Fear Of Failure…

By Radical Rhymes

It’s prevalent, isn’t it? That sense that whatever you do it’s bound to fail, fall, freeze. I’ve experienced it all my life. It’s the terror of creation. I stand or sit before a page or canvas and there’s nothing there, no art, no words, no sense. That blankness is a promise or is it a risk?

Where does that come from, that fear? Is it inherent? Natural? Is it just something we have to face? Or is it inscribed into us? The doubt of others is everywhere. The teachers who tell you not to reach too far, that advise you to have a back-up plan. The friends and family members who counsel that you need to be pragmatic.

It’s everywhere.

But creation is difficult, dangerous. There’s no knowing what will emerge until it does. It’s incredible how often I am given commissions for people, and I have no idea how the painting will turn out. There’s no vision at the start, just a reference and a page or canvas.

It’s strange how often pictures create themselves. I have numerous examples. The dog portrait that came out as art deco, a style that I had never used before. It just drew itself. The process was so smooth, so simple. The reference transferred itself through me to the page.

And then there was the drawing of a daughter I produced for a competition winner. I saw the photo and started work and it came out like a Warhol, classic pop art. Again, I had never used that style before, it was a first. When I sent it to her, she was delighted, Warhol was her favourite artist. Strange? Inevitable? I honestly do not know.

All I do know is that in the face of that fear, which in my case I believe to be a mixture of nature and nurture, is to make a start. The initial brushstroke, the initial letter, finger on keyboard. Once you start there is a flow, it may buffet you, bounce you around, but it is there.

Trust yourself, fight that fear.

Radical Rhymes is a professional artist working with a range of media – predominantly animal/human portraits and landscapes – including, most recently, hand painted furniture. You can see his work on Instagram Radicalrhymes1969 or on Twitter @RhymesRadical.

For commissions, please contact him on Twitter via Direct Message or by email at: radicalrhymes@outlook.com His work is also available to buy on Etsy

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