Art and Fear (Patreon)

I own a book titled "Art and Fear" by David Bayles and Ted Orland, which is a short book, as its message is pretty simple. It describes in relatable tone how any artist may struggle with creation, or more precisely, the fear of being bad at it. Over 100ish pages it tries to persuade the reader to create despite this anxiety.

It's been a while since I read it, but my memory tells me the gist of the message is this: It's infinitely worse to not make art than to make "bad" art, and at a fundamental core, to make art without fear is one of the best feelings one can experience as an artist.

It stuck with me over the years because the message is so universal for so many artists. Despite that, I'll forget the message after many months in my office, trying to draw new illustrations and comic pages worthy of the praise I've already received for past work.

While camping, I remembered the book's lesson, and it allowed me to draw in a sketchbook freely for the first time in a while. Or maybe that's just the benefit of getting out of the house...