Meet Courtney Knockel

We were lucky to catch up with Courtney Knockel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Courtney, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

Imposter Syndrome is something that has held me back in my career for a long time. It wasn’t until fairly recently that I was able to put it behind me. As an artist, I often compared my work to others, especially in school. I never felt I was good enough and often struggled with perfectionism in my work. If things weren’t coming out perfect, I would tend to look on the piece in a negative light, I didn’t receive praise or compliments well from others, often doubting myself and my abilities. I never took the time to sit back and really appreciate the work I had done and the things I had accomplished. It’s almost like I was disassociating from the work. I would put many hours into a painting and only see the flaws when I was finished. I started noticing these negative habits and realized they weren’t serving me; I was only holding myself back by being so hard on myself. Once I was able to allow myself to look at things more objectively and not speak so harshly about myself, I was able accept the positive feedback from others (and more importantly, myself) and begin to step into my real potential as an artist.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a painter, I work primarily in acrylics. I started painting in high school; the art room was always where I felt most at home and able to be myself. Later, I went to school to be an art teacher at the University of Wisconsin. While I loved being back in the art room, I didn’t love teaching as much as I hoped I would. I felt that the teaching held me back from the art I wanted to create. It can be scary and overwhelming, but I finally decided to pursue my career as an artist. Deep down, that’s what I knew I always wanted to do. I was afraid to admit it because of the way artists are often portrayed; the people around me were constantly reminding me that it wasn’t a “real” way to make a living. It took me a long time to overcome this, but living authentically to yourself will always lead you to the right path. I’m currently on the journey of finding my niche – what I’m inspired by, what I want to create, etc. My art is really all over the place; when people ask me what I make it’s hard for me to narrow down my answer. I find myself getting lost in commissions. I started doing commissions so early on in my career that I didn’t really have my own style yet. It’s been hard for me to turn a commission down, and I often feel that they can hold me back from finding my voice as an artist. For context, a lot of my commission work is pet portraits. I really enjoy watching clients’ reactions when they see the finished piece – it can be very rewarding that way, but it’s hard to let the creativity flow when I’m painting something for somebody else. When I have time to make things for myself, I tend to gravitate toward surrealist ideas – combining nature with dreamlike ideas and concepts. My current goal is to continue exploring these ideas to see what I feel most called to and making more time to create for myself. I’ve also recently been venturing into putting my art on clothing. My friend and I have been collaborating on a project upcycling clothing from the thrift store and turning it into something new.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Perseverance, confidence, and time management skills

Accept that you’re not going to do your best work when first starting something, and don’t allow yourself to let that hold you back. Understand that everything is a process, and although it’s a cliche, practice is what will get you where you want to be. Persevere through the difficult times, put in the work, and eventually you will be rewarded. The more “no’s” you receive in life are just getting you closer to that “yes.”

Being confident in yourself and what you do will have the biggest impact on your work. I used to be afraid to tell people I was an artist when they asked what I did because I anticipated that their response would be negative or filled with judgment and doubt. I realized that this was just a mirror to what I felt internally. I doubted myself as an artist, I was constantly holding myself back because I didn’t think I was good enough. Overcoming the self doubt starts with belief in yourself and that can only come from yourself. “Fake it til you make it” can actually be good advice – start small, just by saying I was an artist out loud made me start to believe it and see it for myself.

My time management skills are still a work in progress, but I’ve realized that being intentional about how you spend your time is what will allow you to excel and meet your goals quicker. Be honest with yourself about how you’re spending your time, where you might be wasting it, and how you can make things more efficient. Each day, figure out which things are most important and do those first. As an artist, I am my own boss and that can make it easy to slack. Don’t allow yourself to be your own worst enemy, be disciplined and work for your future self.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My husband, my mom, and my grandma. Being able to have the support system I need to flourish and excel in my craft has been the biggest blessing. I wouldn’t be where I’m at today – pursuing my career as an artist, full-time – if it wasn’t for my family. They’ve seen my potential when I wasn’t able to see it myself, and have continued to push me to where I’m at now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.courtneyknockelartistry.com
• Instagram: @courtneyknockelartistry