Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
Tanya Shadrick, author of The Cure for Sleep, calls it 'an essential text for anyone who wants to start making art and not stop,' placing it alongside The Artist's Way and Writing Down the Bones as a book worth keeping close for courage and company. High praise, but it's earned. Written by two practising artists, Art & Fear looks honestly at how creative work actually happens, and, just as importantly, why it so often stalls or stops altogether. Rather than offering breezy motivation, it gets into the weeds of what genuinely trips artists up, both the internal doubts and the pressures that arrive from outside. It then shows, with the quiet authority of lived experience, how those obstacles can be faced on an ordinary Tuesday, not just in moments of inspiration. First published in 1994, the book found its audience mostly through word of mouth, growing slowly into one of the best-selling titles on the subject of artmaking. That trajectory feels fitting. This is a book that people press into each other's hands. What makes it stick is its specificity. It knows what it feels like to sit down at a keyboard or an easel, in a studio or a rehearsal space, facing the work you feel compelled to make but aren't sure you can pull off. Whether you're a first-year student or a seasoned exhibitor, the fears it describes will feel uncomfortably familiar. The value here is in the recognition, and in the clear-eyed, generous guidance that follows.
- Author: David Ted Bayles Orland
- Publisher: Souvenir Press
- Genre: Decorative Arts
- ISBN: 978-1800815988
- Pages: 144 pages