Podcast with artist Marie-Noelle Wurm – Is your art good enough?

Or, rather, the way we usually ask this question is, “Am I good enough?”

28762932_1247843298681325_9122700619071619072_n — Art by Marie-Noelle Wurm, Artist and illustrator

Sometimes, we land up taking our art very seriously. so seriously, in fact, that it becomes the defining feature of who we are. And while this might feel natural, as in, ‘I am an artist’ it is not. Because once we do this, we draw the next logical conclusion, which is, ‘This drawing sucks, therefor I am not a good artist.’ Or we receive a rejection letter for a manuscript, and we automatically decide that we were rejected.

Once we identify too closely with our art, we become attached to what other people think of it, which is something we can’t really control. Somehow, we have to separate our personal self from our artistic output.

Marie-Noelle Wurm, an artist and illustrator based in France, knows all about the voice inside of her that says, ‘Your art is not good enough. Your drawings are not good enough. Other people are better at it than you are.’ During her teenage years, this voice became so loud that she landed up putting her drawing tools away.

23507623_265890190602704_598888861069737984_n — Artwork by Marie-Noelle Wurm

Fortunately, she found a teacher, Sandrine Gaudet, who taught her to break down her inner hurdles – these voices inside of us that says we’re not good enough, not talented enough, to be artists – and she’s been pursuing her passion for art ever since.

Now, Marie-Noelle is a full time artist and illustrator, working as a freelancer. She’s living her dream life, but she wouldn’t have been able to do it if she didn’t learn ways to overcome her inner critic.

Teaching others

It is also Marie-Noelle’s passion to teach others how to overcome their inner critics, which she does through her online classes offered at Skillshare. She teaches:

Unleash your creativity: Draw without Fear
Secret tips and tricks to finding your voice as an artist
Plants and leaves: Growing your unique style through a visual library