Where (and Why) to Trust Your Gut
When Felicia Forte (Ep.65) was a young artist, she says she wanted to make a plan and then work hard to follow that plan. She thought this would lead her to a successful art career.
The challenge she found was that she was using her head to shape her actions and she realized she was missing a really important tool, her intuition.
Forte now works hard to bring her intuition into her art practice. Her head is still part of it. But instead of letting it be the primary driver, she’s given that role to her cut.
A big place she uses that in deciding what she paints. This process isn't always straightforward or quick, but if she starts a painting and isn't feeling it, she puts it aside.
If the subject matter she's decided to tackle no longer speaks to her, she gives herself permission to try something else.
Because when she finds it, that thing that sings to her, the painting part is easy. And the final painting is truly and wholly HER.
Put it to Practice:
The technical side of painting is not the hardest part. The hard part is learning to trust ourselves to both learn what we like and honor it as important.
If you find yourself telling yourself that you "should" paint something because it's what buyers want or is popular or any reason that's external to YOU, take a moment to think about that.
Because that’s your head talking. Your head loves seeing what others are doing and then making a plan on best available information. Your head is useful for charting a path.
But it's not necessarily going to make you unique. That’s your gut. And just like learning to mix paint, you can learn to strengthen your ability to hear where your gut is trying to lead you.
If your goal is a unique style then finding what YOU want to paint and how you WANT to paint it is part of the work.
You can learn skills from others. But for style, you are the most important teacher to listen to.
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