Which comes first...?

This week, my friend and fellow artist Alice Sheridan said something that really made me stop and think:

I am paraphrasing a longer talk, but basically I think her point was:

"We can't be expressive in our art unless we are willing to be expressive in our life.
We can't expect to show up fully on the canvas if we won’t show up fully in our lives."

Let me just say that it's quite possible I misunderstood or am simplifying what she said and if so, I'm sorry Alice! It just really resonated with things I've been thinking about.

I think there’s real truth in that statement. How can we expect to paint boldly if we’re still holding ourselves back everywhere else? How can we expect to express deep feeling if we’re not allowing ourselves to feel it off the canvas?

But even as I nodded along… I found myself questioning it also.

Because I’ve seen something else happen. I’ve seen it happen hundreds — maybe thousands — of times inside my courses and my Art Tribe membership.

Initially, someone shows up for their art timidly, tentatively, nervously…but somewhere along the way, something shifts.

They start to give more time to their creativity. They use a colour they never previously dared to use. They make a messy painting and don’t apologise for it. They let go of their limiting beliefs just a little.

And then — like magic — their life starts to shift, too.

They buy a red coat. They refuse to make dinner after a tiring day at work. They leave more space in their day just for themselves. They stop apologising quite so much.

It’s as if the canvas becomes a kind of testing ground — a space where they get to practice showing up in a way they haven’t before. And gradually, it starts to spill out, from the studio, into the rest of their life.

I think this happens a lot for me too. The more brave and expressive I get with my art, the more I learn to be brave and expressive in my life.

So which comes first — the bold life, or the bold art?

I’m not sure there’s one answer; maybe it depends on the person. Or maybe it’s not a straight line, but more like a loop — one feeding the other, back and forth.

Perhaps as Alice says, some people have to make braver life decisions before they be brave in their art. But also maybe sometimes an artist can make a bold painting and then realise they’re braver than they thought.

I suppose what I’ve come to believe is this: Your art and life are not separate.

They are two parts of the same self. Two expressions of the same inner voice.

If you’re feeling stuck in your painting, maybe the shift does need to happen outside the studio. But maybe, just maybe, you can start right there — with the paint. Maybe you can make a brushstroke that’s messier than you’re used to, or use a colour that feels like too much. Maybe you can spend some time in the studio even though you haven't finished all your chores and errands. 

Maybe showing up fully in life begins with showing up fully at the easel.

I don’t think Alice is wrong (or should I say what I understood Alice to mean). But I also think there’s more than one way in.

So if you are seeking expression in your art,  ask yourself both questions:

"Do I need to be bolder in my life, so I can be bolder in my art?”

And also:

Can I be bolder in my art and then see what follows in my life?

You don’t need to overhaul everything to get more expressive. You just need one honest move. One brave choice. One moment where you show up fully — whether that’s in paint, or speech, or action.

The rest will come :)