3 Real Artistic Fears.
I’ve been teaching this work for a long time, and one thing I know for certain is this: people carry deep-rooted fears about creating art. I do too. Making art is an incredibly brave act.
When it comes to diving into photo encaustics, I see three fears surface again and again.
1. “I’m not really an artist.”
This is the fear I hear most often—I can’t draw. I can’t paint.
My answer? Nonsense.
You may not know the difference between an oil pastel and an oil stick yet. You may not feel confident with brushes or palette knives. But tools don’t make you an artist. Vision does. Intention does. And if you make photographs, you are already an artist.
2. “What if I’m no good at it?”
Most of us have that chatty, annoying inner voice saying: Who do you think you are? You’re not good enough. You shouldn’t be doing this.
That voice never fully disappears—but it gets quieter. As you learn the techniques, create your first pieces, and grow more confident, that fear loses its power. I still hear it sometimes, but years of creating and teaching have taught me how quickly it can be silenced once I step back and look at the work I’ve made.
3. “I don’t have a real studio.”
This is a big one. It’s intimidating to watch videos where artists show off giant studios with walls of materials, perfect lighting, and endless space. Truthfully, most of us don’t start that way. I certainly didn’t.
You don’t need a huge studio, expensive supplies, or rows of meticulously organized tools to begin. You just need curiosity—and a small space to play.
If you’ve been holding back because of these fears, my online course might be the perfect way to finally begin. I’ll walk you through my full photo encaustic process and help you break down the doubts that have been keeping you stuck. You can do this—and I’m here to make it easier.
Does any of this resonate with you? What fears come up for you and stop you from creating?
Be well….be creative,
Let me be a cheerleader for Clare. Before taking her online course I thought all of these things about myself. Not only wasn’t I an artist, I wasn’t even a photographer! I was quite sure I would be terrible. I had no gear, no studio, no nuttin.
But I registered and bought what Clare said to buy. She takes you into the creative process gently and smoothly. And I started working. I knew I loved the look of encaustic and I wanted to try it. I also knew that I had something to create. I didn’t know what it would look like or how I would make it, but that drive was within me. I never ever saw myself as a visual artist, and yet I now have a wall of work. I even feel proud of some of it. Alright, more than half of it.
So, take Clare’s class. Working with wax is more wonderful than you can imagine.
Awwww, I love this Kathleen. Thank you for posting! I love your work. I’m so glad that you took the plunge and just started working.
This article really hit home for me. I fought this I’m not an artist thing my whole adult life. Back in the day when I went to art school, I actually studied photography. And, over the years, I’ve had so many people say something like… “That’s not art!”
I beg to differ. I have a degree from an art school, studied all the same color theory, and art history that everyone else did. Learned airbrush techniques, retouch techniques with various mediums, composition, and all of the other standard “art” classes.
Even after a wonderful career in photography, and actually winning awards, I still find that I doubt myself, and I hear that little voice say… Yes, but that wasn’t art. And the same little voice keeps questioning my ability to do encaustic.
The other day I was showing some of my new pieces to a couple of people. One made a comment about when was I going to start showing my work and selling? That little voice burst forth with, ” oh, I’m not that kind of artist!” And my friend replied, well what kind are you?
I guess I’m still the kind that listens to the negative self-talk. The kind that needs to benefit from Clare’s article! Thanks Clare for sharing.
I still struggle with it all the time Michael…..let’s have a pint of Guinness over it in Ireland and hash through how we can change some of that negative self-talk!