{"id":76227,"date":"2025-08-18T07:37:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T11:37:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindfulartstudio.com\/?p=76227"},"modified":"2025-08-22T13:23:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T17:23:10","slug":"self-doubt-and-taking-up-space-as-an-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindfulartstudio.com\/self-doubt-and-taking-up-space-as-an-artist\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-Doubt and Taking Up Space As An Artist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dear Wonderful, Creative You: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a fabulous treat for you today. I’ve been chatting with artist Helen Wells<\/a> (author of Expressive Sketchbooks) for some time, looking for an opportunity to collaborate because her art and sensibilities speak to my heart. We decided that it would be fun to interview each other, so today I’m bringing you her inspiring words and art. I think you will be just as delighted to read it as I was. You’ll find a wonderful free class<\/a> she is offering my readers, and here is a link to my interview on Helen’s site<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen Wells is a professional artist, author, and teacher. She creates vibrant, expressive artworks that blend intuitive marks with thoughtful design. Nature, vintage textiles, and everyday beauty inspire her playful mix of rhythm, repetition and color. Her work appears in diverse spaces and places, from cruise ships to book covers, magazines, architecture, clothing and packaging. She\u2019s the author of Expressive Sketchbooks Developing Creative Skills, Courage and Confidence (Quarry, 2020). Teaching thousands of students worldwide, Helen shares her passion for sketchbooks and creative exploration from her tiny studio on the South Coast of England. She became a professional artist later in life and credits her use of sketchbooks for this career pivot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is magical about your art practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most magical thing, I think, is the joy and freedom I have found in my sketchbook practice. It\u2019s a complete pendulum swing; my sketchbook practice used to feel like judgement and failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I came back to art making as an adult I was both intimidated and scared by sketchbooks. I knew I should keep a sketchbook, that it would help me develop as an artist, but knowing that and doing that were two different things. I put a lot of weight on the end result, every page felt like it was a performance which I was failing. I somehow convinced myself that everything I created needed to look a certain way, to be good or perfect, or show-worthy to prove to myself I had talent.  It was paralysing. The irony is not lost on me, that I wanted to improve as an artist but the pressure I put on myself had the exact opposite effect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I feel differently. I\u2019ve learned to lower the pressure and my own expectations. I\u2019ve allowed my sketchbook pages to hold less importance and more imperfection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My sketchbook practice is now lots of fun. I often ask myself \u201cwhat would help me to enjoy this more?\u201d Or \u201cwhat energy do I want to bring to this?\u201d The answer is nearly always a permutation of  \u201cbe less attached to the outcome. And do more of that thing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you love.\u201d We often know what is best for us. Listening to my internal artistic wisdom rather than my internal critic is a practice I keep having to return to, re-learn and remember. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My sketchbooks are now anti-perfect and anti-pristine. They are where I get to mess about, try things out, tune-in to what I love in my own art.  I now welcome in some mistakes and missteps because they usually mean I\u2019m trying new things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is boring or frustrating about your art practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve managed to build an art practice and a career doing what I love, later in life and that\u2019s a brilliant privilege. I really appreciate that I used to work in an office and now I\u2019m an artist. And because I\u2019ve built my career slowly around the things I love to do, there aren\u2019t too many things that I find frustrating.  But if I\u2019m pushed, the fact I work from a very small studio space and have a lot of kit can be limiting and frustrating. I have to be creative about how I juggle filming with painting, how I organise the space, chaos can sometimes creep in. I\u2019m basically always moving piles of paintings, sketchbooks and art supplies around and around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also the admin side of running a creative business that can feel like it pulls me away from the making part, sometimes I have to really work at carving out enough time for the most important part\u2026creating, but I wouldn\u2019t call it a big frustration. It\u2019s just the reality of art being my livelihood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then, of course, there\u2019s the self-doubt, the worry, the questioning of self. I don\u2019t think this ever fully goes away, it just changes shape. Even after years of making, teaching, publishing a book, there are still days when I wonder if what I\u2019m doing is good enough, am I good enough? But I\u2019ve learned that this doubt is just here for the ride and as long as it\u2019s in the backseat it can come along on the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, and cleaning brushes, that\u2019s always fairly boring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does your inner voice say on a good day?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It says: \u201cGo for it. Be bolder. Be braver. Be unapologetically you. You don\u2019t have to make something perfect, just make something. Have fun. Love the process. It\u2019s only paint and paper. Be weirder, be more wonderful. Lean in with your whole heart.