The art industry isn’t easy and every artist is struggling and feeling down at times. When finding inspiration and creating art gets tough, it’s good to have a friend by your side who lifts you up. How do you emotionally support an artist? Maybe you are a non-artist person and you have no idea how to support your artist friend. Here are 4 ways to show your support!
We all go through tough times, and this is also true for your artist friend, your artist partner, your artist girlfriend, your artist boyfriend, your artist mum, …
Life is hard, and the art world is even harder. Making it in the creative industry world isn’t easy and many artists are struggling. On top of that, creating art is a pretty lonesome endeavor.
Regardless of whether you are a traditional or a digital artist, chances are you will be alone working in your studio or room. Even though making art is a calling for many artists that they really enjoy pursuing, things may get rocky at times.
At such times, we'd love our friends to emotionally support us as artists.
Here’s another thing to consider: Behind all great artwork is a person that was inspired and courageous enough to create it. Yes, art does require courage! It is not always easy to pluck up that courage, and when an artist feels disheartened, they might also need the emotional support of a friend.
Every artist has their demons, and there are countless reasons why they might feel down. Maybe they don’t know what to create next, maybe they are in a creative rut, maybe they are unhappy with their last creation, maybe they feel they don’t make progress, or maybe they received a hateful comment or some harsh criticism, …
Such experiences can be painful because all artists put a part of themselves into their art. They use art as a way to express their emotions and thoughts.
How do you express yourself through art?
When you see a powerful work of art – be it a piece of visual art, a dance or music performance, a poem, a book – you’ll always get a glimpse into the soul of the artist. One could say that the creator is their creation. The artist’s identity and personality fuses into their artwork.
This is something to keep in mind when you want to support your artist friend.
How do you show love to an artist?
Let’s talk about relationships for a moment and how you can lovingly support your artist girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband, it’s-complicated, whatsoever.
Speaking as an artist, I can say that having a partner who is unsupportive of what you do creatively can be detrimental to a relationship and your self-identity as an artist.
So if you want to show love to an artist, take their art seriously!
The worse thing that you can do is undervalue their art by seeing it rather as a hobby and not as the passion that keeps them going. By turning your back on your partner’s art, you will inevitably turn your back on the person your partner is, too.
This will only result in your partner feeling disappointed, sad, and angry. With time, those feelings will grow into bigger issues, and eventually your partner will turn their back on you!
So for all my artist friends who feel they are in a relationship where their partner doesn't value their art, this is my advice:
Talk to your partner and express clearly what your art means to you. Let them know that their demeaning comments or behavior towards your art hurt you. Explain that art is a passion that you are feeling called to pursue and that makes you feel happy and joyous.
You don’t need to be a full-time artist in order to make your point. You don’t even need to make money with your art yet and might still be working your 9-to-5 day job. All these things don’t matter, because they don’t take away what your art means to you.
It’s important that your partner understands the significance your art has to you, if you want to have a relationship where you can thrive and grow as an artist. If they still don’t understand it and keep scoffing at it, then it’s maybe not the right partner…
On the other hand, if you are a non-artist person with an artist partner, you need to understand that the art they create is a huge part of their life.
That doesn’t mean you need to love each and every piece that your partner creates. You don’t even need to have the same taste in art (although it might probably help the relationship).
In spite of everything, you should never diminish what your artist partner does. If they have finished an artwork and are proud of it, celebrate with them. If your artist partner has won an art challenge or sold a piece, rejoice with them.
Learn more: What To Know When Dating An Artist (Difficult Or Good Choice?)
How do you emotionally support an artist?
OK, so let’s say you are a sympathetic non-artist person with an artist friend who is feeling down. What can you do to emotionally support your artist friend?
Every person is different, so it always depends on your artist friend what they will find helpful and what not. You know them best, so in the end, you decide what is right for them!
Here are some tips that can help your arty pal feel good again when they are going through a rough time.
4 Ways to emotionally support an artist
1. Let go of expectations and just be there.
The best way to support your artist friend is to show them that you are there when they need you. Let them know you have a sympathetic ear for them and if they wish to confide in you, they are welcome any time!
Let go of expectations. Even if you undoubtedly feel that something is wrong with your artist pal, don’t try to force them to spill their guts.
Maybe it’s not the right time for them to talk. Maybe they still need to figure things out for themselves, before they are ready to open their heart to you.
Be patient and be there. That is oftentimes already enough.
2. Help them understand that their personal worth doesn’t stem from the quality of their artwork.
As we said earlier, the artwork reflects the personality of the artist. In many cases, artists emotionally identify with their art, and if their art gets criticized, they feel hurt personally.
If your artist friend is like that, you can support them by helping them understand that their personal worth doesn’t stem from the quality of their artwork.
As an artist, it’s important to learn to mentally and emotionally separate yourself from the art you create. Defining your self-worth through criticizable visual output is bound to cause problems.
Explain to your artist friend that their human worth is separate from the art they create. Oftentimes, it can be a good idea that you both make a list of your intrinsic values in life.
By that I mean you write down your personal priorities of what matters to you most. These can be things like honesty, authenticity, genuine relationships, trust, loyalty, etc.
Once you are done, you can compare your lists and speak about them.
Most likely, it will turn out that ‘making art that everybody likes’ is not a priority of your artist friend. Oftentimes, this is all it takes for your pal to understand that their art is nothing to do with their own worthiness.
3. Put the focus on their past artistic achievements.
Constantly coming up with new ideas and creating art on the same level isn’t easy. If an artwork doesn’t turn out as good as the last one, artists might lose confidence in their skills.
Especially if the artist has a little inner perfectionist that harshly criticizes the slightest foundering, it only makes things worse. This can be a very demoralizing experience.
If your artist friend is going through such a phase, you can help them re-build creative confidence by reminding them of their past artistic achievements.
Every artist has created amazing works. We only tend to forget them all too fast.
To emotionally support your artist friend, you can compliment their past creations and share your honest appreciation for them. If they achieved beautiful creations in the past, there is no reason why they wouldn’t be able to create even more amazing work in the future – although they might be in a creative rut at this point in time!
4. Encourage them to keep pursuing their dream.
Artists are passionate people, and I dare to say that (almost) every one dreams of making art their business. The art industry is everything but easy, and both traditional and digital artists need to acquire lots of skills and keep honing them.
There are many obstacles on the creative path and it’s easy to get deterred from your dream. More than anything, your artist friend needs someone who believes in their skill, talent, and their artistic career.
Having someone at your side who believes that you have what it takes to be an artist is more valuable than anything and can help the artist realize their dream.
How can you show your artist friend that you have faith in them? Apart from communicating it to your friend, you can let them know through small gifts. For example, you can leave them an encouraging note on their working desk, buy them a gift card for an art store, or put a bunch of flowers next to their computer or canvas.
There are so many things you can do to express your appreciation for their creative work.
In conclusion, what is the best way to support an artist?
In conclusion, if you are in a relationship with an artist (and I don’t only mean a romantic relationship), it’s important to keep an open mind to their creative endeavors.
Even if you are a non-artist and find it difficult to understand what it means to be an artist, your lack of support would only hurt your friendship or relationship.
If your artist friend thinks that you don’t care about their work, they will only distance themselves from you emotionally. To not let that happen, start loving them for who they are and support them the way you can!
And finally, the maybe best way to support your artist friend is by giving them a huuuug!
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I hope that this posts was able to give you some ideas on how to emotionally support an artist. Let me know in the comments if you have an artist friend who already needed your support and what you did to support them. I’d love to hear from you!
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