Being seen & sharing your work
Maintaining creative flow in the studio while putting your work out into the world
Me in the studio signing & titling painting studies. Having someone photograph you while you’re absorbed in a task can be a good way to break the ice on having your picture taken.
Sharing your work can feel intensely personal. As artists and makers, we are often introverts who are highly-sensitive and empathic… so tend to prefer to be behind-the-scenes. The stress around putting yourself out there can be so distracting that it gets in the way of maintaining a healthy creative flow, sense of self, and engagement with your work. Can you relate?
I’ve seen this SO many times – and experienced it myself! So, I wanted to share two essential components to navigating this. I’ve also included a bonus section on navigating criticism, and critiquing your own work, because these things are often interrelated.
The two fundamental aspects to keep in mind when sharing yourself and your creative work:
1) Is to SHIFT YOUR MINDSET to ensure that you’re fully grounded in yourself, your work, and your vision – and able to allow whatever comes from sharing your work to roll off you.
2) Is to place some INTENTIONAL PARAMETERS around how you share your work – when in the process, what is within bounds and what is not, and sticking to these ‘rules’ you’ve created for yourself.
Shift your mindset to ensure that you’re fully grounded in yourself, your work, and your vision – and able to allow whatever comes from sharing your work to roll off you.
PART 1: Shifting your mindset
A rare photo of me in the studio – with my full face visible! If you keep taking small steps, where might you be in a year?
Allowing yourself to be seen
This can be a big one for many creatives – especially those who prefer to be behind-the-scenes. I consider BEING SEEN to include sharing any pictures or video of you, your personal or work spaces, behind-the-scenes and unfinished versions of your work (or you!), as well as layers of your inspiration and process.
Artists and creatives are often introverts who are highly-sensitive and empathic. As a result, it can be challenging to navigate your own emotions, let alone expose yourself willingly and regularly to those of others, around your creative work and practice, no less!
I know I’ve had to work at this, myself. It’s been a process and some tools have worked better for me than others.
It requires being very grounded in yourself, where you are going, and the bigger vision of why you are doing what you’re doing, to brave being seen and sharing your work. This allows whatever feedback you get – or don’t get – to wash over you and not get in the way of showing up and making your next work.
It can take some time to build up this mindset, but it is doable, and it really does work.
Julia Cameron (author of The Artist’s Way) writes about people she calls your “believing mirrors”. Your believing mirrors are the people who support, encourage, and believe in you – even when you’re feeling unsure, yourself!
If you find a few, keep them around you – they make all the difference in the world!
If it’s helpful, you can share new work with them, first. Or, you can choose to simply learn to trust that they will be there to cheer you on whenever you do put yourself and your work out there.
Stress around letting others see your creative work
Photographing your hands with your work and materials is another way to ease into being seen.
Your creative work can feel very personal. It can feel like a part of you and, so, any response – or lack of response – can feel like a judgement (or indifference). It’s not.
People are just busy with a multitude of things. Who knows why they did or didn’t respond. Trying to guess takes a lot of your energy. Try to catch yourself and intentionally redirect that energy into your creative work and vision, instead.
Base your judgement of your creative work firmly in your own evaluation and enjoyment of it. The work is YOURS. It’s important to YOU. You know how you have progressed, what is a new level of accomplishment, and where you want to improve (more on reviewing your work, below).
Learn to know when you think a piece is good, finished, or accomplishes something particular. THAT is your measuring stick. It is between you and the work. It is not about whether it receives the desired external response. Develop a relationship with your work.
This doesn’t mean you don’t also want people to like it, or respond to it, or buy it, or award it something (Of course you do! It’s only natural!) but it will feel better if you do not allow that to be the primary goal or focus.
At this point, you are probably getting a sense for what being grounded in your own creative work feels like, but I know that sometimes stress can creep in.
Generally, I find when I’m stressed, it’s because I’m trying to predict or control something that I can’t (most commonly: the past, the future, or what others will think or do). In the case of sharing work, I’m usually trying to guess ahead of time how others will respond and then present it in a way that I think is most likely to produce the desired response.
The reality is, though, this is a futile endeavour. You can’t control what others will say or do. You can’t know ahead of time whether they will love the work, or see what you see when you look at it… Or, in this time of algorithms, whether they will even see your post sharing that new work, at all!
So, try not to tie to much to what happens when you share the work. One way to do this, is to intentionally create distance between the act of creating the work, and the sharing of it.
Place some intentional parameters around how you share your work – when in the process, what is within bounds and what is not, and sticking to these ‘rules’ you’ve created for yourself.
Snowdrops from a neighbour. Original painting study.
Sedums on the Windowsill. Original painting study.