\u201d Basically it\u2019s like a really kind encouraging cheerleader who says \u201cYou\u2019re allowed to take up space here. Go on\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does your inner voice say on a bad day?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a bad day my internal monologue is critical, mean and mockingly cruel. It tells me the work isn\u2019t good enough, I\u2019m not good enough. That no one cares. It says things like \u201cdoes the internet really need to see a frizzy haired, 50 year old woman painting with a stick?\u201d It offers a snarky snear-filled critique. It can take effort to acknowledge that what it says is not fact or truth… I\u2019ve mostly learned to notice it without believing it now. To acknowledge it, to welcome it even, know that it\u2019s trying to protect me and is just part of my creative vulnerability.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art making can often feel exposing. We\u2019re trying new things, stepping out of our comfort zone, attempting things we haven\u2019t done before or trying things we don\u2019t yet know how to do. Every time we get near these edges our internal critic can get really loud. I\u2019ve named it Nigel and it seems to help. It allows me some objectivity and space around the negative thought to play with it. It allows me to better see it for what it is and I can sort of debate with it. \u201cYes, Nigel, I do actually believe that the world needs more creative women with untameable hair, creating with wild abandon\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s a small thing that delights you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m easily delighted by tiny things and I\u2019m so pleased that this is part of my personality,  as I think it generally makes for a more interesting life. I love a sharp pencil. The sensory delight of nice paper. Collecting colour references as I go about my day. Weird shadows. Noticing shapes and patterns in unexpected places.  The way art supplies layer and combine. A pencil mark over a smear of paint. The quality of a line made by a twig dipped in ink. Interesting torn edges. A full sketchbook. A weed growing up a wall. Coffee in a nice mug. A box of buttons\u2026Noticing tiny moments of delight fuels my art practice and makes life more beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s a big thing that scares you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many things on the world stage which scare me at the moment, but If I\u2019m keeping this personal rather than political, I would say my main fear is ill health.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have had a health struggle with chronic fatigue and long covid in recent years and it completely upended my life. It changed my sense of self and what I was able to achieve, but it also left me with a renewed connection to my creativity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My sketchbook became more of a refuge or a balm for a weary soul. A small safe harbour when my health was poor. I could do something tiny in my sketchbook from bed and it felt like a thread back to my old life\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though I\u2019m so much better now, I carry that experience with me. It changed me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It taught me how fragile things can be, how quickly life can shrink. But also the importance of creativity, for joy, for expression, for connection to self and as a route back to myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would your 85-year-old self say about the way you\u2019re living your life?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019d say, \u201cGirl, play bigger, be bolder, be braver.. Take yourself seriously, but not too seriously.\u201d She\u2019d probably also say, \u201cbe kinder to yourself, dance more, keep smiling, be more weird. Don\u2019t listen to criticism from strangers. Enjoy the journey. You only get one go at this wild ride, you might as well try and enjoy it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s such a powerful question which we could all usefully invite into our own creative practice. What advice would my future self give me at this moment? It\u2019s a fast-track to big picture perspective and tuning in to inner wisdom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would your 12-year-old self say about the way you\u2019re living your life?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019d be just thrilled. When I was 12, I wanted to be a textile designer. I was obsessed with pattern, colour and all things decorative. I think she\u2019d squeal in delight to know I now get to make art for a living, that I spend my days wrapped in colour, pattern and art supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019d be proud that I didn\u2019t give up, that I got where I was going eventually,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

even if it was via a circuitous route.  And I think she\u2019d be pretty chuffed to see my shelves full of sketchbooks. She\u2019d be so excited and amazed that I have a whole room just for art making and would probably tell me off for not being grateful enough and moaning about its size\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Free class<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curious to try Helen\u2019s playful, process-led approach for yourself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is offering my readers a free experimental mixed media sketchbook class. Here\u2019s the link if you\u2019d like to find out more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/helenwellsartist.com\/signup-amy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope you enjoyed this little creative adventure with Helen. You can find my interview on her blog. And let us know in the comments what reading about our experiences has sparked for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creatively Yours, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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