215: THE INVISIBLE DAM OF EXPECTATIONS (w/ Audra Auclair)

Audra Auclair is a Canadian artist whose work has spanned across many mediums.  She has been exhibited locally and internationally in Australia and America.  Although she achieved a Graphic Design degree, she instead specializes in exploring the surreal and beautiful female form with her transcendent fusion of fine art and illustration. She also has a YouTube channel, in which she focuses on art, mentality, and life, within an honest and calm atmosphere. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/audraauclair In this episode, Audra discusses: -How she got to the point that she is at today in her artistic career. -Why she decided to move to Thailand to find her style. -How the way to find your style is to let go instead of trying too hard. -How she balances her time with creating art and also managing the business aspects of being a professional artist. -How she schedules her days and weeks. -The importance of trusting your intuition when you feel like you are supposed to do something, even if there isn’t a good reason. -Why she started her YouTube channel and some of her plans for the channel going forward. -The idea of attacking your creative weaknesses instead of repeating what you are good at. -The experience of opening up her sketchbook on YouTube for a “sketchbook tour.” -The long and arduous process of creating a new graphic novel with her boyfriend, Lopi. -Putting off creating something because of the voice in your head that tells you that “you’re not good enough yet.” -The struggle of trying to find free time to work on personal projects. -Not getting too caught up in comparing yourself to other artists and continuing to draw every day. -The importance of taking inspiration from the real world around you. -Not feeling the pressure to share all of your work. Audra's Final Push will inspire you to do your art for yourself and to stop comparing it to others!   Quotes: “I didn’t have any proper style because I was still getting to know myself and my art.” “When you think you want to do art, there’s so many paths that you can take.” “There was an invisible dam that I had created with all these expectations.  I thought I needed to be an illustrator or a graphic designer.  I couldn’t just be an artist for some reason.” “I didn’t realize that all I really needed to do was be myself, do what I wanted, and everything would fall into place.” “It’s hard for me to like a finished painting the next day.” “It’s a struggle because you want to make sure that everything’s perfect, but there’s a point where you have to say, ‘It’s never going to get done if I’m going to wait for this thing to be perfect.’” “I think that this is going to be the biggest project I do in my life.” Links mentioned: Kim Jung Gi The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss Connect with Audra: Website / Instagram / YouTube / Tumblr / Twitter / Patreon On the next episode: Lana Crooks : Website / Instagram Join the creative discussion over at the Facebook group!