The Worst Advice Given to Artists

Why do we still cling to the myth of the "struggling artist" when creativity can be a joyful and healing process? Join me as we challenge this outdated narrative, advocating for a new approach that prizes personal fulfillment and well-being over relentless toil. Let's question the tired wisdom that equates success with sacrifice, and instead explore how artists can redefine productivity by focusing on who they are, not just what they aim to achieve. This episode is an invitation to scrap the burnout and embrace a creative journey filled with spontaneity, wonder, and joy.

Dive into the transformative power of creating art from a place of ease and flow, where emotional well-being takes center stage. We'll discuss how approaching your craft from a mindset of scarcity only breeds more frustration, whereas prioritizing joy and balance opens up a more nurturing and authentic experience.

In addition, discover Magic Makers—a community of kindred spirits ready to enrich their creative souls through activities like painting, book clubs, and more. Let's shift from angst to peace, redefine success on our own terms, and forge a sustainable, fulfilling path in our creative endeavors.

Learn more about the Magic Makers here: valeriemckeehan.com/magic-makers

Thanks for listening to The UnBound Creative!

If today’s episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave us a review, it helps more creatives discover the show.

💌 Connect with us on Instagram:
@valeriemckeehan & @thatmakguy (that’s Mak with a K!)

Keep creating bravely. We’re so glad you’re here.

Episode Transcript

Valerie (00:00):
I'm going to just come right out and say it.
I think that there is a lot ofbad advice out there given to
artists and creatives that it'sbeen given so many times, that
we just accept as being how itis and what we need to do.

(00:21):
I'm going to talk about oneparticular piece of very bad
advice today.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
I am your host, valerie McKeon.
You're listening to thePeaceful Creative Podcast.
This is a podcast for artistsand creatives who want to do art
differently.

(00:41):
They want to feel the benefitsand the wonder and the magic and
the peace that comes fromcreating.
Not the angst and the struggleand all of the cliches that we
hear of the struggling, starving, angsty artists.
No, the peaceful creative ishere to put the beauty into the

(01:03):
world that they know they'remeant to bring and feel good
doing it, experience joy andpeace in the process of doing it
.
I'm so glad you're here.
I remember vividly I was in.
I was watching a live of anartist and a mentor that was

(01:27):
teaching and the question cameup what do I have to do?
What is your advice for gettingmore serious about my art,
about getting my art out there?
I don't actually even rememberthe exact question, but it was
something along those lines ofhow do I make this a thing, how

(01:49):
do I go for it with my art?
I will never forget herresponse, and I quote work your
ass off.
I was mortified by this.
That was the advice.
Mortified by this.
That was the advice, and it wasjust kind of left at that.

(02:10):
That you have to work really,really hard, you have to
struggle a lot, it's going to begrinding and you just gotta
keep going.
Now tell me if that isn't thetypical advice.
We've probably heard that ahundred times from various
sources.
This wasn't an odd piece ofadvice for somebody to tell an

(02:37):
artist if they want to make itat their art, this is what they
have to.
I'm sure we've all heardsomething along those lines.
I think that is terrible advice.
I think it is hurting artists.
I think that it is stoppingpeople that would be amazing and

(02:57):
get amazing things from theircreativity, but they think to
themselves one, I just don'thave it in me.
Maybe you have another careerpath and you're thinking to
yourself well, if I can't workreally hard at this and make
this a career, then it isn'tworthwhile.

(03:19):
Or you might be thinking, okay,I'm here for it, I'm going to
work really hard, I'm going todo this, but then what
inevitably happens?
You burn out.
We're not meant to do that,that's not meant to be the flow
of creativity and making art.
So I think it stops people whosay, well, I'm not willing to do

(03:43):
that, I'm not going to do whatit takes.
Therefore, the art that I wantto create isn't worthwhile.
If you don't put blood, sweatand tears in it, then somehow
it's not worth it, which is justentirely untrue and it just
makes me.
It makes me mad, actually,because there are people who

(04:07):
could be healed by theircreativity.
Art and and exercising thatmuscle of creativity is healing.
There's so much, even from ascientific standpoint.
We're reading your brain on artin my membership, which is the
Magic Makers membership, and Iam finally having some

(04:31):
scientific language, someresearch-backed, actual facts to
put with what I know to be truefrom my lived experience, which
is your art, coming from aplace of spontaneity and letting
go and feeling good and notbeing tied to the outcome and

(04:52):
being present and mindful in themoment, can literally heal you
and be medicine for yourphysical well-being, your mental
well-being, your emotionalwell-being.
It helps you work through stucktraumas and emotions in the
body.
That is incredible.
But why do we want to put astop in that?

