You know you’re an artist when you’re hard on yourself… when you’re often in the frame of mind that your work isn’t “good enough”… when you talk yourself out of starting or finishing projects because you’re afraid to make mistakes or that it won’t live up to your expectations.

I think that all people go through phases of self doubt, but I feel like I notice it the most when I’m making art. As an artist, I go through periods of time where I feel like I’m on a roll… creativity seems to flow from my watercolor brushes… every pencil stroke feels meaningful… I can create lots of work in a short amount of time. However, I can’t always feel inspired or always make meaningful work. When I have the time to work on projects, there are times when it feels like I can’t draw a single thing. I think this is when the doubt starts to sink in. That doubt starts making you compare your artwork to the work of others, it tells you that you’ll never “make it” no matter how hard you work, and that art is a waste of time and is only meant for the elite few.

So what do you do when you begin to feel this way?

The first thing I do is cry. I’m mostly joking. I personally think that if you’re feeling strong emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, etc), it’s healthy to allow yourself to experience those emotions rather than bottling them up. If I’m feeling like a failure, I need to take a moment to acknowledge those feelings of sadness, even though it may hurt. I talk to my husband about my insecurities and he does his best to listen, offers tender words and gives back rubs. If I’m still feeling sad, I treat myself to something (coffee, a quick shopping trip, Netflix binge, etc). This “pity present” tells me that it’s okay to feel down, but ultimately, it’s time to move on and stop being a baby.

Next, I remind myself that I’m a good artist. I can’t always be an exceptional artist, but most of the time I’m definitely a good artist. I have to remind myself that people have bought my artwork (“People don’t pay for things they don’t want”) and that, more importantly, art is something that I love (“Being an artist is a lifestyle”).

Finally, I make an action plan. Do I need to take a complete break from art for a couple of days/weeks? Do I need to continue to be in the habit of creating and accept the fact that what I finish might not be good? Do I need to change my subject matter? Medium?

While we’re on the topic, I’ll share my current action plan: If I want to continue to grow my skills as an artist, I need to put aside the time to practice. If I have time to work on some art, but don’t feel inspired to create something meaningful, I will set a timer for 15 minutes and sketch. When the timer goes off, I need to stop and pat myself on the back for the effort regardless of whether or not it looks good.