We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gwen Fox a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Gwen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?
I finally made the decision….I wanted to be a full time artist. I was excited and knew what I needed to do or at least I thought I did. I knew artists studied the Principles and Elements of Design, they learned how to mix colors so they wouldn’t make mud. They study with other artists to get ideas and grow their understanding of the medium they had chosen.
Sounds simple doesn’t it but as life would have it I had more questions than answers…I wanted more, much more.
I took many workshops but after about two weeks after the workshops I felt an emptiness that I couldn’t put my finger on just what it was. There was something missing and I knew it was a very important piece of the puzzle to succeed as an artist. When I asked other artists about this they didn’t seem to have questions nor this empty feeling.
After much research and studying I discovered what athletics and successful people already knew but it was never translated to artists…..
There are two games being played when creating. One is the outer game of creating. which is the actual act of painting or writing, and the other is the mental game, or the inner game which is played internally. The key is this….there is no greater factor that affects creativity more than how you view yourself as an artist and how you view your work because this determines how you approach your creativity.
It is the inner game that can kill creativity and it does it by the words we choose to describe ourselves and our art. I knew this was a secret that needed to be shared. This would open doors for artists and their dreams.
I also knew it was why I felt so empty after each workshop as this was never discussed by any of the instructors.
Perhaps it is a subject they never thought about or would be too difficult to discuss.
Even when I decided to present this idea I found it was the one aspect of art artists skip because it takes too much effort to even go there. Their goal is to make the painting correct in composition and design. Yes, the mental part takes time and it requires one to go deep in their feelings plus their thoughts and beliefs about themselves. Like one of the chapters I talk about in my upcoming book “Death of the Woven Mask”.
Let’s face it there are those who want to be a success without this work and perhaps they will but it is like a tennis player wanting to make it to the French Open. How do they approach this without knowing themselves and being able to get past the losing a set or not making a critical serve.
Their self talk is key to their success. We as artists are the same and it is time we owned this idea and made it part of the teaching on “how to create”.
When I started adding this to my talks there were many who rolled their eyes as if to say….get with the program lady, I am here to learn how to paint not how to think. What they didn’t realize was this is a crucial part of painting.
It wasn’t until I was teaching at the Taos Institute of Art in Taos, New Mexico that things turned around. Each day during the workshop I would do a art motivational talk but I told the artists on Friday there would not be a talk as we would be working on our final painting.
When I arrived that Friday morning there were the artists sitting in the semi-circle like always ready to hear my talk. When asked them if they had forgotten they said “No, we didn’t forget ….We come for the talks”.
That is when I knew I had broken the barrier and I was elated.
They realized this was a missing piece to success just like I had earlier in my career.
Since I knew this information was so critical I decided to become an art coach and share this with all the artists I was honored to coach.
What started out to be a problem turned into a successful addition to my art career.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
After my husband passed away of leukemia I knew I had to make a living on my own. Since I considered myself to be unemployable due to the fact I didn’t want to sit behind a desk nor did I want to sell clothes at the local mall. I knew I was a good artist so I decided that would be how I would make my living.
When I told my friends my decision over a lovely dinner at the Kissing Camels Club overlooking the incredible Garden of the Gods, the tone of the dinner changed from light to heavy. They immediately started saying why this was not a good idea and the husbands gave me the three worst pieces of advice I ever got.
What were those three pieces of advice?
Get a job and stay a hobby artist to see how it goes.
Don’t spend money on marketing as it will be a waste.
Be realistic and know you may never succeed.
I left this lovely dinner depressed yet determined to prove them wrong. It takes a lot of guts to make this kind of big decision but I was more than determined.
Yes, it took time and a ton of work but I succeeded and today I do on-line classes, coach artists from all over the world, I have a successful YouTube channel (gwen fox artist), do in person workshops and offer several classes for those who want to be a full time artist.
I love all the things I offer and do but it is my private coaching that brings me the biggest joy as I get to watch the artists I coach grow and become the artist they dream about.
One of the biggest problems I solve is Confidence. Artists create from their heart and soul and putting their work out for the public to judge can be devastating. It is a challenge for all artists but for those who are new it is really tough.
The thing that sets me apart from other art coaches is that I take each artist from where they are and from there we develop a plan to fit their personal needs. It is not a one fits all method but a very personal unique way I deal with each artist;
I am most proud of succeeding in a field that is full of road blocks. I love sharing these road blocks with artists so they don’t have to experience them and if they do they are mild.
I am also extremely proud of watching the artists I coach succeed and succeed and succeed more. They are able to accomplish things they didn’t really think were possible. They grow, they find themselves and they are able to open their heart and soul and allow what is there to flow onto the canvas.
