Are you afraid of the MARK?✏️

Facing fears in your practice so you can overcome them!

Oct 27, 2023

Sketchbook illustration of a black cat in a forest by Beth Spencer

Fear can haunt you at any stage of your creative practice. Here are some tips to fight the fright so you can keep drawing and writing!

BEWARE of the following:

Procrastination - Ever find yourself pro-CLASS-tinating1 (enrolling in too many classes or watching YouTube tutorials until your eyeballs burn)? Perhaps you’ve been dough-crastinating, which is dodging work by baking bread. I’m also guilty of Joe-crastinating (thinking of things I want from Trader Joe’s so I can go there). I do these when I’m afraid everyone will hate my writing or art. Then feel like a zombie when it’s time to draw or write.

It’s a vicious cycle. But noticing the behavior is the first step toward fighting it!

Imposter Syndrome - This little gremlin can cause you to view your art through a murky lens. Don’t listen to it! Keep drawing! Then draw more just to spite it! Sometimes a good old-fashioned break from social media helps exorcize this demon. The mid-week tech check-in2 has been brilliant for keeping me accountable to my practice!

spooky cemetery illustration by Beth Spencer

Blank Page - If you fear a ghostly white sheet, I recommend just blobbing and swatching materials on a page without a plan. Draw on print paper or old envelopes to warm up. Drawing session replays are a real treat to get out of your head and onto the page!

Scarcity Mindset - Saying yes to every project can lead to the nightmare we know as burnout! Weigh your options and ask yourself “Would I be better off spending that time on other projects?” I know it’s hard to say no, but use caution before accepting something that sounds too good to be true. I highly recommend Jason Chatfield’s NO-vember Challenge for practice!

creepy doll heads illustrated by Beth Spencer — I drew this from a reference photo on Unsplash

Your fears are valid. You don’t have to face them alone. I’m glad you’re here so we can join forces and slay our evil drawing dragons together!

I wrote a post about my pro-class-tination habit! Do you do it too?

Every Wednesday I post an image of my screen time and set an intention for the next week. It helps me use technology more mindfully. All are welcome to share their screen usage and intentions for tech as well, so we can all support each other!