An artist's survival guide, written by and for working artists. The authors explore the way art gets made, the
reasons it doesn't get made, and the nature of the difficulties that cause so many artists to give up along the
way.
"This is a book about making art. Ordinary art. Ordinary art means something like: all art not made by Mozart.
After all, art is rarely made by Mozart-like people; essentially--statistically speaking--there aren't any people
like that. Geniuses get made once-a-century or so, yet good art gets made all the time, so to equate the making
of art with the workings of genius removes this intimately human activity to a strangely unreachable and unknowable
place. For all practical purposes making art can be examined in great detail without ever getting entangled in
the very remote problems of genius."--from the Introduction
Art & Fear explores 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. The book's co-authors, David Bayles and Ted Orland, are themselves
both working artists, grappling daily with the problems of making art in the real world. Their insights and observations,
drawn from personal experience, provide an incisive view into the world of art as it is expeienced by artmakers
themselves.
This is not your typical self-help book. This is a book written by artists, for artists--it's about what it feels
like when artists sit down at their easel or keyboard, in their studio or performance space, trying to do the work
they need to do. First published in 1994, Art & Fear quickly became an underground classic. Word-of-mouth response
alone--now enhanced by internet posting--has placed it among the best-selling books on artmaking and creativity nationally.
Art & Fear has attracted a remarkably diverse audience, ranging from beginning to accomplished artists in every
medium, and including an exceptional concentration among students and teachers. The original Capra Press edition
of Art & Fear sold 80,000 copies.