Art and Fear My 2 Cents

I was introduced to Art & Fear as a college Senior. It was required reading for a class called Senior Exhibition, my last official undergraduate course in my art major at Georgia Southern University. In fact reading this book is a very common college reading assignment for art students. I occasionally drag out my copy to read, reflect and try to stay motivated. What follows is my own short review.


Accepting where you are on your art journey can be frustrating.

As artists we always wish we were further ahead and more accomplished, full of incredible vision or master of superior technique. Yet with all of our hard work and valiant efforts, it’s sometimes easy to feel as if we’ll never reach our potential.

I've often been self-critical and dissatisfied with my work. I’ve thought about hiding some of my work from public view, debating whether or not this particular image is good enough to be seen outside of my studio. Why is it that most artists have this experience at some point in their career?

If you’re an artist who has doubted what your art is about or where it’s going, even if you’re not an artist, just someone who is curious as to what making art is all about, then I highly recommend reading Art & Fear Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland.

Art & Fear examines the reasons why art making is fraught with self-doubt and uncertainty, and why artists can become so self-critical.

According to the Bayles and Orland, this hyper-critical mindset is based on the faulty assumption that great art is the sole province of only the gifted or talented; a magical gift bestowed by the gods on the chosen few. It’s a mistaken belief that “great art is a product of genius, good art a product of near genius.”

. . .and the rest of us are doing paint-by-number. You either you have “it” or you don’t.


Art & Fear destroys this notion.

This book makes the case that despite the few truly gifted people in the world, most art is made by ordinary folks creating their own art every day. They state that becoming an artist means not only accepting yourself and your work but following your own unique voice, thereby making your work personal and distinctive.

The fact we are not perfect, art making gods, can actually serve as a source of strength in our work.

Rather than being self-critical, try to step back and say, “I really like what I just did, because it taught me something new and I’m moving forward.” This can be hard to do, especially for those of us who are outwardly focused, wondering “will other people like what I’m doing?” instead of “do I like what I’m doing?”

It might be a good idea to stop painting for others, and instead, think about what you are painting and why. That’s why this book is great for anyone, even if you’re just thinking about making art.

Art, like many things in life, is a skill that can be learned through daily practice and devotion, much like musicians play scales, or dancers work on balance and posture. Bayles and Orland tell us that “our job is to learn to work on our work” and that “to make art is to sing with the human voice. To do this you must first learn that the only voice you need is the voice you already have.” What a beautiful thought!

Sometimes, in order to stay motivated. I think to myself it’s a fact no one can do my work but me. Even if show you all my preliminary sketches and tell you exactly how I think I would paint something, if we both begin at the same time your painting will look vastly different from mine.

So the next time you’re heading towards the wood stove with one of your paintings, take a moment to study what that ugly brushstrokes taught you, how the bad composition made the whole painting awkward, and why your values were all wrong. You were singing what you knew at the time, even if you would sing it differently now.

If you’re a budding artist thinking about creating a piece of your very own, go for it.

And if you’re already a painter, keep painting, and learn to love your own voice! You are an artist. Never forget it.



Why You Should Read “Art and Fear”.

Art and Fear is a great book because it gets straight to the issues that matter so much and hinder our development as artists. Through reading this book I was able to learn why I almost quit painting, why over 90% of art school graduates quit making art soon after leaving school, the gap between the potential of a canvas and what you produce & the belief that talent is essential.



Art and Fear is not written for any specific creative field, so musicians, writers, actors or fine artist can get something out of reading the book. But despite this a painter will feel as if it’s talking directly to them, addressing issues painters have. The writing is a straightforward, no-nonsense, yet very entertaining (and totally lacks artist jargon or high art speak).



Who Wrote “Art and Fear”?

The authors, David Bayles and Ted Orland, are both artists (actually, they describe themselves as “working artists”; an interesting and important distinction from just an “artist” you come to appreciate as you read “Art and Fear”!). They have drawn their observations from personal experience. They say in the introduction: “Making art is a common and intimately human activity, filled with the perils (and rewards) that accompany any worthwhile effort. The difficulties art makers face are not remote and heroic, but universal and familiar. … This book is about what it feels like to sit in your studio … trying to do the work you need to do.”



Decide For Yourself: Some Quotes from “Art and Fear”

Art and Fear has truly been an inspiration to me and my much-marked and underlined copy lives among the pile of books and magazines I’m currently reading. The selection of quotes below are among my favourites, and give but a taster of the book.

”Artmaking involves skills that can be learned. The conventional wisdom here is that while ‘craft’ can be taught, ‘art’ remains a magical gift bestowed only by the gods. Not so.” Art and Fear, page 3.

”Even talent is rarely indistinguishable, over the long run, from perseverance and lots of hard work.” Art and Fear, page 3.

”The function of the overwhelming majority of your artwork is simply to teach you how to make the small fraction of your artwork that soars.” Art and Fear, page 5.

”To all viewers but yourself, what matters is the product: the finished artwork. To you, and you along, what matters is the process.” Art and Fear, page 5.

”You learn how to make your work by making your work … art you care about — and lots of it!” Art and Fear, page 6.

”What separates artists from ex-artists is that those who challenge their fears continue; those who don’t, quit.” Art and Fear, page 14.

”Most artists don’t daydream about making great art — they daydream about having made great art.” Art and Fear, page 17.

”The artist’s life is frustrating not because the passage is slow, but because he imagines it to be fast.” Art and Fear, page 17.

And that’s but a small selection of the bits I’ve got underlined in the first 20 pages .. and the book goes on for 100 more!

Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland is published under their own imprint, Image Continuum Press, ISBN 0-9614547-3-3. The copy I got was from the 16th printing. I’m sure there will be many more as new artists discover this book and make it part of what keeps them going.

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