. Not only, financially, but emotionally. I paint to communicate. Also, absolutely necessary is the determination and higher vision within me to know that I can (sometimes) do this, and to know that showing up to work will improve my chances. Finally, the mystical and divine intervention of a ‘muse’ helps me to remove the burden of success or failure from the equation.
This weekend (November 2 & 3, 2013) you can view my work at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon. I am humbled to be part of the Sitka Invitational, along with some of the finest artists in the region. I will be giving a short talk about my work on Sunday afternoon, 3 pm. I’d love to see you there!
But wait, there’s more! Still space available in my workshop at the Emerald Art Center: November 9-11, 2013. View my Workshops page for more information.
Nice post Ruth,
love what you paint and paint what you love hits the spot and makes you forget about sales which is right in my view. To sell needs a different mind set . leave the artist in the studio and become a salesperson. One has to be certain of one’s worth before going out there and timidness never works. A certain self confidence bordering on dare i say arrogance seems to work but arrogance is not for me; maybe i would do better if I was like that – for me it would not be worth it – therefore I fail? maybe. I think buyers purchase a piece of the artist and who wants arrogance on their walls? Hmmm, maybe they do . some of the greats were/are certainly up themselves.
You can tell i am sure that I am not convinced/clear on how to sell. That’s why i am writing this post 🙂
I hope others will share too
Thanks for taking the time to post such thoughtful ideas, Ruth. It’s so true. I often feel that opposing parts of me are jousting for my attention. It’s a temptation to paint just like another artist or to paint trite subjects that have been done way too many times, or to paint something just because I know it will sell. But when I allow myself to paint freely the work goes into creative directions that I didn’t even know were percolating and the results are original and satisfying. If they sell that’s wonderful, but sales don’t really matter as much as producing work that makes me proud I picked up the brush.
Now I need to listen to Elizabeth Gilbert.
Thank you Jo & Alan… I didn’t mean to imply that sales were my goal… just that it is one way to get feedback on the work.
I enjoy your blog. There is much more to be learned here than Art. You’re a generous and thoughtful teacher of many things.
Thank you so much Betty! To be called generous by someone like you takes the cake! You really live generosity 🙂
Thanks for sharing interesting thoughts on an interesting topic. Artists often talk of ego as though it is unique to us. But most people have some ego, some a little and others a lot, about the work they do whether they be doctor, lawyer, artist, laborer or thief. Most think they have some or a lot of talent for what they do. Yet ego has little to do with talent or success. Some with the most ego have little talent and some with great talent often can’t see it in their work and constantly strive to find worth. . .artists are often in this latter group. It’s likely best to just be ourselves. The more we make art, the better we’ll get. It may help to study and try different things if we aren’t happy with what we are doing. If we paint what we like, the greater the chance we’ll like what we paint. Big ego or small, just paint.
As for selling what we make, a big ego might make it easier to get out and sell. But some salespeople don’t have big egos. A key here, too, is to get out and do it. Perhaps easier said than done, but doing it is what gets it done.
Thanks for adding to the discussion Hal. I think that ego does have a relationship to success, because believing in oneself allows a person to have the tenacity to pursue better work, sales and recognition. If we don’t believe in our work, it is more difficult to put it into the world for others.
oh yes we must believe in our work and ourselves – they are the same thing. in my experience many wouldbegreat artists are not comitted to their own work so produce fashionable stuff, even sophisticated stuff, Sophisticated is another word for false and we know there is a lot of false (empty, soulless) art around. It is the genuine art that really engages folk and lasts for eons. I guess we must decide if we are artists first and then sellers, or the reverse. for me and like minded people reading this post it is a no-brainer. I personally think it is a harder road to follow but being true to ourselves is the way to go. And if you all have not read it but I think you probably have – the book The Road less Travelled is wonderful.
Thanks Alan, I will look that one up!
And of course, you are right about just doing it! 🙂
What a thoughtful and thought provoking post you’ve written, and the responses certainly add more to the mix. I agree with Alan that a selling artist wears two hats, one as the artist, the other as the promoter. For me, those roles are total opposites, one in my head leading my hands to create mostly in solitude, the other my brain leading my mouth and voice talking to (mostly) strangers. Looking in my full flat files and covered walls, I’m much better at one than the other.
As for confidence, as an experimenting painter, I have plenty of that in the creative process, but in jurying my own work, I am very timid about telling myself a painting is good.
For me, creating art is what keeps me centered and sane. It makes me a better person. I am thankful every day that I do not need to house and feed myself by selling my art. Things would be very different!
Thanks for keeping the discussion going Margaret. I agree that it helps to separate the creative from the business sides. What stymies me, and I think often other artists, is when success or failure on one side effects motivation in the other side. I really enjoyed Elizabeth Gilbert’s take on the mystical for that reason, but I don’t think that it provides the whole answer, especially the part about sales.
Hmm. Interesting. Not being an artist, I have a different outlook. In my line of work (science) I find the men generally have more confidence/ego than the women, but that it doesn’t seem to have any correlation to his or her ability. I struggle with that. Thanks for the insight into the artist’s mind. Also, I enjoyed the TED talk video link.
Hi Lucy,
Thanks for your insight into a different field. I believe that same difference between men and women exists to some level in art, also, but maybe not to the extent that it does in other professions.
What a truly thoughtful and well written post… much to think about here. I hope the Sitka invitation goes well.
This is my first reading of Ruth’s blog…very meaty. I also know Donna, Margaret and Alan..so it feels like we are having a conversation!…which I love. I don’t spend much time on blogs as my life feels too busy, most of the time…but I can see from this interesting discussion, I should do it more.
Ego….I feel irritated by it when it seems “too big” in some artists (who in my observation, are usually, men) but then, I do also notice it when artists who teach (and this does include women) are surpassed or equaled by their students and they still need to claim some credit for their work. That irritates me too. But I do notice that artists that have it are very well known, awarded and successful.
I got distracted early in my career by the fact that I could sell and “make money” and after 3 summers of art fairs felt really unsatisfied by doing just that. When I came to the realization that what I was doing was not about “making money”, my work began to change in a more personally creative direction.
I don’t always feel confident and I struggle with feeling like a fraud or “pretender” over and over again. But what keeps me thinking I have something to communicate and compels me to do it, must BE ego, I think. And I dance with a light step over the line and back between confidence and doubt.
Thanks for your comment, and welcome to my blog Kathy 🙂 I am right there with you as we dance over the line between confidence and doubt. The good ego that keeps us striving is a fragile thing.
I really like this post – I am currently thinking lots about striking the right balance of humility/hubris and found this very thought-provoking. Thank you 🙂
Thank you Neil!