So often I feel like my art is lacking, like it’s devoid of emotion, expression, anything. Artist anguish is something every creative person has to overcome, but how? Sometimes looking at other people’s art makes everything worse and you’ll end up stewing in morose jealousy as you desperately grasp for something to pull you out of your miserable slump. Beating that jealousy can be a daunting task, but at some point you’ve got to find some self-acceptance.

One of the most effective methods of negating artist anguish, for me, is to take a step back and think about why I make art. It’s all very self-indulgent, and at the core is an activity by which I replenish and solidify myself and my twitching identity through the production of something. Whether messy and childlike, or detailed and calculated, my art is an expression and it should be made with that in mind, regardless of quality, medium, aesthetic, etc. It is mine and it is for me. If it’s awful I can take the textures made and re-use them, or slop paint on top and doodle new and nonsensical things when it dries (or before it dries).

I think maybe it’s good to approach art without thinking about it. Sometimes thoughts are too intrusive, and destroy your enjoyment of a thing. If you don’t become lucid and enjoy your art-making, then the chances are that you won’t get much joy out of your art. Perhaps many artists would benefit from drawing up a manifesto, a note about what art is and always should be for them, to come back to whenever the anguish hits.

Here’s mine, as a list: