How To Be An Artist: A Practical Guide

The first step is to recognize the absurdity of art. I’m sure everyone, on some level, can see how strange it is that humans attach so much meaning and value to things that seem useless and, sometimes, easily re-creatable. But after noticing how temporal and relativistic art is, recognize how it also permeates everything in our lives. It lives with us as furniture and paintings, it simmers within us as poetry and songs, it comes out of us in the form of writing and words. It surrounds us. Everything is art. And if everything is art, then art is everything.

Next, don’t censor yourself. Don’t throw away the thoughts that pop into your head. The difference between the normal and the extraordinary is the same as the difference between the normal and the neurotic: a dash of crazy. Take yourself seriously. Don’t throw away even the ideas and questions that seem ordinary or inevitable. Figure out why things happen. Why you have those thoughts. What those thoughts mean. How you can expand upon them. What you can learn from them. In short, be self-aware.

Lastly, create. After thinking about your thoughts and not throwing away even the little, unimportant ones, make sense out of the nonsensical mess inside your head. The thoughts you have might be absurd. The business ideas too far-fetched, the dream vacations too quirky, the worry too unpalatable. So put it into words. Into paintings, photographs, songs, skits, street art (legal, of course), even just late-night monologues in front of your drunk friends. Don’t burry your craziness. Don’t ignore it. Don’t stifle it. Be an artist. Your quirkiness and the odd ways that you sometimes view the world are the stuff of art. Let it out. And out of the messiness of the mind, eventually, good art will come. Meaningful. Relatable. Beautiful. Art.

The truth is, we’re all a little bit nuts. Most of us are just really good at hiding it. But that doesn’t get us anywhere, at least not anywhere interesting or novel or exciting or memorable or meaningful. No one became successful by hiding from themselves and their ideas. In fact, almost anyone who you can point to and call successful followed after a crazy idea. It’s not the dull ideas, the normal thoughts, that lead to a remarkable life. If you’re brave enough to embrace your weirdness, the remarkableness of your life will come out. You will live a fulfilling, interesting, beautiful life. And maybe you’ll even be remembered for it.