We recently connected with Lacey Newhard and have shared our conversation below.
Lacey, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
In my experience, the key to confidence begins with accepting a rather counterintuitive notion: no one cares about you, or what you’re doing. It sounds pessimistic, but I promise, it isn’t. It’s a lovely, humbling, and freeing reminder that you can do whatever you want, and that the perceived judgement from the world around you is all in your beautiful little head.
In the beginning of my journey as an artist, I was so embarrassed by posting my work on socials that I would practically throw my phone across the room and squeal every time I hit ‘Share’. The idea that my peers would see me trying for something I really wanted felt incredibly uncomfortable, and I had endless anxiety about what people might think of me when they my work. Would they think I was good enough to make it? Would they cringe at my effort? Would they roll their eyes at yet another twenty-something trying to make a creative life work?
All of these anxieties were rooted in the belief that people were thinking about me, that I was being perceived. But it became quite clear to me that this wasn’t true when I thought about the creatives I knew who were also starting out. Did I care that the article they posted only got 300 views– did I even notice? Did I take more than 0.5 seconds to scroll to the next post? No, I did not.
I realized I was worrying what people thought, when in all likelihood, people weren’t thinking about me at all. This freed me to begin practicing small acts of confidence– introducing myself an artist, posting more, talking up gallerists. Every time you flex that small muscle of ‘no one cares’, it becomes easier. Confidence becomes nature rather than something you have to talk yourself into. I ended up finding that the more confident I pretended to be, the more external validation I ended up receiving, and the more my genuine confidence began to grow. So in short, I faked it til I made it, and I ended up surprising myself. Confidence came from taking the ego out of it, and allowing my authentic expression to take the reins.
Confidence comes from doing what you want in spite of other peoples opinions, not from trying to pander to them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a contemporary painter who lives and works in Manhattan, New York.
I am currently working on a collection which explores daydreams, and the idea that what we fantasize about says so much about who we are and the society we live in. In particular, the works in this collection focus on daydreams that center around the idea of ‘girlhood’.
This came as a response to the a cultural shift in which I saw so women wanting to return to their girlhood state, while young girls seemed to be cosplaying as twenty-somethings. Grown women are eating up ‘coquette aesthetics’, while 13 year olds apply prescription strength retinols. This series explores womanhood and girlhood as states of fantasy versus reality, and my goal is for each piece to be a kind of love letter to both versions of the feminine experience.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Commitment. Everything begins to change once you put your money where your mouth is, quit your day job, and force yourself to make it work. The hardest part is making the leap, but if you stay with one foot out the door you’ll never get as much out of it. You have to commit if only to make sure that you stay on top of your goals, and treat this career with as much seriousness as any traditional 9 to 5.
2. Persistence. I think in creative paths, we are constantly told that it’s really hard to ‘make it’. But it’s so important to be willing to keep trying even if you’re struggling. Someone told me once that if I knew I was only 100 rejections away from something great happening for me, I would stop fearing failure and I’d likely apply to about 20x more opportunities. This is how I like to think about it now– even though I haven’t reached my goals yet doesn’t mean I’m not on my way. Every rejection is a step toward something.
3. Optimism. I think of every really cool painter or creative that I look up to. Most of them spend the first decade of their career struggling. In moments out doubt, I look at where they started and where they are now. The difference between the ones who make it and the ones who don’t isn’t boiled down to talent or even luck– it is about the ones who believed that they deserved the spaces they occupied. You have to be the first believe that you can do it. Trust in your skill, work ethic, and taste and know that if you put everything into this, you can be a success.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am currently looking to collaborate with other young, New York based artists who stand in solidarity with Palestine.
My goal is to put together a small show of donated paintings, to auction them off, and to give all the proceeds to the World Central Kitchen in an effort to help provide aid to Gaza. If you know or are an artist who is looking to merge their passion for art with humanitarian purpose, please reach out to me via my website.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.laceynewhard.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laceynewhard.art/
Image Credits
Calli Ferguson
