One of my HowToPastel subscribers recently reached out to me. She’d been invited to demo in an open space, with COVID-19 precautions in place, but was feeling too afraid to do it. (Her fears weren’t related to the pandemic.) Because I’d recently demoed at Peninsula Gallery where my mini solo show was hanging, I knew something about the fears she was feeling. So, a question: Are you afraid of putting yourself out there? Are you afraid of painting in public? If yes, then why do you think that is?
Are you afraid of making a rubbish painting (in front of an audience)?
Are you afraid of making a fool of yourself? Of people laughing at you (especially behind your back)?
Are you afraid of not being good enough to take this scary thing on?
Are you afraid of people seeing you sweat? (“Never let them see you sweat”)
Are you afraid of failing?
Are you unsure of what you’ll say if someone actually speaks to you or asks a question?
Are you afraid of being judged unworthy?
We’re ALL afraid of demoing in public at first! We all worry about these things…at first. But like anything else, the more you do it, the more comfortable you are with doing it, the less afraid you feel, the more your fears won’t hold you back which means you’re more able to step into your bigger shoes!
The fears never fully go away. But if you don’t take a chance at putting yourself out there, at being vulnerable and open no matter what others may think or say about you, you’ll never have that, “YES! I did it” feeling, and you won’t use the opportunity to grow as a human being. It takes courage and determination to move beyond your fears. And I want to encourage you to say YES!
And how do you do this?
The answer is to let go. I’m not saying it will be easy. Oh no. (I mean, if it was easy, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right?!)
I’ll admit that the silence of people watching as you work can be deafening. And sweat-provoking. Your mind runs riot imagining what’s going on in their thoughts: that looks awful; why did she make that mark – she just ruined it; she doesn’t really know what she’s doing does she; why did they ask him to demonstrate?; and on and on. And gosh, cn you tell me why we alwyas seem to default to the negative possibilities??
How about the possibility of these type of thoughts coming from your audience: it’s magic what she does; I wouldn’t have thought of using that colour but wow look what just happened; I don’t know how he can get such detail using such big pastels; she’s so brave putting herself out there with all of us watching.
So if you get an invitation to paint somewhere in public:
- note the immediate excitement before it dissolves into fear
- be aware that it’s normal to have fears
- acknowledge your fears and know that yes, it can be scary
- know that the first time is always the hardest so get it under your belt
- consider what’s the worst thing that can happen (really happen)
- take a leap and say YES!
Putting yourself out there and demoing in public is an opportunity. It’s a chance for you:
- to share your process – to show what working in pastel is all about
- to educate others about pastels, about you and your work
- to inspire others to pick up soft pastels
- to grow as a person by jumping into something that may induce anxiety
Right, now that I’ve encouraged you to paint in public and show off you and your painting process, let me take you through the painting I created while demoing at the Peninsula Gallery a couple of weeks ago. One of my favourite subjects to paint is people looking at art. In my demo, I painted a woman in front of a John Singer Sargent portrait in the Seattle Art Museum.
There’s a bit of a leap between this image and the next as I was in the flow, absorbed by the work, and forgot to take more progress photos! I spent quite a bit of time trying to get the face of the portrait as close to the original as I could without getting hung up on the fact that it wasn’t the same face. You can see where I also worked quite a bit on the hand, balancing between fingers as bananas and fingers barely visible.
I also decided to play up the connection between the red of his lips and the red flowers on her blouse. And did you notice the dash of red on his cravat where there is none in the original Sargent painting? Artistic license 😀
And that’s my effort painting under the scrutiny of an everchanging audience! I did have opportunity to chat to people about soft pastels and where they could find more info (ie HERE!). All in all, an enjoyable experience. This included time spent chatting with with owner Vivian Chen and framer Mitchell Jones.
So are you going to grab the next opportunity to put yourself out there in the public eye? Don’t let the fear of what MIGHT happen hold you back from becoming more of who you are!
