Authenticity In Creativity (Learn Who You Are To Create Art That Feels True To You)
Human connection will always be needed, and your creativity is one of the most genuine ways to express that connection. In a world full of trends and fleeting inspiration, be yourself.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explains that a sense of belonging is a psychological need all humans require, suggesting that you need:
To feel like you belong to a community, whether it’s fellow artists, supporters, or creative peers.
To have meaningful relationships that inspire your work.
To have emotional connections that fuel your creative process.
How Do You Harness Authenticity In Your Creative Work? It’s more essential than ever to create art that reflects who you truly are. Your art is an extension of your soul.
You can build a body of work that resonates deeply with others if you learn the power of being authentic in your creative process. (Even if you choose not to pursue art professionally, being true to yourself in your creativity will help you connect with your inner world, bringing clarity, healing, and inspiration to your life.)
From the collection “With These Wings”
In your creative journey, you must be authentic. It’s a buzzword that seems to be thrown around a lot, so what does it actually mean to be authentic in your art?
Authenticity means being true to your creative voice.
Authenticity means creating art that reflects who you are, not what you think others want.
Authenticity means knowing that your values, beliefs, and emotions align with how you express yourself through your work.
The key to creating authentic art is to learn who you are from the inside out.
Who you are without fear of judgment, rejection, and failure.
Who you are without perfectionism.
Who you are without worrying what people think of your work.
My journey to creating authentic art has been through a time of deep self-reflection and relearning who I am.
In recent years, I’ve been working on my limiting belief of worrying about what other people think. It stemmed from being told to “quieten down” all the time. My expressive energy seemed to be too much for some people.
I always felt the need to create art that pleased others rather than expressing what was true to me. When I reached my early 20s, I found myself experimenting with styles that didn’t feel right for me, hoping they would be ‘liked.’ I relied on external validation instead of trusting my creative instincts.
It wasn’t until two years ago that I realised I had made external approval a crutch for my creativity. I had to be the one to dismantle these belief systems, so I stopped creating just for trends and started creating for me.
I became my own muse. Refused to hide my emotions from my canvas, and started setting boundaries that enabled me to preserve energy and show up in a way that aligned with my beliefs and values.
I’m confidently able to express all my emotions in my art now—from softness and vulnerability to boldness and strength. I don’t need to hide within my mental prison anymore.
My creative peers started saying: “Your work feels so YOU.” That’s when I knew it was working. When I knew I could create authentic art without crutches.
Now that I’m able to be my true self in my creative process, my work feels more honest and powerful. I’m not here to be liked by everybody. It’s not easy to admit that. Rejection triggers are strong. However, I made it my mission to reframe my beliefs around this.
Learning to reframe my beliefs and take action towards the artist I wanted to be helps me push past the fears of putting my work ‘out there.’
From the collection “With These Wings”
Break Free From Your Mental Prison And Step Into Your Highest, Authentic Creative Self. Like everything, learning to be yourself and authentic in your creativity is an inside-out job. Learning about who you are is going to exponentially grow the authenticity of your art.
How do you learn who you are? The raw, vulnerable you.
Become your best friend. Be with yourself mindfully minus distractions. Remove:
Social media comparisons
Trends that don’t resonate with you
The need to create for others instead of yourself
You can meditate. You can journal. You can observe. The important thing is to make sure that you don’t judge yourself. Show self-compassion and understanding. Emotions, triggers, and thoughts will come up. Let them be. Let them go.
Building your relationship back up with yourself will allow you to relearn who you are creatively.
Can you keep building your artistic voice if you only check in with yourself once a year? No. So why do you think you only need to self-reflect once and know everything about your creative self?
Date your creativity. Flirt with new ideas. Know yourself beyond the surface level and deep dive into your desires, passions, fears, doubts, and worries.
Explore the good, the bad, and the ugly inside of you (yes, you have all 3). Accept all there is about you and love yourself unconditionally.
Think of your creative journey as a book. Go back and reflect through your past artworks and learn about how you’ve become the artist you are today. Are there things you need to unlearn? What values do you have? What experiences have shaped the way you express yourself through art? Know yourself. Read that book. Then make new chapters as you explore creativity through a new authentic lens.
Self-acceptance and authenticity go hand in hand; they are the glue that holds your shadow self with your light self.
It’s your life’s work to continuously learn more about yourself and your creative voice.
Keep exploring. Keep learning about yourself. Each new painting, each new project, may bring up some old wounds. Be as curious about yourself as you are with your art.
From the collection “With These Wings”
Insightful Introspections: Use these journal prompts to learn more about your true creative self.
Think of a recent artwork where I experienced strong emotions. What were those emotions, and what triggered them? What do these reactions reveal about my deeper creative needs or fears?
What have been three significant turning points in my creative journey? How did these moments shape the artist I am today? What did I learn about myself from these experiences?
Let’s recap: You can’t create authentic art if you don’t know your true self. Make it your life’s work to keep checking on yourself and learn who you are. If you are triggered by creative blocks or fears, observe them, question them, allow yourself the space to sit with them and feel any emotions that come up. Let any thought come and go. No judgments.
Be your best friend. Your cheerleader. Your creative therapist.
Learning about yourself is essential for learning who you are as an artist and how you want to show up in the creative world.
Authenticity is elevated through values and beliefs that align with who you are.
Until next time,
Emily
Tell me if this sounds familiar. For most of your life, you were taught to hide your emotions. Shamed for showing emotions and feelings because it was deemed a weakness. Sensitivity is not a burden. Surrender to your creative voice.