You can call yourself an artist

Every limiting belief as to why I couldn't be an artist, and why it's all nonsense

Every reason why I didn’t believe I could be an artist:

• I didn’t draw for fun as a child. I barely drew at all growing up, so learning to draw as an adult was terrifying.

• My parents aren’t artists. My husband is not an artist. Many of my friends aren’t artists.

• I didn’t go to art school. No BFA or MFA over here.

• I don’t make art full time.

• I work in a STEM field.

• I haven’t participated in this show or won that competition.

• I’ve never been published somewhere fancy.

• I haven’t made much money from selling my art.

• I don’t have an agent.

• I am not starving or broke.

• I don’t always have fun creating.

• I’ve never tried oil painting.

• I don’t draw realistically.

• I write more than I draw.

And yet! I AM AN ARTIST. I would like to shout from the rooftops that none of these characteristics, life circumstances, or markers of achievement are required to become an artist.

I like to reimagine these limiting beliefs as little trophies of defiance, subverting the narrative of what artists look like and who they have to be.

Here is what makes you an artist:

• Your soul yearns to create.

• You deeply observe life.

• You capture an idea and make it reality.

• You sit down to make the work.

The practice is challenging. The practice never ends. The practice is all there is.

Every time I catch myself tripping over my limiting beliefs, I am avoiding my practice. I avoid my practice because it feels hard. I imagine that if my life circumstances were different my practice would be effortless.

What makes the “artist” identity marker especially fraught is that no person or entity is going to call you an artist before you claim the title for yourself. There is no clear-cut career ladder for artists, going from Junior Artist to Senior Artist to VP Artist (I shudder to think of what that would even entail...)

It is all too easy for a beginner artist to compare themselves to an artist who’s been practicing for 20+ years and think they don’t deserve to be an artist. But you are still an artist when you are a beginner, just as a junior designer is still a designer and an associate attorney is still a lawyer.

“Labels don’t matter,” you might say. “Who cares what you call yourself.” Oh, but it matters so much! Identity is at the root of our behavior. Per James Clear’s Atomic Habits, we must shift our identity to shape the habits we want.

Identifying as an artist has shaped the way I see the world. It affects whether and how often I show up at my desk to write or make art. And so I invite you: call yourself an artist, and see how it transforms your practice.

Now it’s your turn! Share in the comments 💭

• What limiting beliefs do you have around calling yourself an artist?

• When did you first call yourself an artist?

• Do you prefer identifying with other creative labels (writer, designer, illustrator, filmmaker, etc.) instead of “artist”?