You Are Not Alone in This

Today I want to talk about something that came up again and again when I asked you what you struggle with most — and it wasn’t composition, or colour, or knowing where to start.

It was confidence. That feeling of not being good enough.

And I want you to know: you are not alone in that. Not even slightly.

Here’s something I don’t talk about enough. When I first started painting, social media wasn’t really a thing. I wasn’t scrolling through hundreds of other artists’ work every day. I’d visit a gallery occasionally, look at paintings, and then just go home and paint. I allowed myself to create without constantly measuring myself against anyone else.

And then social media happened.

Suddenly I was comparing myself to everyone. And that voice in the back of my head got louder. This painting isn’t working. It’s not good enough. Look at what everyone else is creating.

I want you to hear this: that voice lies.

There is this myth that painting comes naturally — that some people are just gifted, just born with it. It is not true. I have worked incredibly hard to get to where I am. For the most part I did it alone, going to physical workshops that cost a lot of money, investing in my art education over many years and thousands of pounds. Today we are so fortunate to have access to learning online — and that has changed everything.

But none of that matters if you’re spending all your energy telling yourself you’re not good enough. Because here’s what science actually tells us: our brain cannot fully differentiate between what is real and what we repeatedly tell it. If you keep telling yourself you’re no good, your brain will believe it. And that belief will hold you back far more than any gap in technique ever could.

So here’s what I want you to do instead.

Talk to yourself like you talk to a friend. You wouldn’t tell a friend their painting was rubbish. You’d find the things that were working and build from there.

Look at master paintings — not just social media. Social media shows you everyone’s best work, perfectly lit, perfectly edited. The masters struggled too. Rembrandt painted over things. Monet destroyed canvases. Comparison is only useful when you’re comparing yourself to where you were — not where someone else is now.

Date your work and keep it. Pull out something you painted six months ago. I promise you’ll be surprised. You are better today than you were then — even if it doesn’t feel that way.

Know that the middle of a painting always feels awful. Always. That feeling of “this is a disaster” somewhere in the middle — that never fully goes away, even after twenty years. You just learn to trust that you’ll get through it. And you always do.

Paint small and paint often. Don’t wait for the perfect idea or the perfect moment. Pick up your brush even when it feels hard. Work small if you need to. Just keep going.

We are incredibly lucky as creatives. We get to make something out of nothing. We get to stop people in their tracks with a painting that speaks to them. We get to inspire people. That is a rare and precious thing — and it belongs to you too.

So here’s your task today. Pull out your last painting — or even a photo of it — and write down five things you love about it. Not what’s wrong with it. Five things you love. It might feel hard at first. Do it anyway.

You are better than you think you are. I genuinely believe that.

Happy painting 🎨

Michelle x