Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking

Front Cover
Souvenir Press, Feb 9, 2023 - Self-Help - 120 pages

'I always keep a copy of Art & Fear on my bookshelf'
JAMES CLEAR, author of the #1 best-seller Atomic Habits

'A book for anyone and everyone who wants to face their fears and get to work'

DEBBIE MILLMAN, author and host of the podcast Design Matters

'A timeless cult classic ... I've stolen tons of inspiration from this book over the years and so will you'

AUSTIN KLEON, NYTimes bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist

'The ultimate pep talk for artists. ... An invaluable guide for living a creative, collaborative life.'
WENDY MACNAUGHTON, illustrator

Art & Fear
is about the way art gets made, the reasons it often doesn't get made, and the nature of the difficulties that cause so many artists to give up along the way. Drawing on the authors' own experiences as two working artists, the book delves into the internal and external challenges to making art in the real world, and shows how they can be overcome every day.

First published in 1994, Art & Fear quickly became an underground classic, and word-of-mouth has placed it among the best-selling books on artmaking and creativity. Written by artists for artists, it offers generous and wise insight into what it feels like to sit down at your easel or keyboard, in your studio or performance space, trying to do the work you need to do. Every artist, whether a beginner or a prizewinner, a student or a teacher, faces the same fears - and this book illuminates the way through them.

 

Selected pages

Contents

DEDICATION
ART AND FEAR
FEARS ABOUT YOURSELF
FEARS ABOUT OTHERS
FINDING YOUR WORK
PART II
THE ACADEMIC WORLD
CONCEPTUAL WORLDS
THE HUMAN VOICE
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2023)

David Bayles is a writer, photographer, conservationist, and lifetime flyfisherman, He is the author and illustrator of Notes on a Shared Landscape: Making Sense of the American West. Ted Orland is a photographer, teacher and writer. A broad selection of his writings and photographs appear in his monograph, Scenes of Wonder & Curiosity.

Bibliographic information