Authentic. Genuine. Real. These are words I hear used a lot… especially in the art/online world. I know they are words I definitely use a lot myself. But they have always been incredibly important to me. And the truth is sometimes I hear people use these words and I become like Inigo Montoya in the Princess Bride… “You keep using that word… I do not think it means what you think it means…” Because I feel so passionately about this, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on the importance of authenticity.

I guess the best place to start is with me…

I’ve always felt very painfully me. I say painfully because of who I am. I’m awkward and quirky. I get excited about goofy things but I also have a very somber side. My brain processes things in a weird way and I don’t really fit in well… Even within my social circles I’ve always felt very “outside.” I wasn’t one of those people who could morph to fit in whether that was with friends, family, or whoever. And as a young person that can be really difficult. Because ultimately you want to be accepted and we are lead to believe that we can only be accepted if we fit into some sort of societally determined “norm.” Since I knew I didn’t fit into that definition of normal and I didn’t know how to not be me, I ended up being pretty quiet as a teen. Because that for me, was the only way I could attempt to “fit in.”

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve slowly found my voice. I’ve learned that fitting in is over-rated and there are more people who can relate to me (exactly as I am) than I realized. In fact, you’re probably here reading this because you’ve connected with some of my rambling writing, from the honesty of our struggle with infertility to some of the things I’ve shared about how my brain works. Truthfully, I find the things people connect to the most are the things that I used to be so afraid to share. Now I try to embrace those things – and no matter how anxious it makes me – I try to share all the weird, random, honest things that I think and experience with all of you!

But let’s talk about the creative world for a minute…
because a LOT has changed here over the years…

See this thing called the internet came around, and it’s amazing! It allows us to connect to people all over the world. We can converse with people we might never have met before. People from different countries, different upbringings and backgrounds. Artists of different talents and skills can share their process and their artwork. And through this electronic means of connection, we can expand our perspective, knowledge, and understanding, and ultimately connect with other people. And that is a fantastically awesome thing!

But sometimes there’s a problem…
Because sometimes this easy access to information leads to a lack of authenticity…

People are so driven to be “successful” that they fail to really showcase who they are. Instead of creating and finding their own voice, they recreate pins from pinterest, work off of pre-built marketing models and templates, mimic their competitors, and turn their business into a carbon copy of someone else’s business.

Take the photography industry… You may not know this, but our industry has changed a TON over the years… Some changes are good… Some not so much. One of the biggest changes is the accessibility of photography and the vast influx of photographers because of it! Many of these new photographers have no background or education in business, marketing, or photography. They have a passion and a camera and a dream in their heart. And those are wonderful thing! That’s where the fire starts – with that spark! But you can’t keep a fire burning for long without a steady source of fuel.

So… Out of a desire to help lift up this new generation of photographers, many seasoned and successful photographers have become teachers. These teacher-togs share their marketing, branding, designs, pricing, everything… expecting that their students will take the information and make it their own. But oftentimes that is not the case. Partly because they don’t know that’s what they are supposed to do and partly because they don’t know how to do it.

Ultimately what this leads to is a lot of photographers whose businesses, marketing and even artwork look almost identical. And with this intense similarity what you miss out on is… well… art! Because art (as it is defined in the dictionary) is the expression of the author’s imagination and skill. Art requires the heart, love, creativity, and passion of the artist. It requires a piece of yourself to be present in your work. Without that, without your unique voice… you fail as an artist.

I’m not saying you can’t be inspired by someone, but there is a difference between being inspired by someone and copying someone. When you are inspired by someone, you see their idea and it spurs an idea in you – it creates that spark that fuels you to build off of their idea to make something new. Recreating or copying someone is not art… it’s a photocopy, a scan, a dim reflection of the original creation… because a copy lacks HEART.

And to be honest I often feel my portraits are like photocopies. They are a dim reflection of the magnificence of the person God so perfectly created. My portraits are not the original – you are! And perhaps that is what has driven me into my fine art work… a desire to create and express in a different way. To further find my voice and give voice to emotions and stories that often lay buried. To take the love that I put into my portrait work one step further into my photographic storytelling process. Regardless of how or what I create – I’m committed to being real, genuine, and authentic… to creating artwork for you!

If you are an artist, whether you are a photographer, painter, videographer, writer, actor, or anything in between – I hope you take time to find your voice. I hope you don’t let fear hold you back from becoming who you could be. From truly being unique and one of a kind. Find those things that set you apart and build from them. Let your soul speak – and your art will speak for itself.