The Mindset Shift That Changed How I Paint (Thank You, Robert Genn)

The voice in your head is lying to you

If you’ve been in my world for a bit you may know that I am big on playing on the canvas and on checking in with the internal chatter that happens all the time. After all, that voice can make us or break us, right?  I am constantly looking for tools and ideas that help me have a change in mindset. For instance, if I tell myself that this painting is just a practice run, and I approach it from that angle, then I have much higher chances of actually enjoying it. That’s just a mindset. And you know what? The painting usually turns out better too. 😊

I’m just speaking from my own experience here, but I’m pretty certain a few of you will be nodding along right now.

So what do I actually do to help my chatty mind?

The biggest thing I do is take action. I paint. If I am busy DOING, then my thoughts can’t keep holding me back.   

Another thing I do is listen to podcasts and read books. I’m always on the hunt for that one sentence or concept that will help me be a little easier on myself. Because that inner voice doesn’t go away on its own. You have to actively work against it, all the time.

At one point, I was desperate to get better, to improve my skills, to become a master painter. The harder I tried, the worse I felt. Paintings were not working as I wanted them, every piece was falling short. I was taking workshops in the hope that they would give me the “secret” I needed to know. While I was picking up valuable lessons, it wasn’t until I came across a letter from Robert Genn that everything shifted. In this letter he advised a friend who was on a quest to know what he needed to do to improve to do 100 paintings  and then come back and talk to him. Something went click. I stopped chasing the perfect painting or the ONE technique and started painting a lot. And in that process of creating so much, I found improvement and growth. 🎨 That one idea, from one newsletter, changed how I paint.

This is why I make reading and listening to podcasts part of my practice. Not just painting books either. Books about creativity, productivity, mindset, the way we work. Because becoming a better painter isn’t only about what happens on the canvas. A huge part of it is what happens in your head first.Don’t get me wrong please, I don’t mean to imply that I have “arrived” and I am the master painter I strived to be. Far from it, I’m still searching and seeking but does it ever end? Do we ever “arrive? I surely hope not as this process of learning is what keeps me engaged and at the easel.  

My challenge to you: find your own Robert Genn moment. Pick up a book, a podcast, anything that helps you understand the way you think and work. You might be surprised by what happens.Painting and our creative life is so full of different facets, isn’t it?

If you want help in that journey, the Studio Circle is exactly what you’ve been looking for. 🎨

Inside Studio Circle, I share the strategies I have put into place in my own painting practice. So, we have a Book of the Month for instance. Not mandatory, just suggested. I want my students to go through that process of understanding the way they work. Doors to the Studio Circle are closed right now, but jump on the Priority List here and you’ll be first to know when they open: Click Here

And just in case you’re curious, here’s a link to the archives of those Twice Weekly Letters Robert Genn used to send. They range from technical aspects of painting to how to sell your work to managing your attitude and so much more. I loved getting them!