Why Does Art Hurt Sometimes?

Why Does Art Hurt Sometimes?

by Mario A. Campanaro

As I sit down to write this week’s blog, I find myself struggling with what to explore. Normally, inspiration strikes with a specific message, and the process flows freely from there. But something feels different this week. Why the block? Why the hesitation?

And then it hit me: I am not being stifled. I’m being detoured and led to a question that has been coming up time and time again with students and private clients alike.

“Why does art hurt so much? Why does something we love so deeply sometimes bring so much pain?”

Without fail, this question resonates with me on a profound level because I understand the depths from which it arises. It’s not just a question to solve, like a puzzle or an equation. It’s one of the soul. And, as I’ve come to understand, it doesn’t have a finite answer, because each individual’s path, mission, and purpose is different.

But what I do know is this:

Art requires awareness. Awareness leads to questioning. Questioning leads to truthful acknowledgment. Acknowledgment leads to a desire to grow. Growth leads to the need for action. Action leads to growing pains. Growing pains lead to transformation. Transformation leads to evolution. And evolution inevitably leads to the hunger to create and reveal, on both an individual and a global scale.

This process is like no other. The artistic journey asks us to look at aspects of ourselves and the world in ways we typically wouldn’t in our everyday lives. As we begin to confront deeper truths, we’re presented with a choice: Do we allow these truths and heightened experiences to stifle us, forcing us into a protective shell, one that isn’t authentic? Or do we allow these experiences to open us up, to spark an expansive creative transformation?

When we choose the latter, our sensitivity to inner knowingness becomes sharper and more pronounced. Our relationship with our true selves becomes more accessible, more visceral. At times, this process can be frightening, and yes, even painful. It begins to dismantle a structure that no longer serves us. A physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual cleanse and recalibration occur. And with this comes an awakening to a deeper need for change—a change that serves our best and highest purpose as artists.

This revolution in our lives may feel like a tremendous tidal wave, breaking down barriers, shifting relationships, and opening up space within us that has always been there but hasn’t been easily accessible. We begin to thirst for the truth. We become more aware of the energy within and around us, realizing how certain energies either nourish or deplete our creative field. We begin to feel things at a much deeper level. Our perception shifts, our listening intensifies, and that subtle voice within our heart and soul starts to speak a truth that we’ve long ignored.

Once this magical door opens, a whole new world of feelings associated with the human condition begins to serve as an artist’s treasure chest. We discover the color wheel of Life in a way we never have before. This is a gift—a profound opportunity to understand, feel, and utilize the human experience. It becomes a new relationship with the self, with our work, and with the world.

This discovery of the human condition allows us to finally be without limitations. We are, and always have been, everything and all things if we just allow ourselves to tap into our own infinity. The pain we feel is actually a sign of a new beginning as an artist—a creative rebirth. It hurts because of all the love that is attached to it. An inexplicable love for creation.

And like any birth, the pain that accompanies it is a small price to pay for the priceless miracle of any high-vibrational creation. These creations serve not only us as artists but also the greater good of our collective.

Copyright © 2025 Mario A. Campanaro, All rights reserved.