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

‘An essential text for anyone who wants to start making art and not stop. One of those rare books – like The Artist’s Way and Writing Down the Bones – to keep close by for courage and company.’
– Tanya Shadrick, author of The Cure for Sleep and creator of The Wild Patience Scrolls: A Mile of Writing

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 & Fearquickly 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.