This is a tough pill to swallow, and I’m speaking from experience.
Criticism is one of those things that can either make or break you as an artist or creative.
And I recently found out getting butt-hurt about someone’s comment or criticism is more of an ego issue. Rather than a confidence issue.
We tend to love our work just the way it is...
And we love it so much when someone else thinks differently we get upset.
All of a sudden we become defensive. And their opinion or constructive criticism sounds ridiculous.
We feel entitled to the love and support we get. Whenever someone dislikes or comments on our work, in our minds they’re morons.
They don’t understand us.
But in reality, reacting this way is immature. And it’s unprofessional.
We need to reframe how we receive what they’re saying and either ignore or learn from what they’re saying.
Unless of course there’s no truth or substance behind what they’re saying.
So, with that being said, here’s some lessons I’ve learned over the years all about criticism.
What people think of you is none of your business.
Compliments and support are nice. But they’re NOT important.
Placing importance on people’s positivity can be dangerous.
It can make you arrogant.
When you don’t receive positive feedback, you’ll start second guessing yourself and your work.
Thus affecting your workflow and confidence.
The only thing that matters is what you think of your work and art.
Don’t attach anything to it.
That way you’ll be able to freely create without caring what others think.
And at the same time it’s important to remember...
You are not your work.
Attaching your identity to projects and different pieces can be detrimental to your craft.
Because when others try to steal or mimic your work, you need to be able to move on quickly.
After calling them out of course!
This personally happened to me in the past. And I held a grudge about it for monthsss!
Mind you, the person who copy and pasted my work that took years was living life guilt free.
But sometimes you have to forgive.
Even if you never get an apology.
Learn how to not dwell on hurtful comments, criticism, and plagiarism.
It’s a struggle every artist eventually encounters. Because we express who we are and how we feel in our work.
But eventually we need to realize the only opinion that matters is our own.
Otherwise it’ll hold us back. And make you second guess yourself before creating.
Create so much that it doesn’t bother you when someone else copies your work.
My business partner told me this.
I was thinking, “how could you not be afraid of someone stealing our work the bigger we get?”
But that’s where I was wrong. Being afraid.
Having fear of what others might do when I create masterpieces is so counterproductive.
Again, it’s only holding me back from striving to do my best work.
My business partner believed I should be creating from a position of abundance.
Create and publish so much artwork that when someone else steals a painting, it really won’t affect me or my business.
Similar to these big businesses that come out with something trendy, there will always be a knockoff version of their products.
But that doesn’t stop them from creating and making sales. Or coming out with the next best thing.
So we as artists should do the same with our work.
Create without the fear of failing.
This is also why consistency is important. Not every single painting I make is going to be a masterpiece. My best work is ahead of me.
It’s the next thing I create.
We shouldn’t dive into our work with the mindset of “this has to be perfect.”
Doing so slows the progress of your work and skills.
Create everyday. And create without expectations.
Having a mindset like this will allow you to consistently push out artwork. Work that’s better than your last piece on a regular.
In life, we are constantly learning.
Even the greatest artists continue to learn.
They wake up everyday and figure out how they can be better than who they were yesterday.
And there is no cap to learning.
As creatives, we just keep getting better at building our skills and redefining our styles.
So please don’t get discouraged if you haven’t mastered a certain technique yet.
If this is what you want to do as a career then take it easy.
Fall in love with the process and stay consistent. Don’t let any trolls and critics get to you.
Having haters is a good thing. You don’t want to and can’t please everyone.
Love, Kyra The Creative.