I wake up each and every morning and say how much I love my life….and I truly do.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One of the reasons I can teach confidence to other artists is I suffered terribly with this issue. My first husband was not a supportive person of my art and constantly told me “You can paint, just don’t embarress me.” He kept suggesting I wasn’t creative….I just thought I was. After so many years of hearing this over and over his words became my belief.
It was during this time I had a dream that would haunt me for the next seven years. I would awaken from the dream with a racing heart, clothing soaked with sweat and a mouth scorched from dryness.
In the dream I was walking through a field somewhere in Tennessee and came upon an old farm building. It looked like an outbuilding for storage or a small barn.
As I approached the weathered building I noticed the entry door was cracked and extremely weathered. For some strange reason the door looked familiar and seemed to welcome me. I entered the large space and felt a quiet emptiness. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness as the only light source was from a small window near the tin roof.
As I looked around I noticed a trap door cut in the floor in the middle of the room. This seemed odd to me as why would there be a trap door in this old decrepit building. As I walked toward the trap door the wide wooden planks of the floor felt solid as if they were determined not to give away their age.
The room smelled musty with bits of grain left from years ago. I kept feeling this sense of welcome that I didn’t understand but found amusing.
As I got closer I could see the trap door was about three feet by four feet and was graced with a beautiful silver handle engraved with flowers and vines. The handle was tarnished and worn but still incredibly beautiful. Why was something this beautiful be here in a barn? What was under this trap door that was valuable enough to merit such a fancy handle?
All of a sudden it dawned on me what was under the trap door….it was my creativity. Fear struck my heart. What if I opened this mystery door and found an empty dark dirty hole showing zero creativity. My husband would have been correct.
Or, perhaps my creativity was there just waiting to be freed from the forced mental bondage.
This was why I was here but was I ready to find out the true answer that had haunted me for years.
The trap door beckoned me to come and find the answer to the question.
As I approached the trap door I would suddenly wake up and I was left with the emptiness and fear of finding the truth.
The dream started coming about every three months. Walking in the same field finding the same barn with the same smell, same feeling, same doubts, same fear. Each time I stood by the trap door I wondered what would I do if nothing was there? What if my ex was right….I just thought I was creative?
Then the most important question: arrived in my mind…since I loved to paint and create what would I do with my life if I was void of creativity?
As I pondered these questions I would awake from the dream never finding the answer.
As the years went by I progressed in the dream to the point of touching the tarnished handle. As I put my fingers around the handle I was surprised that it fit so beautifully in my hand.
After years of this mysterious dream the room and I became friends. I welcomed her smell and the anticipation of possible knowledge.
Then one night my dream shifted. I entered the barn like normal but as I stood in reverence before the trap door I felt a shift in my body. I felt stronger, more eager and more centered in my mind as well as my body. In eager anticipation I wondered if this was the day I would find out if my belief, or fear, was my truth.
After all these years I had developed into a stronger person and I was now feeling that strength bubble up within me. I reached for the handle and felt its coldness in my hand.
With eyes closed to protect my possible disappointment I took a deep breathe and as my heart raced I pulled on the trap door. I was shocked with the ease it opened as I had anticipated it to be heavy and difficult.
My fear of seeing a dark black hole filled with creative nothingness melted in the southern heat.
Light came spewing out eager to be released from its prison. It wasn’t just any light but an exquisite transparent golden light that was endless. Tears rushed down my cheeks as I realized the intense golden light was my creativity.
The light was beautiful and we were one.
It was then I awoke. This time I was calm, quiet, and filled with incredible peace. The truth had been revealed.
The dream never returned.
My belief was not my truth…I was creative. When false beliefs become truths they hamper the way we think and see ourselves as artists. Learning what your real truths are gives strength to wonderful beliefs about yourself.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
There are so many things that are rewarding being creative and an artist.
First of all artists see life differently. We see faces in clouds, rugs, tile, etc.
We stop and look at a piece of trash as the shapes fascinate us.
We pick up gum wrappers on the street and we embarass our friends in doing so.
We listen to music and it makes us cry so we paint a painting that shows the moving cords of the song.
We see colors that others don’t take the time to witness.
But for me the most rewarding thing of being an artist is when I introduce myself as a professional artist it carries with it respect, it carries intrigue and mystery. Being an artist is an occupation everyone should try just to feel the joy and the incredible gift of seeing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gwenfox.com
- Instagram: gwen fox studio
- Facebook: gwen fox
- Youtube: gwen fox artist