O. THE LEAP OF FAITH
oil on oil primed linen, 36″ x 48″
? Amy Funderburk 1999, All Rights Reserved
My painting professor once called me fearless. I have since come to realize that this is the highest complement I have ever been paid as an artist.
“I’m frightened all the time. But I never let it stop me. Never!”?- Georgia O’Keeffe
Pursuing your dream, in art or any other field, brings its own rewards. Yet art requires courage. It is a leap of faith in a society that prizes safety nets and security. Art, however, feeds on risk taking.
Fear is a wide umbrella that gives shelter to many shadows lurking in our minds: fear of failure, of rejection, of being judged, of not being good enough, of not making enough money. Much has been written about the artist and this, our creative nemesis.1
In his blog post, The Perfect Creative Personality, David J. Rogers describes his ideal recipe for an artist of any discipline. According to Rogers, the perfect creative is bold and fearless, and one who creates sincere work with integrity.2
Boldness, observes Rogers, is important for achieving success in any field, but ??especially in the arts where?courage?isn?t a luxury but a necessity. The great creative personalities couldn?t have attained success had they not taken bold?risks.?
“What I do is face the blank canvas, which is terrifying.” – Richard Diebenkorn
What Diebenkorn (one of those great creative personalities) describes is a painter?s version of the infamous writer?s block faced by pressured wordsmiths. This is perhaps the first taste of fear experienced by a budding artist.
One of the advantages of the underpainting technique?is that you cover up the intimidating white surface. When you apply this initial thin, lean layer of pigment to the primed substrate, it physically loosens up your arm and gets both your mind and your painting jump started with broad, energetic strokes. Then you?re just adding more paint on top of paint, which looks much less intimidating than a pristine canvas staring back at you.
Fear fades with more practice. There are ways around ? or better yet, through ? the fear.
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” – attributed to Joseph Campbell
But like all great challengers, sometimes fear ? or more precisely, the learning from it and moving beyond it to a higher emotional state ? is what helps us mine up the deeper riches of creativity. You may have thought of the memorable cave scene from Star Wars: Episode VI – the Empire Strikes Back when you read the above quote. Our greatest so-called enemies are usually ourselves, and whether or not we move forward depends on our choices. Do we listen to the often crippling voice of fear or boldly follow the light of inner growth?
Your hope and fear are often opposite sides of the same coin. Perhaps you hope for success, yet fear it as well. By avoiding the quest for your goal, you give fear a comfortable home by choosing not to try. As Lao Tzu said, ?The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.? Being in the present moment assuages fear of the unknown.
“The two terrors that discourage originality and creative living are fear of public opinion and undue reverence for one’s own consistency.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson?3
I feel that the more personal an artist?s or writer?s imagery is the more universal it becomes. With just the right doses of inspiration and skill, a creator can depict a firsthand experience and birth a symbol or narrative for the human condition.
What results from portraying such intimate subject matter is a certain peeling back of the usual protective emotional layers. You can be left feeling as though your soul has been stripped bare, all the while hoping that other people like what they see or read.
Emerson goes on to say, ?The great figures of history have not cared for the opinions of their contemporaries.? 4
Yet meeting someone who fully connects with your work and ?gets? what you do may feel like emerging into light after a journey through a dense forest. If fear of being misunderstood or not accepted has held sway over you, there is a sense of relief.
To move through such fear, first and foremost, create for yourself instead of trying to please the critics or chase the buyers. Write, paint, or draw what you feel called to create for the joy of it and then you can find the right target market for your work.
If you fall into the trap of trying to match everyone?s sofa, then you end up with a lot of framed wallpaper that camouflages the furniture. Then how will you know where to sit down? Be bold and sing with your own unique voice.
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear ? not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain
As I read Rogers? description of his artist friend who never finished a painting because she was terrified of it, I thought of certain unfinished works in my own studio. I vowed to pick up my brush and palette like a sword and shield at my next earliest opportunity.
I am always surprised when people who haven?t seen me for awhile ask me if I am still painting. Those who ask must have seen other creatives leave their path for some reason, or perhaps their inquiry is a reflection of their own experience. As Rogers astutely points out, ?That?s why the top is such an exclusive place ? because fear stops so many people from reaching it.?
Being waylaid by fear or doubt is often part of an artist?s story. For me, however, I agree with one of my artist friends, Jeremiah Miller. As he put it, as long as he is still breathing, he?ll still be painting.
Be sure to visit David J. Roger?s blog to read his eloquent post in full.
An internet poll called David’s book Fighting to Win the best motivational book ever written. He is working on a “how to be a writer” book. His blog is followed by creative people of all kinds. He lives in the Chicago area with his wife Diana.
1. David Bayles and Ted Orland, Art & Fear: Observations On The Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. (Santa Cruz, CA and Eugene, OR: The Image Continuum, 1993)
I highly recommend this book for creatives working in any discipline.
Fans of Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, will also enjoy the book I am currently reading:
Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic ? Creative Living Beyond Fear. (London/New York: Bloomsbury, 2105)
2. David J. Rogers, ?The Perfect Creative Personality,? davidjrogersftw (blog), June 10, 2016, https://davidjrogersftw.com/2016/06/10/the-perfect-creative-personality/
3. Ralph Waldo Emerson, ?Self-Reliance,? in Essays, First Series, 1841
4. Emerson, ?Self-Reliance.?
2 Comments
Amy, I’m impressed with your post. I’m impressed with people writing who are thorough and clear and who have obviously done research. Your quotes are wonderful and “The Leap of Faith” is not only light and fun, but profound too.
I’m sure you found too when you tell people who aren’t in the arts that there is an awful lot of fear involved in painting or writing–or acting or dancing, they almost always say, “What are you talking about?” I think you’re right, that our greatest so-called enemies are ourselves. Fear and intimidation and nervousness and anxiety are in us, not outside, so the answer is getting our bodies and minds under control.
I’m going to tell you something that dispels my fears. It’s from the great Vivekananda. Many people really don’t understand it because their lives have not prepared them, but it means so much to me and is to me an antidote to fear. Here it is:
“Go beyond the trifles of the world … (know) that nothing can affect you … it is liberty to be affected by nothing … be perfectly resigned, perfectly unconcerned … reach a stage of perfect indifference.”
Thanks so much for reblogging my post, Amy. I enjoy being visited by your friends.
Thank you for your warm comments, David, both regarding the article as well as 0. THE LEAP OF FAITH. I’m delighted that you enjoyed both, and thanks for sharing that quote!
Much appreciation,
Amy