Honesty and Authenticity Aren’t Trends

The Story

At a market today, selling my artwork. Up walks a very serious 10 year old who asks if I can teach him to draw and paint the details the way I capture them. I tell him the only lesson I can give is this: practice. The look of disappointment and then anxiety on his face was heart breaking. The former because it meant he was looking for the ‘quick fix’ that social media algorithms have fooled many into believing that what they see in their feeds is the totality of the truth of things. The latter because at 10, he was twisting himself in knots with questions, mining my experience for ‘tricks’ and corners to cut. I explained a little further; that I’d been practicing and drawing since I could hold a pencil, probably at the same age that he started. And to consider how long it’s taken me to get where I am. He replied with, “I won’t let you down,” and my heart broke more.

His mom came over, clearly aware of his anxious body language, but instead of jumping into the conversation, she just stood with him and listened to our conversation. I commend parents who give their kids enough space to find their voice and show them, by that space, how to navigate interactions socially and critically.

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Trying to untie the knots this boy had tied himself into, I expanded on my lesson, “Just draw what you see, but only draw for yourself. Don’t draw the boat because you want people to like your picture of a boat or so they’ll like you. It doesn’t matter what other people think of your art, not even your mom. Draw the boat to remind people of their best/happiest experience related to a boat. You’ll draw a different boat that way, and it’ll be more honest.”

The Actual Lesson for Us All

Now I’m telling all of you reading this: If you want to make art your career, of course you need to make some art that people will buy. That doesn’t mean doing art specifically because it will sell where you want to sell, it means being honest with your art to discover that your buyers will meet you where you’re at. You may have to “chase down” customers, but collectors find you.

Honesty and authenticity are the foundation of the connection that art creates.