A long Personal introduction

The moment I sat down to type this article which I originally titled “Things I wish I had known about becoming a self-taught artist”, I couldn’t help but laugh at the title. I could’ve googled this at the time and got an idea from a blogger but I was too young and had no idea how to do so at that time! I’m just hoping a younger internet-present self-taught artist will come across this article and pick these little specks as an overview of the situation.

Let’s agree on one thing before we get started, creative endeavors are by their nature uncertain. As a self-taught artist, you may know what you’re doing, but you are never exactly sure where your efforts will lead.

POV of a self-taught artist

In 2013, I wish someone asked me:

Do you have a relentless desire to learn through whatever crosses your path?

How do you rate your self-discipline, determination, and persistence?

Because being a self-taught artist including being a painter, is about both having an aesthetic sense of art and the right set of skills and techniques to turn your hobby into a business or a side hustle at least. You also need to have a big tank of patience and determination for that. 

Firstly, If you choose to be a self-taught artist, you will have to become a teacher and a pupil and you can only do this by developing extreme self-reliance. 

Secondly, You have to push yourself to learn from every possible source, you need to read more than those who have received a formal education (and be careful not to waste time on useless sources and distractions). You also have to apply your knowledge in some form of experiment or practice. You also have to find second-degree mentors for yourself in the form of public figures or anyone who can serve as a role model. Reading and reflecting on their experiences, you can gain some guidance. 

Lastly, As someone self-taught, you will maintain a pristine vision, completely distilled through your own experiences.

Now that you have a glimpse of how it will be for you, here are some straightforward tips and techniques that I know will be helpful to your journey of becoming a self-taught artist.

1- A self-taught artist needs to maintain an open spirit

If you’re willing to be a successful self-taught artist, you need to be open to change and to whatever opportunity that may come your way. There are so many things you can do as a self-taught artist other than the actual act of making art itself.

You will have to let go of bad habits and deliberately cultivate new ideas. Your attitude rules your creative dynamic. 

2- You are on your own

I am here for you though! But there’s something I read in Mastery by Robert Greene that said “Rely upon yourself to get things done and you will not be disappointed”. And I just felt that!

In your journey of becoming a self-taught artist, there will be no teacher or mentor to guide you. You take charge of your entire learning process from planning to critiquing to selling your artworks. Keep a notebook with you at all times. The moment any idea or observation comes your way, you note it down. You record in this notebook any scrap of thought that occurs to you, including drawings, quotes from other books, anything at all, because you have to remember everything for yourself, no one will do it for you.

3- Learn to keep a deep focus

Not only do I mean to maintain good focus for your working/painting hours. You have to keep a deep focus on your goals as well! What should matter is getting long-term results, and getting the work done in as efficient and creative a manner as possible. That should be the supreme value that guides your actions as a self-taught artist.

4- Experiment for yourself

Don’t wait for commissions or art projects to practice what you learn. Do that now, look at art from different possible angles, and practice the different art styles and techniques of painting. Successful artists are those with years of experimentation, various setbacks, and failures, and those who have patience and faith that what they do will yield something important, maybe not today but certainly one day.

5- Accumulate more skills the self-taught artist way

If you think the only thing to learn about is painting, lol! You’re completely in the dark.

Becoming a self-taught artist is becoming the business owner, the customer service, the marketer, the photographer, the editor, the screenwriter, etc… You will have to internalize the rules that govern your field and adapt your skill set to match that. The bright side of this process is that your mind will automatically want to be more active, and the more you expand your knowledge to related fields, your mind will have more fuel to make new associations between different ideas!

This process is such a creativity booster and if I have to choose one tip to share with others for life, it will hands down be this one.

6- Avoid relying on art to make a living if you’re a beginner

If you try to rely on your art as an income source while you’re a beginner, you will face pressure to make a living and conform to society, and you will force your mind into tighter and tighter grooves. This is such a creativity killer! It will drive you to look for shortcuts and to make your way based on connections and unsolid bases. This may work for a short period of time, but eventually, you’ll grow weak and people will feel that in your work.

7- Pick your niche

I will here refer to something that people who know a bit about digital marketing will relate to on a deeper level. A niche is a specific area of a field. Art is a vast definition of so much, painting is art, dancing is art, music is art, and so on. But even in painting, you have digital painting, classic painting, contemporary painting, etc… If you pick digital painting as a niche, what is it that you feel a spark to? Character creation? Animation? Branding?

I hope you get the point here. Always remember that it is the choice of where to direct your creative energy that makes you a master.

8- Master the basics of your field

You will have to learn a few new things to be a successful self-taught artist, but you must master the basics and possess a solid enough grasp of the field so that your mind can focus on higher matters. If you skip on basics, you will always feel something is missing in your work. Sit down, look for basic notions of your field, make a plan, then start learning them today! If you don’t do it today, 10 years from now you’ll have wasted 10 years and you will have to sit again and learn them. You just can’t master anything with no solid knowledge of the basics.

9- Opportunities come to those who are ready

Stay on the lookout for possibilities, the emotions we experience at any time have an inordinate influence on how we perceive the world. If we feel afraid, we tend to see more of the potential dangers in some action. If we feel particularly bold, we tend to ignore the potential risks. What you must do then is not only alter your mental perspective but reverse your emotional one as well. For instance, if you are experiencing a lot of resistance and setbacks in your work, try to see this as in fact something that is quite positive and productive. These difficulties will make you tougher and more aware of the flaws you need to correct. Know that you are in the process and stay ready for whatever hurdles or opportunities that may come your way.