Real Artists Don't Do That (Whatever That is)

Have you ever caught yourself thinking "a real artist wouldn't do that?"I know I used to say it to myself all the time.  A real artist wouldn't use the same colour palette on several paintings. A real artist wouldn't use cheap decorator's brushes. A real artist wouldn't mix pastel and watercolour together.  A real artist would stick to one subject and work on it for years (like Monet and his waterlilies).The first glimpse I got that things could be different came in a two-day workshop I took with Lesley Birch. In the process of doing a demo, Lesley used pink and casually said "that pink keeps showing up for some reason." Later she drew some rock shapes and said "those rocks have been appearing a lot lately."I found her self-acceptance both startling and inspiring. She didn't chastise herself as somehow "unreal" for using the same colour or shapes - she simply accepted that the pink and the rocks were what she was supposed to be doing at this particular moment.I loved this idea of artist as a conduit, simply open to whatever came along, but of course, I didn't think that I could see things the same way ... after all, I wasn't a real artist!I no longer feel that way. I believe we are all real artists. I think it's vital that we honour our own approach and the things that work for us.For me that means working in a series.It means sticking with the same palette for quite a few different paintings - until one day something shifts and new colours appear.It means working from my imagination inside my studio (and ignoring that voice that says 'real artists' always work outside and make sketches if their work is landscape-based).It means working in a chaotic environment and accepting that I will never, ever be a tidy or organized artist.It means mixing painting and drawing, and using all kinds of different media in one piece.It means working quickly and in short bursts of 20-90 minutes.And it means accepting that almost every painting I make will have scribbled pencil lines in it somewhere :)Your list will be different - but it's important to notice those beliefs about what "real artists" do, because they might be pushing you into doing the wrong things or working in a way that isn't right for you.Does this resonate with you? What beliefs do you hold (or have you held) about what 'real artists do?If you'd like to join us in the group and get help with your own challenges, just click here - it's completely free. And if you'd like to read more like this, sign up for my Sunday newsletter - it's full of stuff like this.