(05:16):
Why do we want to put a cork inthat and say, no, it has to be
serious.
I have to work really, reallyhard in order for it to be
serious.
It's stopping a lot of peoplefrom doing something that can be
entirely life-giving for them.
Then, like I said, there's theside of people who I would fall

(05:39):
in this category, the secondcategory of the artists who say,
okay, this is what I'm supposedto do air quotes, and I'm going
to do it and I'm going to workharder, I'm going to be
disciplined, I'm going to makeit happen because I love this, I
love creating art, and if thisis what it's going to take for

(06:03):
me to be legit and makesomething out of this, well then
, let's go, I'm gonna do it.
So you have that person.
And then what does that lead to?
Well, in my story, it leads toextreme amounts of burnout,
dissatisfaction in my life,dissatisfaction in my art,

(06:24):
feeling stuck and trapped,feeling like I've lost myself.
And the thing about that way ofbeing is maybe it will reach
you to a certain goal that youwant, but where does that lead
from there?
How is that a sustainable wayof being?

(06:48):
And if you are just grindingand working hard in order to get
to some destination, that's alosing battle.
That's not a good formula,because that destination is
never going to be what you thinkit's going to be.
It's never going to fill youand fulfill you.
The way that you're tellingyourself that you're doing all

(07:11):
of this hard work to get to it'sgoing to fall flat and it's
never going to be enough.
Because here's the point that Ireally want to make it's not
about what you want.
We often don't get what we want.
We get who we are being.

(07:31):
So let me say that again wedon't get what we want.
We get who we are being, andthat goes for every area of our
lives, but for artists andcreatives, sometimes we think
what we want is this outcome.
We think that that's what wewant.
I want to feel successful andthis outcome successful and this

(08:00):
outcome if I land thiscollaboration or if I sell X
amount of pieces, that is thengoing to make me feel this way.
But that is just not the case,because who you're being is
somebody that is in lack.
You're being somebody thatdoesn't allow yourself to feel
good.
You're holding yourself apartfrom what you want.

(08:24):
So when you get what you want,it's still you.
It's still that same person.
It's still that way of being.
And even if that outcome givesyou a temporary jolt and makes
you feel good, it's going to beshort-lived and then it's just

(08:45):
going to be on to the next thing, because if you're operating
from this place of lack andbeing starved, maybe you'll
taste a little bit of a dopaminehit, but it's not going to
really satiate what is going oninside of you.
So then the chase continues.
You're just going to be chasingthat next level, that next goal

(09:09):
, the next outcome.
It's not going to satisfy asmuch as you think that it is.
So this idea of just workharder, it doesn't work that way
.
You thinking that if only now Iwork harder and I sacrifice how

(09:30):
I'm feeling and I don't listento myself and I burn myself out
and just keep going and goingbecause I need to be disciplined
.
I need to work harder if I wantto get where I burn myself out
and just keep going and goingbecause I need to be disciplined
.
I need to work harder if I wantto get where I'm going.
Who are you being in that?
And as you take that personwith you along this journey, to

(09:53):
what end?
At what end would it feelenough?
At what end are you tellingyourself that you were doing all
of this hard work to get to?
Because, for me and myexperience, there was always the
next thing.
It was like once my book isdone, then I am going to feel so

(10:14):
accomplished, I'm going to bethis published author and then
I'll be able to take a load off.
And right now I have to workreally, really hard to make this
happen and I'm miserable.
But on the other side of this,I'm not going to be miserable
anymore.
I'm going to feel good andrelaxed.
It just doesn't happen that way.
It's not what you want, it'swho you're being, it's the

(10:38):
choices that you're making.
So I think work hard or workreally hard.
It's just bad advice and, Ithink, a better way of thinking
about it, a better way of goingat it if you are unhappy with
where you are in your creativepractice, if you're unhappy with

(10:59):
the art that you're creating,if you are just feeling
unsatisfied with what it isyou're creating instead of going
for the advice we've all heardyeah, yeah, okay, work harder,
practice more, be moredisciplined, blah, blah, blah.
No, that's not what I want youto do.
What I want you to do is thinkof the artist and not the art,

(11:27):
because the art is coming froman artist and, as the artist,
you are a vessel.
You are the energy in motion,you are the heart, you are the
creator, you are the magic.
It's you.

(11:49):
So if you're not satisfied withthe outpouring, it's coming from
you.
You're the vessel that isoutpouring this art.
So maybe let's not look at theart, maybe let's not focus on
how much more we can work hardand produce an outcome.

(12:11):
Maybe, instead, let's look atwhat is going on with the artist
.
If you are constantly creatingfrom the mindset and from the
way of being because, again,it's all about who you are being

(12:33):
and if you are operating andcreating from a way of being
that says scarcity, lack,frustration, criticism, never
enough, never good enough, thatis what you are going to get
more of.
And even if your art andcreativity progresses in a way

(12:56):
that is maybe technically movingforward, you are still going to
get back what you are puttingout, which is all of those
things you are putting out.
Which is all of those things.
So instead, if you are coming,if you're filling your vessel
and your vessel is outpouringfrom a place of wonder, joy,

(13:17):
delight, peace, awe, magic,that's what you are going to get
.
Because in creating art andcreating anything, the number
one way to not enjoy it is tofocus on the outcome.
But the fact is, outcomes don'tturn out the way we want.

