Studio Log #4, Forza e Coraggio

"Forza e coraggio" is what Pietro Annigoni used to say to Daniel Graves as Daniel was leaving his studio after a critique. Whether it was meant as an idle farewell or as something more deeply felt is hard to say—but I’ve always taken it as the latter.

A former student wrote to me recently, at the beginning of her career and searching for a way forward. Her questions reminded me that every artist at this stage might need to hear the same thing:

The difficulty of an artist’s life is inseparable from the difficulty of life itself. Living with uncertainty demands constant consideration—sometimes hourly. I won’t go into the details, but I find myself facing this reality now more than ever. It is both terrifying and exhilarating. In these moments I think often of Rilke’s observation: “No feeling is final.”

So, what should you do in your work? Follow anything that gives you energy. At first, this may be hard to recognize, but once you begin to search for it, you’ll feel it when it's there. Thinking longer term- you'll learn to run towards it.

And then there is the second, even harder step: breaking through the barrier of sharing what you love with the world. More than any other advice I give, this is the one almost never followed. Success—especially financial success—rarely arrives uninvited. It must be created. There are countless ways to do this; and your way isn't likely to be the same as mine. But for sure I can say this: marketing and business are not enemies of art—they are its necessary companions.

I have more to say, but not the time to say it now. For the moment, remember this: be brave, and invest in yourself. No artist survives without doing so.

What this looks like in your studio life:

• Pay attention to what gives you energy—look for the patterns and double down on them.

• Marketing and money are not distractions; they’re tools that strengthen your art career. Pick one simple action this week—post a drawing online, record a 30-second video of yourself drawing, share a work-in-progress instead of waiting for perfection.