How to Be an Artist

by Jerry Saltz

platforms like Instagram are conditioning us all to think visually, to find the aesthetic stimuli within our everyday lives—to allow “the little things [to] suddenly thrill you,” in Andy Warhol’s words—

The artist is on a continually evolving path, accumulating experience but always starting over.

doubt banishes the stifling effect of certainty. Certainty kills curiosity and change.

Artists are terrific procrastinators, but our creative minds are working even when we’re not; the coral reefs and tides of our inner life are still churning even when we’re cowering, immobilized, from fear of work.

Nothing happens if you’re not working. But anything can happen when you are.

Like exercise, working can be awful before you begin, but once you start, it feels good.

“My head often knows nothing about what my hand is writing.” In other words: Learn how to listen, and the work will tell you what it wants.

Never feel intimidated. Art is just a container you pour yourself into.

Don’t worry about whether your art “makes sense.” The faster your work makes sense, the faster people will lose interest. Let go of being “good.” Start thinking about creating.

“IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE.” —ALBERT EINSTEIN

Creativity is what you do with your imagination. Write down your flights of fancy, your moments of wonder and fear, your dreams and delusions of grandeur. Then put them to work.

“TELL YOUR OWN STORY AND YOU WILL BE INTERESTING.” —LOUISE BOURGEOIS

Artists can’t capture everything about themselves in a single work, or reflect every side of themselves in every new work. You have to be a little detached from your art—enough to see what you’re doing clearly, to witness it, and to follow it.

ART IS NOT ABOUT UNDERSTANDING . . . OR MASTERY IT’S ABOUT DOING AND EXPERIENCE

As an artist, you’re always studying your environment, absorbing sensations, memories of how things work and don’t work. The goal is to create a practice that allows a constant recalibration between your imagination and the world around you.

START WORKING WHEN YOU WAKE UP Or as soon as possible thereafter.

A work of art cannot depend on explanation. The meaning has got to be there in the work. As Frank Stella said, “There are no good ideas for paintings, there are only good paintings.” The painting becomes the idea.

FIND YOUR OWN VOICE THEN EXAGGERATE IT

Matisse rarely painted feet. When he did, they’re ugly flippers or paws. He mostly hid or extended them beyond the frame. He was exaggerating a weakness, putting his shortcoming right there on the canvas and making it work. Once you notice this, you’ll see it throughout his career. Be Matisse. If you paint awkwardly, make it work for you.

Courage is a desperate gamble that will place you in the arms of the creative angels.

No matter how introverted or shy you are, try as often as you can to spend prolonged time with other artists around your age. Artists must commune with their own kind in order to survive.

Therapy can be great for artists. So can tai chi, tarot, fashion, sports, walks, God, massages, dancing, and so on. Whatever your personal story, find a practice that eases your mind, gives you perspective, and allows you to work.

IT TAKES ONLY A FEW PEOPLE TO MAKE A CAREER Exactly how many? Let’s count. Dealers? You need only one—someone who believes in you, supports you emotionally, pays you promptly, and doesn’t play too many mind games; who’ll be honest with you about your crappy or great art; who does as much as possible to spread the word about your work and tries to make you some money from it, too. This dealer doesn’t have to be in New York. Collectors? You need only five or six collectors who will buy your work from time to time and over the years, who really get what you’re up to, who are willing to go through the ups and downs, who don’t say, “Make it like this.” Each of these six collectors might talk to six other collectors about your work. Or not. Six collectors should be enough for you to make enough money to have enough time to make your work. Critics? It would be nice to have two or even three critics who seem to get what you’re doing. It would be best if these critics were of your generation, not geezers like me. Curators? It would be nice to have one or two curators of your generation or a little older who would put you in shows from time to time. That’s it! Twelve people.

Here’s the one condition: You have to put yourself out there. No matter how hard it is for you. You have to show up, apply to everything, go to openings even if it’s just to stand around feeling inadequate.

Exercise Write a simple one-hundred-word statement about your work. Give it to someone who doesn’t know your work at all and ask them to tell you vaguely what they think your work looks like.

Persistence, determination, and obstinacy give you energy. They’ll get you through hell, taking you from wanting it to doing it to living it.

Don’t let jealousy define you, make you sour, bitter, unloving, or mean.

“ART IS A LIE THAT TELLS THE TRUTH.” —PABLO PICASSO

That’s what happens when you put your work out into the world. People will talk. Let them.

OH, AND ONCE A YEAR, GO DANCING Why? Because dance is as old as art—and one day you won’t be able to dance anymore.