The Art Biz ep. 24: How to Be a More Confident Artist with Gwen Fox

Artist Gwen Fox describes a situation many artists have found themselves in.

You know the scenario. Your work was selected for a prestigious art show and during the show you happen to overhear a man talking about your work. As you listen, your heart sinks. He hates your painting.

The man then moves on to reveal his ignorance while commenting on several other paintings, yet what he said about yours has destroyed your confidence.

For the rest of the evening you don’t hear all the glowing remarks about your work. You keep replaying what the man said over and over in your mind. By bedtime your confidence in yourself and your art dwells in an empty vile hole.

Thoughts keep running through your mind. He was right, my work just isn’t good enough. Or … I knew down deep I wasn’t a real artist!

Your confidence has been stolen so now what can you do?

Lack of confidence is something all artists struggle with at one time or another. It keeps them from living up to their definition of what it means to be a successful artist.

In this episode of the Art Biz Podcast, you’ll hear guest Gwen Fox tackle this critical topic and give tips for becoming a more confident artist.

Listen

Listen to or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite player.

Highlights

• What you can do when your confidence is dashed, and how perfectionism and negative self-talk doesn’t help.
• Why some people appear more confident than others, and where confidence doesn’t come from.
• Why it’s crucial to surround yourself with those that give you confidence.

  

• Gwen’s personal experience of an authority figure questioning her intellectual capabilities, and how she finally shed the belief of not being “smart enough” that plagued her for years.
• The difference between beliefs and truths, and how to acknowledge and then silence your inner critic.
• Why so many artists suffer from the imposter syndrome, and how to combat it.
• How the words you choose to describe yourself shape the entire creative process.
• How Gwen looks at failure and mistakes as learning lessons and highways to becoming a  successful artist.
• Why Gwen fully believes we produce better art when we are kind to ourselves.
• The two best words you could ever ask yourself: “What if … ?”
• The importance of using visualization, affirmations, and goal setting as tools to shape confidence and release your artistic voice into the world.
• Examples of affirmations that Gwen herself uses for success and confidence.

About My Guest

As a child, Gwen Fox was allowed to express her creative vision while drawing and painting on the white wallpaper canvas in her family’s east Tennessee farmhouse. Today, she is known for her abstract paintings filled with sensual color, energy, and passion.

Gwen is a professional artist, instructor, and coach to artists who are eager to reach their artistic potential. She teaches workshops throughout the United States and holds art retreats in her beautiful studio in Taos, New Mexico.

Gwen’s goal is to help artists tap into their inner strengths and believe in their unique ability to create incredible paintings while discovering their intuitive genius.

Confidence, courage, and belief in self are hallmarks of a Fox-taught workshop.

Sponsor

This episode of the Art Biz Podcast is sponsored by our Art Biz Mastermind Workshops, which are held 4 times a year in various parts of the country.

It’s great that we have this online thing— that I can reach you through your computer, phone or talking electronic assistant. But … there’s nothing like being together and connecting face-to-face. When we’re together, we can accomplish more in two days than if you spent 6 months trying to figure it out yourself.

The workshops center around a core concept: That when you get away from the minutiae of your life in the studio and office, you can see the big picture more clearly, which helps you make a realistic plan that is in alignment with what you want for your art.