How to win the war of art in three steps

In all honesty, I’m still trying to figure out how to win this war, so I can’t claim to give you the answers. But I can share what works for me in the hopes that it will help other artists out there.

Inspiration and Credit

Inspired by The War of Art

The inspiration for this post, and the tagline for my blog came from Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles.

For most of my life, I’ve been a hesitant artist, someone who has always felt a creative calling but didn’t quite know how to answer that call. I am also easily inspired to make art but making art does not necessarily come easily to me.

This is where the book helped me tremendously.

First: Define the enemy

Mr. Pressfield defines the enemy as resistance and states that the greater the calling, the greater the resistance.

My resistance comes in many guises, including fear and hesitation. They are the two sides of the same coin, and even now, as I write this first post, and aim to send my work to the world, I hesitate.

Fears abound:

• There is the fear of sucking
• The fear of criticism
• The fear of not knowing what to write or say or do
• The fear of the white canvas, the empty work table, the unscratched copper plate
• The fear of not knowing how to realize my ideas from my head to the final art form

These fears add up to give power to hesitation which in turn fuels the resistance. I’ve lived many years not creating art only to find myself resisting the resistance.

There is hope yet.

Second: Wage war with the Enemy

Once you define the enemy, Mr. Pressfield states in his book, it’s time to wage war.

How? By turning into a pro.

What?

Yes, that’s right, become a professional: turn your creative calling into a job.

Huh?

Do you currently show up to your job, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day? Are you committed to your job? You show up right?

That’s his point.  Just show up. Everyday. And create.

I am the first to admit that resistance has won many battles on this front. I don’t always show up everyday and even now, it continues to be a daily fight with the fears and the hesitation. Setting up this blog, putting my artwork on this site, selling on Etsy and sharing my art with the world, are for me, steps toward that professionalism.

Third: Honor your Muse, the greater warrior within

There is a greater warrior within you.  This warrior is your muse and she has the power to summon up other warriors on your behalf.

She shows up when you don’t recognize time flying because you’re so engrossed in your creative project that you forget to eat, sleep, or use the restroom. She is also that tug in your belly, the voice that nags and screams in warning when you go down the wrong path. She is inspiration. She is magical and mysterious.

She also has friends. They are called Providence, Serendipity, and Opportunity.

But She is also elusive.

I know I don’t often recognize her until she is gone, and only after the creation is in front of me.

I am only now learning to honor her.

One of my favorite quotes speaks to this third step quite well:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, the providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!

–William H. Murray, The Scottish Himalaya Expedition, 1951

How do you wage the war of art? What has worked for you?

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