(13:43):
It's never a surefire thing.
We try to protect ourselves andour brain tries to protect us
from an outcome that itperceives is going to hurt us
because it's unknown.
But the fact of the matter is,anytime you create anything, you
are going to have failures.
That is to be expected is to beexpected.

(14:11):
That's not a if, that's a when,and it happens to everybody and
it is completely normal.
So, knowing that, knowing thatit's very normal for the art not
to turn out sometimes, for youto have moments where you're
just not satisfied with whatyou've created, when you're
operating from the outpouring ofall of the things I mentioned
the wonder and the joy and thepeace even with that very normal

(14:34):
outcome that may not be exactlywhat you set out to create
you're still going to feel thosethings.
You are still going to get thatback from your art practice,
regardless of the outcome,because that is who you were
being and you're going to getback who you are being.

(14:58):
So, instead of working hard andgrinding at some, getting at
some outcome and, you know,burning out to get there and
spinning your wheels to getthere the better strategy, the
better advice is how can youfill your vessel, how can you

(15:22):
make yourself feel so good andfill yourself up with all of
these desirable feelings andexperiences?
That's going to be youroutpouring, that's what you're
going to create from, and youget to keep that, regardless of
what the outcome is, becauseit's who you are.

(15:44):
You are filled to the brim withthese delightful and positive
vibe feelings.
So the real strategy is whenyou're unsatisfied with your art
or you're trying to make ithappen, whether in an art career
or any other goal the realstrategy is who am I being and

(16:05):
how can I make this feel so good?
How can I outpour from a vesselthat is filled with all of the
delightful, juicy, lovelyfeelings and emotions that you
want to feel?
Because you feeling that wayand you feeling like you, like

(16:34):
the magical lit up version ofyou once in a forever, you
acting as you, in all of yourmagic.
That's what you want to createfrom.
That's what you can outpourfrom.
It's about you being you andfeeling good.
That is the work, that is thefocus.

(16:57):
If I'm going through a periodwhere I'm not happy with what
I'm creating, I'm not justfeeling what I'm producing and
I'm unsatisfied with that.
My question is not how can Igrind at this farther?
My question is what do I needto do to bring myself back to
myself, to feel good, to feelthe spark and the delight?

(17:21):
That is what we are designed todo as creatives and artists.
That is not frivolous, that'sit's almost like.
Sometimes I feel like we haveto prove ourselves by saying I
worked really, really, reallyhard to get here.
But because maybe it's notculturally or socially

(17:43):
acceptable to say you know what?
This was really easy.
I created this from ease andflow, because I was feeling so
good and so lit up.
It just kind of shot out of myfingers and here I am.
That's maybe not as culturallywhat you normally hear.
What you normally hear, whatyou normally hear is the blood,

(18:04):
sweat and tears story.
But there's another way and I'mdone with that story.
I'm ready for this new story ofease and flow and peace, and
that is what I want for you.
So if you are hearing thatadvice, work harder, put your
head down, pour in the blood,sweat and tears and you gotta
put in the hours and all of thisstuff, and you're feeling

(18:26):
overwhelmed and you are lookingat that fork in the road kind of
like to say, well, wow, Ireally maybe I'm not cut out to
be an artist because I don'treally want to go down that path
.
Or if you're saying, all right,here I go, I don't, this
doesn't feel good, but I'm goingto go down that path.

(18:47):
Or if you're saying, all right,here I go, I don't, this
doesn't feel good, but I'm goingto go down that path.
If you are kind of faced withthose decisions, I want to give
you this third option to say, no, that is bad advice.
Get back to you.
What is it for you?
Is it taking walks?
Is it a certain song?
Is it a place that gets you inthat headspace of feeling like
you?
That's the work that you shouldbe doing for your art.

(19:07):
I hope this was helpful.
If so, I always love hearingfrom you.
Please drop me a DM@valeriemckeehan and I had
mentioned before about mymembership, that is, the Magic
Makers membership, and we are agroup of artists doing art
differently, coming from thisplace of the peaceful, creative

(19:30):
where we paint, we think aboutnature and landscapes and all of
these amazing things, and comeat it from this knowing that
it's going to make your wholeentire life better.
This is something to enhanceyour life.
So if painting, if paintingwith soft pastels, exploring
nature, exploring your creativeheart deeper, this membership is

(19:55):
for you and I would love to seeyou on the inside with this
kindred spirit group ofcommunity that we have.
We have book clubs.
I put out a digital magazineevery month and it is just so,
so, filling for your creativesoul, and if you want to know
more information about that, youcan go to valeriemckeancom

(20:17):
slash membership.
I would love to welcome youinside and if this episode was
helpful to you, if you knowsomebody that could use these
words, I would be honored if youwould send it to them, if you
would leave a review.
It will help other creativesfind this message so that they
can go from being angsty topeaceful.
Thank you so much again andI'll talk to you next time.

(20:40):
Bye.