PART 2: SETTING parameters around sharing you and your work
Stovetop Reflections – and a number of other painting studies that I selected to be shared and released as originals.
Creating a buffer around new work
I once asked a mentor about sharing work, because I was feeling distractingly over-exposed and concerned about what others thought. If they liked it, I felt I had to make more of that. If no one said anything about a piece I loved, I was crushed! This was not allowing me to focus on my own creative path and artistic progression.
This mentor suggested creating a buffer between when the work was created and when it was shared. I have found this small change to be completely transformative – especially in the early and more vulnerable stages of my creative evolution.
When you intentionally delay sharing/displaying/promoting the work, it means you’ve moved onto the next work by the time you’re sharing the previous work. Beacuse you’ve mentally moved on, the response you receive or don’t receive, is much less likely to affect you deeply.
It also gives you time to solidify your own thoughts about the work before hearing those of others. It’s good to train yourself to know what YOU think of your work and whether it’s a progression in your own creative journey. In other words, compare yourself to yourself. That is your most important metric.
I used to put a 2-3 month buffer between making and sharing ANY new work. Now, I often share work soon after I’ve made it, but I always ensure that I’ve moved on to the next piece/project/idea, before sharing.
I know it can be difficult to resist sharing a breakthrough piece right away, but it’s SO worth it.
If you really want to share in the moment, consider having a few close friends, fellow artists, or family who are generally supportive and interested in your work. Share your new and exciting work with them, and stick to your pre-determined timeframe/approach for sharing the work more publically!
Your creative flow, clarity of thought, and artistic productivity will thank you!
Hallway Reflections. Original painting study. (And me!)
Dealing with critics
As you begin to put yourself and your work out into the world, it is very likely that you will encounter criticism – some helpful and constructive – and some not.
The most difficult type of criticism is the variety that is intended to tear you down or make you doubt yourself. This is very different than constructive criticism intended to help you improve and achieve your goals.
Receiving criticism of you or your work can be challenging to navigate, I wrote a post about it: How to stand strong and rise above criticism filled with clear actionable tools and reminders to help you keep going.
Bréné Brown says it very well in her man in the arena speech. She says, if you are not also in the arena with your face marred by blood, sweat, and tears, I am not interested in your opinion. This can be helpful to keep in mind!
Also, remember that YOU get to decide what / when / and how you share yourself and your work. You decide your goals and priorities and can run anything anyone says or suggests through your own priorities in order to make your own decisions about what to do. Afterall, no creative work, business, or artistic journey is exactly alike!
Reviewing & critiquing your own work
I usually review my artwork about once a month and again in six months or a year as part of my regular planning and goal-setting process.
Similar to the distance I create between creating and sharing work, I also place a buffer between the making of the work and my own evaluation of it. When the work is too fresh, it can be hard to see it clearly. The emotions you have about it or the energy you experienced while creating it can cloud your judgement of it.
I usually review my pieces about once a month, and again in six months. I typically do a big annual review of my work when setting higher level annual or multi-year goals as part of my Quarterly & Annual Summits.
Quarterly Summits are a fantastic tool for setting and achieving goals in a more manageable way. If you’re interested, give that introductory post a read, and then download the free guide and worksheet found in there and give them a try! I’ve had so many people tell me how completely transformative they are.
When I do this annual review of my creative work, I lay out the art I’ve made over the past year. I create various groupings to understand themes or patterns in the work. I’m looking for what I like, don’t like, areas of improvement, underlying themes… and thinking about what this means for the next work I produce. I sometimes pull out older work, too. It can be motivating to see your progress!
This review process is a form of constructive criticism. My goal is to improve the work itself and/or my materials and process and to think about what I’d love to create next! I deliberately keep my thoughts constructive, supportive, and open to possibility – it is not about beating myself up!
If your inner critics come out during these sessions, consider my FREE guide to Overcoming Your Inner Critics.
…
And, finally, never forget…
You have to make the bad paintings to make the good ones ♥
I look forward to seeing you and your work out there in the world.
Coats at the Ready. Original painting study.
All of the painting studies shown in this post are available in the shop!
I love creating these small paintings from life. Painting studies show the thought process of the artist and have a creative energy to them that is unique. Each is ready-to-frame – and ready to bring joy for years to come. They are titled and signed in pencil below each, making them feel extra special. Wouldn’t you love a little one-of-a-kind gem?
Sign up for tools to help you live your most engaged creative life, view new art as it is created, and learn the stories behind the works. I share reflections on seasonal/coastal living and art making – as well as sources of inspiration – in a beautiful weekly letter to help you feel inspired, motivated, and accompanied as you pursue what lights you up.
PLUS Get a free PDF guide Overcoming Your Inner Critics delivered to your inbox, right away!
