Leave Imposter Syndrome (for Artists) Behind in 2020
I saw an Instagram post recently by licensed psychologist Dr. Kelly Vincent, Psy. D. (@dr.kellyvincent) that really resonated with me. It was an infographic that read ‘10 Ways to Manage Imposter Syndrome’. While her content is geared towards women in general, I know that this phenomenon continues to hinder artists (especially womxn artists) and cause them to hold themselves back from seeking bigger opportunities, charging higher prices, pitching themselves to their dream clients, and more. Today, I want to do a deep dive into my favorite tips from her list and talk about them specifically in relation to being an artist with the hopes that we can kick our limiting beliefs to the curb in order to thrive in 2021 and beyond!
1. Normalize your feelings.
Your first step towards tackling imposter syndrome should be to recognize how you feel. Dr. Vincent gave the statistic in another one of her posts that 70% of people experience this at least once in their lives. Remember that you’re not in this alone! There’s nothing wrong with feeling this way - it’s not strange nor is it a sign of weakness. It just happens and it can happen to almost anyone.
More important to keep in mind is that it’s likely to occur when you’re pushing yourself to a new level. You might be scared to send that email with your higher price points to a prospective collector or about sharing your portfolio with a new gallery, but instead of talking yourself out of it right away, acknowledge your fears and self-doubt so you can reframe them into positive affirmations, thoughts, and statements instead.
Fear: Who am I to raise prices for my artwork? I’ll scare my regular collectors away and never attract new ones.
Reality: I have priced my work fairly to compensate myself for my ideas, skill, time, materials, and effort. My clients love my art and are willing to pay what I ask to support me and help me continue to do what I love.
2. Start attributing the success to YOU!
I already wrote a whole article on this particular topic for Create! Magazine’s blog called “It’s Not Luck & Other Reasons Why Creatives Need To Be More Vocal About Their Accomplishments”. I highly encourage you to check that out if you’re guilty of deflecting compliments and not giving yourself credit for your own hard work. As artists, you are the CEO of your own business (not to mention usually also the shipping department, accountant, social media manager, and more!) so don’t sell yourself short. Congratulate yourself on even the smallest wins: a $20 art sale, your first feature on a regional blog, or signing up five new email subscribers. Celebrate them with pride because YOU earned it!
3. Develop a healthy response to failure.
This might be my favorite from her list because too often I see artists equating a rejection with being a failure. There are so many reasons why you might not have gotten into that juried exhibition or been selected for an interview by that media outlet (side note: As a curator, I’ve had to reject an alarming number of submissions simply because they didn’t follow the call for art directions!). It’s almost never because you weren’t good enough even though I know that is what a lot of artists end up believing. So let’s put that myth to rest.
You’re not an imposter for wanting or expecting more of yourself. If you sought to level up your art career by applying to bigger and more prestigious opportunities, you may experience a bit more rejection at first. That is normal. Try to brush it off, remain grateful, and not dwell on any rejection for too long. Keep going, keep putting your best work out there, and the responses will begin to shift in your favor.
4. Avoid comparing yourself to others.
Chances are that other artists you see getting into gallery shows, being featured in magazines, and consistently making sales have felt that way at one point too. Even artists who post regularly on Instagram, whether they’re taking advantage of video stories or sharing selfies, may not be as confident or as extroverted as they may seem. We’re finally moving toward a bit more authenticity on Instagram, but even still, much of what we see is people’s ‘highlight reel’.
Stop obsessing over your number of followers, comments, and likes compared to others. I promise that it doesn’t matter as much as many artists think it does. I loved how All She Makes founder Svitlana shared recently that getting to over 20k followers didn’t suddenly increase her painting sales and she also mentioned that she didn’t do anything different to see a big increase in her audience size. She simply remained consistent about sharing her work!
There aren’t any gimmicks or tricks to achieving success as an artist. Focus on creating your best work, sharing it, and staying in your own lane. While I do suggest looking at other similar artists in instances like if you want to gauge pricing for your work or see how they format their website, the only artist you should be comparing yourself to in any other regard is yourself.
5. Remind yourself, “I am a work in progress.”
Imposter syndrome tries to convince us into thinking that we should be ready, be perfect, have things figured out, and know it all, which inevitably sets us up for disappointment if things don’t work out. Break the cycle by admitting that you’re doing your best as you make your way through the journey of being an artist. There will be highs and lows you won’t be able to predict in advance that you will simply have to adapt to as they come along.
Building from the ideas of redefining failure, you can use experiences that didn’t go as planned to learn from them. Let’s say you had hoped to sell out your newest series of drawings and the result was…crickets. I know how frustrating this can be and how easily and quickly imposter syndrome can creep in as a result of this situation. However, there’s no reason to start worrying that nobody likes your work or that you’ll never ‘make it’ as an artist.
Fear: Nobody wanted to buy my art because of x (I’m not good enough, it’s too expensive, people don’t care about buying art right now, it’s hard to sell art online or without a gallery, I don’t have a big enough following).
Reality: I wasn’t able to find my ideal collectors yet, but will at a future time. OR Clients are interested in my work, but are saving up to be able to invest at a later date so I’ll keep promoting my work until they are ready!
Maybe it’s a big ask to banish imposter syndrome for good and I completely understand that. However, I hope that breaking down the above steps can help artists think about it differently and improve how they deal with it. Thanks so much for reading and I’ll look forward to catching up with you all again in my first article in 2021. Happy holidays and best wishes in the new year!
Cheers,
Alicia
