To be an artist, there are a few common traits that you already have or you form in the process to becoming an artist. This isn’t about what it takes to be a professional. It is about the personality traits that align with creative thinking.

The first trait that comes to mind is patience. More importantly patience with yourself in the process; from beginning to end. Often times what we call artist block is a self induced anxiety. We spin in circles waiting for a grand idea to come and we feel like it will never come. What makes it worse is when you don’t try sketching or writing down ideas. The interaction with ideas and drawing forms is what gets the wheel turning in your mind. Your mind can make connections all the time but we need to give it input to work with.

Try to give yourself the patience to come up with multiple ideas. Your first idea might be great but it is better for you long term to keep exploring an idea and pull and the creative aspects out that you can. Sometimes, those ideas will be adjust and brought to life in the future. The next trait I think is important is persistence. That is the ability to give an idea your full attention and focus until the work is DONE.

Many artists have ideas and abandon the artwork before it has hit the “turning point“. Have you ever done that? Usually the halfway point is more ugly than the blank piece of paper. Stick to it and do you best to finish every artwork. If you can at least get to 80-90% complete, in the future you may see what you need to do to finish the art in a way that is pleasing to you. But if you abandon it too early, it may never be compelling enough to go back and finish. Let’s move to the last trait I want to speak about- appreciation.

Appreciation for art. Appreciation for the ability and desire to create. Appreciation for a healthy way to express the joy and pain that we endure in life. Without gratitude for everything we do, it is easy to thing what you are doing isn’t important or meaningful. The truth is that a lot of what you create will be forgotten by friends, family, and yourself. But so much changes within you as a person as you push yourself to continue on your artistic journey with love and an appreciation for the opportunity to be a creative.

That’s all for today, now go make something great!