Why Artists Need Artists
It never fails when someone joins our sketching groups that they light up in excitement that they have found their tribe. It’s the euphoric high that rushes over their body sitting side by side with other artists that get them. It’s an instant connection and conversations flow with ease. To an artist this is everything. It’s that boost of support that gets them motivated to create more, try new things, and improve their craft.
I wrote a poem about this. Please share it with other artists. The poem can easily cross over to anyone in the “arts.” I hope you connect with it and you find your art tribe.
Your art buddy,
Julie
How does one drown out the noise?
by Julie Kukreja
How does one drown out the noise?
And hear one's own voice?
The frequency only artists know.
A silent pitch humming beneath the surface,
a secret language— spoken in brushstroke,
breath, and silence.
Stories and adventures hidden in pigment
and pause, eyes tracing meaning on the
edge of emptiness.
What lives there:
dreams, confessions, memories,
coiled and waiting beneath each layer—
visible only to others who know how to look.
As the artist chooses their canvas.
The muse sparks an idea,
a flicker only an artist would see,
a heartbeat beyond words.
A memory, a moment in time,
deep pain or endless joy.
But now, how to unravel this story?
As the artist selects their medium.
Emotions fill empty voids,
colors bloom and collapse,
questions spiral:
What if, what now, what’s next?
The story begins to unfold,
and ideas begin to pour—
a path, a direction, an overwhelming sensation.
As the artist chooses their tools.
They contemplate the blank terrain,
an empty wilderness to others, but to artists,
a possibility.
Should it be abstract, direct, or whimsical?
What is the heart of this story?
Or should the viewer decide its meaning?
As the artist begins to doodle.
Ten thousand thoughts, ideas, and plans
flood their mind with decisions.
Like a scientist chasing a Nobel Prize,
with research, theories, and problem-solving.
As the artist arranges the composition.
Distractions, self-doubt, and comparison
creep in, like shadows at the door.
Outside, voices: 'Why bother?'
Inside, the artist knows the direction.
Thoughts that begin to paralyze,
blocking creativity, what once poured out.
How does one drown out the noise?
The answer is ‘never alone’,
As the artist starts to sketch.
The vision is set, but the path remains
unknown. ‘Trust the process’ echoes in
their mind.
Exploring lines, textures, and colors side by
side, undoing, scraping, and layering corrections,
As the artist begins the painting.
Pause.
Step back.
Squint, stare.
Walk away.
Nap.
Take a snack,
come back.
Fresh eyes with renewed intention,
Energy returns, flows, and dances,
A symphony of movement, an orchestra in
concert, the brush swishes, dips, and splatters,
As the artist becomes the painting.
Time passes, patterned in steps,
with love, frustration, rainbows of emotion.
This ritual is understood by some as what is
poured into every step, every piece,
As the artist finishes their creation.
How does one drown out the noise?
Of those who cannot see the fire?
Their eyes slide past, unknowing
each step, each brushstroke met with silence.
“Not for me,” they mutter, walking on.
“Get a real job,” their words clang, heavy.
A tide of indifference rises and drowns out the room.
The echo of absence pounds louder than the voices.
In that undertow, the artist’s chest tightens—
Is it enough? Am I enough?
And yet, the need to create burns on.
Other artists help drown out the noise—
a glance, a nod, no explanation needed.
They know the ritual, the ache,
the wild hope.
It's an understanding that connects,
deeper than friendship,
a lifeline hidden beneath the surface,
a raft built from understanding and midnight confessions.
Artists supporting each other become a
salvation, without which the solitary journey
would drown.
As the artist's chest rises a bit higher.
The art and the artist are the same,
both invisible to most,
except to those who carry the same ember,
which is hard to explain to others.
That is why the artist looks for the other
artist, to survive, to create, to be understood.
This journey needs heroes and champions
to guide the artist on their crusade.
As the artist starts a new painting.