Lilla here. One thing that I often talk about in class is the social and emotional impact of being an artist – and as someone who has spent decades in the industry as both an illustrator and an art agent, I can share insight from both points of view.
One question that came up recently in a Zoom for a live course was how can you deal with criticism as an artist? How can you be more positive about your art, and quieten that self-doubt for a while?
First of all, I want you to know that you will be the best You – and what’s more, you are the best You right now.
You’re doing the best you can at this point in time, with the talent you have, the energy, the knowledge, and so forth. It’s the best you can do right now. That’s all you can do.
You will never be like anyone else, ever. You’ll never be a good version of them, and they will never be a good version of you. You can just be a great YOU.
My first book, I Just Like to Make Things.
So how do you be a great you?
Keep tuning in to how you’re feeling: do you like using this pen or using this colour? What do you feel like painting today?
Art is a conversation you have with yourself.
Art is a relationship where you (almost) forget about the agent, the art director, the people on Instagram who are going to be judging your art; and then I promise that when you put that relationship out there, people love it.
Make discernments about who you listen to. Yes, you want to learn to be open to what people have to say, but I’m only open to what people have to say if it comes from kindness, wisdom, and experience. Not if it’s angry, or bitter or destructive or not useful, or they don’t know what they’re talking about. I want you to listen to it, take it in, and then decide for yourself.
As a woman making my way in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, when the message was very much that not a lot of people like me were in charge, I made my own metrics.
Will somebody think your work is great? Some people will and some people won’t. Forget asking other people what they think. Come up with your own metrics: did you enjoy it? Did you learn? You’re the judge of your work.
And one more thing that I learned that I want to share with you is, I thought if I did a bad illustration in a magazine seen by millions, that everyone was gonna remember it. No one does.
Go forth and be yourself with a vengeance. We want your own kind of art.
With affection,