That’s all for now. I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts on this topic so please leave a comment 😀
Until next time,
~ Gail
PS. BIG THANKS to my brother Brett for helping me come up with a title for the pastel 🙂
21 thoughts on “Putting Yourself Out There – Demoing in Public”
I usually don’t paint outside in public. However, when I took classes and we went out somewhere I did not mind because the rest of the class was there, too. I think that probably the people who want to see what you are doing do not know anything about painting, and if they did, as an artist, they would not say anything.
Thanks Gloria for sharing your experience and thoughts. There is definitely a feeling of safety from viewers in a group setting.
I have to say, it’s interesting how many non-artists feel free to comment on what you’re doing, often in a, ummmm, not so nice way! I’m used to it now and so it’s a bit like water off a duck’s back. Which goes to prove, the more you paint in public, the more you are immune to derogatory comments…or even silent stares.
Oh Gail what a great post. Although I have been asked how I do it, I probably shall never be asked to demo. I’d probably not sleep for nights before, but I’d enjoy the experience I think. It’s all about sharing and helping folks progress.
I once sat in on a demo given my a famous French pastel artist, and what a disappointment! The guy didn’t say a word the whole time! And answered the rare question in monosyllables. Although practicing art is not a wordy thing, if you accept to do a demo, one would think just a bit of explanation would be in order. But we all came away none the wiser for the 2 hours of watching in silence.
Anyway thanks for this very useful post.
Nancy Malard
So glad you enjoyed it Nancy! And now that you have these thoughts of making it about sharing and helping, perhpas you will say Yes if asked to demo!
Thanks for sharing your experience with a silent demo-er. I have had a similar experience with an American artist but still learned sooo much just from watching! I think a few words here and there would be helpful though.
When I’m in a formal demo setting (eg. at a pastel society gathering), I try to be conscious of the need to say something about the process as I work. I do always warn the audience though that I may start saying something and drift off mid-sentence as I get into the zone. It happens! I’m always willing to take questions even if this breaks the flow. I think as demo-ers, we worry about creating a good outcome when really, in the end, it’s the process of HOW we work that’s most important. Well, that’s my belief anyhow 😀
Well, Gail, I do share your belief. :)))
Gail,
Love this post because you have it organized in such a way that it was logical and methodical, and thus clear for me to understand. Thank you for this, the inspiration and education!!! I liked that these thoughts on overcoming fear of public painting/drawing focuses not upon ourselves but on the more important matters that you posted ie education, process and sharing what has helped you achieve what you aim for.
Many thanks, and keep the posts comin’!
Thanks Tami for your enthusiastic response!! 😀
And thank you for summarizing what I said without saying, that the focus is on your audience, not you. Moving the ego aside definitely helps one get over fears!
I love the red on her shoulder and on her purse. There is eye movement from the observer into the painting. Flesh connects with flesh, including me.
AWesome! Love hearing your own spin on it Bonnie!
(And delighted you noticed those subtle touches of red to move you around the painting!)
I’ve never done plein air, much less a demo in public…..but for 25 plus years, I played music for a living….and the fear before going onstage could be debilitating. Once our move is over, (very soon), I want to try plein air….which may or may not be in front of an audience. My main point, though, is to let you know how much I appreciate your posts…..the way you handle problems, your explanations, your comparisons and the courage you exhibit and the confidence you try to instill in others. Thank you for that….
Curt, thank you so much for your warm and appreciative comment! 😀
I can hardly imagine getting up on stage in front of an audience to play music. So interestingthat you did it foring and still, still you had that fear. It’s such a human response isn’t it. I have heard of public speakers who go through the same thing prior to going on stage even though, when you listen to them speak, you’d never know what went on leading up to their stage entry!!
Good luck with the remainder of your move (always a trying experience!!!). And I’m happy to hear you’ll try working en plein air. There really is nothing like it. You need to put up with so much (and this can include a crappy outcome!) but the joy of being in the moment creating is its own reward!
Gail, just got around to reading your blog.
I have never demoed painting. I have done plein air, sometimes in well trafficked areas. I like engaging with people who are enthusiastic and curious. It’s those quiet watchers that bother me – I just know they’re passing judgment….
