Sharing a (Maybe) Helpful Book

One of the reasons becoming an Artist is so challenging is because there are so many other skills to develop, learn and implement. I would love to squirrel myself away in my studio in paint splattered old clothes and create, but that alone isn’t going to get the job done. There is social media, web design, photography- the list seems endless. It today I want to talk about writing.

Writing is a perfect example of how artists need to practice a skill to get their work out into the world. We need to communicate, interest, and inform while being charming, honest and authentic all the while. Yikes! I don’t mind writing- not nearly as much as anything tech related (I’ll need to get to that is a later post) but it certainly takes work.

We allknow it is important, and that we should all be doing it more, but ugh. Maybe reading this short blog post will help motivate you. I know that I needed motivation and guidance! And so I looked a book, as usual, to get some help.

The book I found is “Art-Write: The Writing Guide for Visual Artists” by Vicki Krohn Amorose. It is is not going to make you a natural writer, there may be other books for that. But it is helpful because she tells you that you just need to get it done. It is also so specific to artists that it feels relevant, and short enough so that it feels manageable. If you have been postponing your artist statement this is going to show you how to get it done with a few simple “rules”. I read it, made some notes, and gleaned some good ideas. It didn’t change my life, but it got me to write. And there is my review. :)

Currently, the best advice I can give you is to find what turns on your writing switch. For me, I need to tap into my artist/ writing voice. It is an internal dialogue that is just what I am sharing with you here. Unfortunately, that usually happens while I’m exercising or in the shower. Today was the perfect example. I remembered that I needed to write a blog post just after my morning workout and on my way to get cleaned up. And so I am now dressed, but with no socks and uncombed wet hair, trying to create this blog post before my writing voice retreats back into my head- a mostly silent observer- so that I can paint and have a good day creating.

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