How To Become An Artist

i became an artist because i read in a book that making art should not be restricted to those people with an artistic background, or went to artschool, or became artist by "chance", but that every single person could be a great artist.
this way i sold a few thousand records with my art. a modest success, but not that bad for purely experimental music.
also a lot of things happened, which i may write about in another text.

so, okay, the question is now: everyone can become an artist and do great art. but how, exactly? how does it work?

let me talk about this here. there are two things you should know:
"you cannot be what you are not" and "what you are is perfect"
this leads to two further statements: "you cannot be anything else than you are and this is perfect", also "you cannot be anything else than being perfectly yourself".

so what does this have to do with art you may ask.
let me explain it.

say, a person wants to become a musician. doing electronic music. electronic music is, as you know, build up of drums, percussion, synths, and other elements.

so he sits down and wants to write some tracks. but all he can come up with is drums and rhythm; he isn't good at doing the synths or adding vocals or whatever.

now, remember: "you cannot be what you are not". if you are not good at synths when doing music, this is probably
something you are not; you cannot do it then.
but he makes drums and rhythms. so this is what he is. and - now - "what you are is perfect". so this is already perfect! this means: rather than straining his abilities by trying without results again and again to master the use of synths too - just make tracks consisting only of drums and rhytms. (this doesn't mean you cannot do something else later, too, of course).
so this is what you are - you are good at drums. it comes natural for you. and if it is something that really is "in your blood", the tracks will sound good and interesting and exciting, even without synths.

another example. a person wants to write short stories. but he only comes up with the beginnings of stories, at which he is good - but can't continue and can't end them.
so, writing beginnings is something "he is". writing the rest is something he is not.
remember the "rules" i wrote again.
just collect the beginnings you wrote for the stories you abandoned - and if you have a larger amount of them, put them into a collection of "beginnings".
"beginnings without end". already a good book title, don't you think? and it will be something that is already different, and already sounds more exciting than most of the collection of short stories that are around.
again, this is what you are then, and it is perfect.

this could be put even further.
a girl wants to write poems but she cannot come up with anything at all.
just blank papers each time she sits down and tries to write something.
perfect, i say!
collect the blank papers. photograph them. "poems that were not". exciting idea, again. find a way to publish these blank papers; as a collage, as a set of photos, whatever.
you could also add on this and add to each blank a description of how the poem would've been if you had written it, or the reasons while you feel you could not. again, this is highly artistic, in my opinion.

now, you can also strain this a bit.
you want to create dance music. but you can't.
think of it again. you cannot be what you are not, and what you are is perfect.
even if you cannot easily create this type of music, there is probably some overlapping with that you are. there are some dance tracks you are particularly fond of. so, in some way, what you are encompasses this.
so try to write some dance music *in your way*. not in the way of others, but in your very own way. again this will be perfect.

so much for now. always remember. what you are is perfect.