Artists Ink on Arches watercolor paper.
Mika Harmony
Date of creation: 2-14-2014
“How To Be An Artist. AKA: Showing Up”
Full disclosure: I don’t know how to be an artist, other than just showing up. I haven’t taken any lessons and I imagine my technique would improve if I took some. But mostly, I just like to sit down and paint. My life on the planet is improved anytime I have my hands in paint or my heart in my notebooks, writing. I try to encourage everyone within the sound of my voice to create something- anything. Crochet, paint, sing, bake, write. We are all living such a unique experience and having an outlet for creativity is a great way to express what only YOU can express.
I started my career as a full-time artist almost 10 years ago. I transitioned from working in nonprofit conservation to being an artist. I was terrified at making the leap to full-time artist, but also a bit excited at the idea of doing it. I had no road map. It was trial and error. Since then, I’ve had many successes and several experiments with outcomes I didn’t want, but all in all, a fine road to explore.
I tried several different mediums: photography, then acrylic painting, then collage, and finally settled on my favorite medium of watercolor. I’ve had several moments of not feeling good enough, but even more moments of feeling happy with creating. As I was pushing myself with new tools and trying brand-new-to-me extremely saturated liquid acrylics (consistency of water, but color value of 100- so saturated), I thought it would be cool to share some of my art on my artist Facebook page. Class- this is when I got schooled in online trolls.
After I posted my new (now, over 8 years old) painting of a horse and a mountain range online, I was feeling accomplished and happy. It was when I first started with my odd color combinations and full-value strong colors. I love horses and the painting was based on a horse at the ranch in Oak View that a friend worked at. The mountain range was based on the mountains in the Owens Valley, California, east of the Sierra Nevadas- or at least my recollection of them when I was last there fly fishing (I am terrible at it and I do not enjoy fishing- it makes me sad for the fish, so I don’t do it anymore).
Painting completed, I posted my happy colorful watercolor in a proud moment. Then the messages started coming in. My first message was from someone saying that their nephew in preschool could paint better than me. And, bless my own heart, my first thought was wow their nephew must be really good! I don’t know if it was self-protection or naïveté but that’s where my head went (and as I like to say: naïveté is 9/10’s of the law).
After a little while, the true tone of their comment set in on me and I realized this person was being very mean. So then I got upset and I felt defeated. It is such a vulnerable feeling to put your innermost thoughts and ideas on paper and share them with the world. I can get discouraged easily. I needed support.
I talked to my partner about it and he told me some wise words from a dear friend of his. Which is: hey if somebody is giving you comments like that about your artistic expression, it means that you provoked something in them and it’s always great to get a response from your art no matter what because It means you moved them.
That uplifted perspective on it did improve my feeling about it- but wow, what a bummer as I was just beginning my art career, to get that first kind of response.
In that same week, so many years ago, I also received a random call (random in that it was unexpected and I didn’t know who it was). The person said they loved my art and to keep doing what I am doing. To this day I don’t know who that was, and they never phoned me again- but it was such a kind compliment and one I always remember.
I guess all of this is to say that if you have a calling to create something or say something or do something in a creative endeavor, I think you should just do it regardless of what people say about it. It’s hard because being an artist can be very isolating if you’re just a painter or writer or singer creating alone but I think it’s something that you have to do -expressing yourself can be very meaningful to you and your journey in your life. I’m just grateful to have you here reading about it. So for just a moment you and I shared this journey together. I hope you create something beautiful and meaningful for yourself today. I am cheering on your creativity from here.
With love and aloha,
Mika Harmony
www.mikaharmony.com