~$10
I’ve actually never read that one. Thanks for the recommendation. :)
Thanks Jamie, if you do get a chance to read it, let us know what you think.
The paragraph from above (I’ve copied below) gripped me…it sums up a lot! Life coach/art coach…your still hitting the nail on the head Drew!
Those who demand perfection end up with nothing. . .
“To require perfection is to invite paralysis. The pattern is predictable: as you see error in what you have done, you steer your work toward what you imagine you can do perfectly. Your cling ever more tightly to what you already know you can do, away from risk and exploration, and possibly further from the work of your heart. You find reasons to procrastinate, since to not work is to not make mistakes.”
“To demand perfection is to deny your ordinary (and universal) humanity. . . yet this humanity is the ultimate source of your work”
This is one of my favourite art books. I remember when preparing to buy it, I read a review on Amazon panning the book because it didn’t offer any step by step ways to get through fear. I think that was a an expectation the authors never sought to address.
The great thing about this book is that it lets the reader sit with their own fears, and to recognize that they are pretty much universal among artists. My views on art, and my own sense of myself as an artist, were changed as a result of reading this book.
I enjoyed revisiting it through your post.
Cheers
Ah yes, this is one of my favourites too, I reread it every couple of years & recommend it to people a lot.
Amy,
You’re absolutely right, the perfectionism thing has always been a problem (or an excuse) for me as well. I think I talked about in an earlier post how I used to obsess over the stupidest little details in my writing, which in the end did very little but keep me from actually writing.
If nothing else, this website, has given me the opportunity to force myself to write and get something out there on a regular basis without all of the constant rethinking, re-editing, and second-guessing myself — that more traditional formats demand.
Now whether or not the content quality has suffered as a result. . .
Dave,
It’s interesting that you bring this up about Art & Fear not containing a so-called “solution” to the problem by giving you an exercise or a worksheet to fill out. That is one of the things that initially really attracted me to this book.
Instead of saying if you have problem “A” proceed to solution “B” – It simply discusses the issue as a fellow victim would do instead of sounding like some pushy therapist who seemingly has all the answers. As you say “it lets the reader sit with their own fears, and to recognize that they are pretty much universal among artists.”
As much as I love Julia Cameron’s magnum opus “The Artist’s Way” (which we’ll be talking about in a few weeks, so get reading!) I have to admit that I found a lot of her “exercises” to be either not relevant to whatever situation I was dealing with, or simply one more thing that I should be doing but I’m not.
In other word, while “The Artist’s Way” was incredibly helpful and informative, it still felt like I was in school listening to the teacher tell me what I was doing wrong (yet again!) — While “Art & Fear” always feels more like talking with a sympathetic and knowing friend.
Like with everything else in life I guess, sometimes you want/need someone to tell you the solution to your problems. . . . and sometimes you just really want a sympathetic ear to listen to you bitch about them.
Kirsty,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on the book with us :) It’s always great to hear from you!
I think you’re right about the value of rereading this book every once in awhile. I think it addresses so many different aspects of the creative life, and unfortunately no matter how far or how long we have traveled down this chosen path, we never seem to completely leave these fears of self-doubt behind.
I remember clearly the day I bought this book. This was before the internet and I heard about it and drove 30 minutes to get it the next day.
What I learned was it’s ok to be afraid. It’s what we do with the fear that matters. Pushing through it means we are taking chances and this is how we grow as artists and people.
I heard Ted Orland speak once and found him so inspiring.
Thanks for reminding me about this book. It’s time to pull it off the shelf again.
Thanks Dianne for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us. I do fondly remember those days back “before the internet” where we actually had to drive to bookstores and could spend hours just wandering among the stacks :)
That’s the thing about a lot of these fears is that they seem to lose some of their power over us once they are shared and exposed to the light. You do learn that it’s okay and “normal” to be afraid and that it’s simply a part of the process.
By the way, your monster avatar reminds me of one of those chocolate Hostess cupcakes with the little white swirly icing. . . now I must find one!
I bought this amazing book years ago – even wrote notes in it and underlined stuff (I NEVER do that to books!) I found it again recently and put it aside to patch it up and revisit – then I started following @skinnyartist and came across this post – it’s a sign! Now where did I put that book……. when I find it I will never let it go!!
I know what you mean Sara, I hate it when I know that I have a book buried somewhere in the stacks but just can’t seem to find it. My solution is usually to go out and purchase another copy of the book, which when it arrives, will summon its lost brethren and I will find the lost copy almost immediately ;)
I still find myself coming back to this particular book again and again because unfortunately, that sense of fear and self-doubt never really goes away no matter how long an artist has been working at his or her craft. Fear has a way of transforming itself into something new each time it pokes its ugly little head up. Just when you think you’ve moved past it, or at least outran it for a bit, it eventually catches up with you wearing a brand new disguise.
After years of struggling through ‘perfection paralysis’ in my art and a multitude of personal dilemmas, my husband and I found this book. I still can’t believe that was barely a year ago. The genuinely realistic view of it is something that I know I will continue to come back to.
I just attempted to find one quote to share and felt as if I would copy the whole book! So instead I will simply agree that pages 1 through 122 are definitely the best parts of the book. :)
{And to be completely honest, I was actually thumping through it again before I stumbled upon this article. I had to put it down to read this, need I say more? ;)}
Great site. Where can I find the rest of the books on the Artists Book Shelf you’ve mentioned?
Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Jimmy Mac
Hello!I have just switched my career from engineering to art,painting to be exact.It’s a really hard thing to follow
with every step i fell ambiguity the above statements were all great!thanks and please tell me how can i improve! thanks
[…] If you ever feel like you’ve felt blocked as an artist and couldn’t create anything, there is a great book called Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland which I can highly recommend. If you’d like to read a review on it, Click HERE! […]
[…] in a ceramics class. (See the section entitled “The Value of Quantity over Quality” here: https://skinnyartist.com/an-artists-bookshelf-art-and-fear). Everything I’ve seen and personally experienced tells me that the same principle works in […]