"Be in it for your own pleasure. Notice what you're interested in - follow that. Be out for your own fun. Be out for your own curiosity. That's the only way anything's going to be good." -- Ira Glass.

Ira Glass is the creator and presenter of This American Life, a weekly radio program and podcast. Simply put, the show tells extraordinary stories about ordinary people and it quite simply revolutionised storytelling. Countless radio shows and podcasts now follow the Ira Glass formula, so it's hard to believe that, before Ira, the formula didn't exist. He invented it. He literally created a format that played to his interests and his strengths.

People who knew him in the early days told him he was nuts. Most didn't believe in him or his idea. He didn't care. He was in it for his own pleasure. And, as a result, he created a show that now reaches millions of devoted listeners each week, and has changed the way we tell stories.

I was reminded of Ira this week when I received a question from a student on my Find Your Voice course. This student felt she was struggling with too much input. She wasn't just taking my course, but several others at the same time.  She was also spending hours on the internet discovering and learning about other artists. She asked me: "is it time to forget all that and focus on finding myself?"

I answered with a resounding YES!

I do believe it's important to look at other artists - but I think you have to do it in a very focused way. Some people scroll and admire and compare themselves without ever really gaining anything. They are skimming the surface. Likewise courses can be great but not if you keep taking them without ever really applying what you've learned. 

Making art is about going deep into something - finding something that excites you and then diving in, rather than paddling.

So by all means choose some artists you admire, but then really dig into what it is that you love about them and why. Is it their colours? If so, why do those appeal to you? Is it the story they tell or the mood they create? If so, why does that matter to you?

Being an artist is about understanding yourself, because that is literally all you have to offer the world.

Think about it .... there is no shortage of paintings in the world. Anyone can learn to paint a nice picture if they apply themselves. But there is a shortage of unique, personal and compelling art - there is a definite shortage of work that stops us in our tracks and compels us to look more closely. 

That kind of art comes from people who have dug deep, learned about themselves, and now paint from that place of personal passion. The subject and style are not important - if artwork comes from the soul, it resonates with other people. Not everyone - there is no painting that everyone loves - but enough people.

It's so important to understand this. I meet so many artists who are in a hurry to get to a result - that might be a body of work they like, a place in a gallery, or even a career as a selling artist. Many people start rushing for these things in their first year of painting.

I did the same thing once upon a time. I started painting and immediately started thinking about how I could become a full-time artist. It was far too soon - I wasn't good enough. But more than that, I was completely missing the point. Once I became immersed in my art, I learned that Ira Glass is right ... you have to be in it for your own fun and curiosity. You won't be able to see the end goal. You might not be able to imagine who would want the kind of art you're making. But if it comes from your heart and soul, it is coming for a reason. All you have to do is keep making and let the rest unfold.

My self portraits are a perfect example of this. If I was still thinking solely about sales, I would never spend all this time and effort on making paintings that won't sell. I don't know why I'm on this path or where it will lead. All I know is that I am finding it fascinating. I'm in it for my own fun!

At the moment, I'm intrigued by colour, I'm becoming interested in dissolving the face into the background, and I'm interested in conveying emotion. These are all things I need to learn more about and each painting teaches me something new. Times flies when I am painting these faces.

It feels like there's something deeper in this project too but as yet I don't know what it is. I don't need to. All will unfold just as it is supposed to.

I am not taking classes, but I am selectively studying other portrait artists to understand whose work appeals to me and why. This isn't about copying - it's about identifying elements and then seeing how I can apply them to my own work. I may find that I love a colour palette, so I'll experiment with using the same colours. Or I may find I like the way the heads are posed, so I'll try the same poses. The paintings are still very much mine, but I am learning from those who have gone before.

This is how we can use the influence of others without getting lost in it. It's not about surface skimming - it's about deep diving into your theme or subject and immersing yourself in it.

This is what making art is all about. Not sales or a career (although those things become much more likely if you do this). Instead it's about finding things you love and then immersing yourself in them, pouring your heart and soul into things and becoming as good as it is possible for you to be.