I have some experience singing in community theatre. No anxiety, but always part of the chorus – safety in numbers.
Thank you for addressing this subject. Maybe someday, somewhere, someone will think enough of my work to ask me to demo – hey heh.
Liz, you summed it up so well – connecting with people who are interested, safety in numbers, and ohhh those quiet watchers….!
And you knever know…. 🙂
Yes, I was asked to paint before a group of visitors in Punta Gorda, Florida when I was a fairly new member of an art organization. At first, I was paralyzed, but then remembered that I was a stranger there and, as such, had no reputation to uphold and, since few of those present were artists, they may think whatever I did looked fine to them. So, I relaxed – I may have stumbled when attempting to draw and talk at the same time but they didn’t seem to notice, they were so engrossed in watching what I was doing at the easel – to them it was like magic! And so, my fears were all in vain and my audience had intelligent questions to ask, believing I had the answers and, in most cases, I did. For the most part, fears are unnecessary – everyone loves to watch an artist at work.
Thanks so much for sharing your own first experience Elaine! And thank you for pointing out what I didn’t, that it makes a difference in our fear level depending who is in our audience – artists or non-artists. I’m glad you could talk yourself through your initial paralysis! Love too that you found your confidence as you worked, and also discovered the knowledge you had when it came to answering questions. And by sharing your journey through this, I hope it will inspire others to accept an invitation to demo. As you say, to non-artists especially, what we do really IS magic!!
A while back Paul and I took our art supplies to Artists Point on Mt Baker Washington and settled in for an afternoon of painting. Many people slowed down and tried to take a look but we were off the trail and most of them kept going. The ones who came closer to look were mostly kids. One of them said ‘Oh, it that supposed to be the mountain?’ , as he looked at my abstracted view of Mt Shuskan. The kids were great. The funniest comment came from a woman who asked, “Does the Park pay you guys to paint here?”
That was when I first started painting and I wasn’t really very nervous. I didn’t have high expectations for my art and so I wasn’t bothered about what others might think. It may be harder now, to paint in public. I expect more of my art. But it is still a whole lot easier to paint outdoors in public than it is to post a painting to a Website where other artists are the audience, or demo in a gallery. That’s when I start to have palpitations and ask ‘Do I really want to do this?’ 🙂
Jean, I love your story! Kids are wonderful with their innocent and full-on comments that happily flow over us if the words, if um, not too complimentary, easily forgiven. And I smiled at the woman’s comment – too bad the park wasn’t paying you for provided an added bonus for park-goers 😀
Interesting what you say about how our level of art-making experience can affect our feelings about painting in public. I certainly think that’s a valid point!
When we were discussing demo anxiety one time, friend said “remember everyone is willing you to succeed, not fail”.
YES!! Marion, thank you for sharing this as I had thought of including that idea and then totally forgot. So yes! and thanks 😀
Hi Gail, I so enjoy your posts you have a wonderful way with words especially when talking about artwork and what you see. I can so relate to this post as someone who was petrified to stand up in class at school, I would get physically sick. I had never really spoken in public let alone demonstrate until about 4 years ago.
When I made the decision to do my art full time with the support of my husband who is still working, I was encouraged to teach to supplement the income. With his support and the positive confirmation from my life coach I put the thought out there. It is amazing how positive energy and thoughts can alter your life. Within the week I had emails from people asking me to do a talk and demo, and I had a student booked in for lessons. I had to dig deep and face the fear and after the first one you realise it wasn’t so bad and more importantly these people were coming to learn from you because they like your work. So I have to remember that every time I accept an offer, this is how I work it is not right or wrong and they are coming to see me because they respect my work. I am also humbled that I inspire others and this is also great motivation. I can also relate to the previous response that the level of fear can be different especially with artists whose work you look up to. 🙂
Julie, thank you so much for sharing your own experience with demoing. And what a story it is! Great reminder that yes, people are there because they love your work, and want to see how you do it. And if they haven’t met you before, there’s that possibility as an added bonus!
And oh so right about what can happen when you put a thought, an intention, out to the universe. Yes indeedy!!