Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

In Chapter 9, Kleon ask his reader to assess their own behavior as an artist. Rather than focus on one’s behavior toward the larger community, this chapter focuses on creatives’ behaviors toward themselves and conveys Kleon’s interest in self-care and in art as an inherently beneficial process.

It also challenges the trope of the “tortured artist” (119), a trope that Kleon thinks is informed by a handful of notable artists in the 21st century who either suffered from addiction or exhibited troubled behavior. Published in 2012, Kleon’s writing predates the cultural shifts that led to the coalescence of the #MeToo movement in 2016. Kleon bluntly states that the behavior of those dubbed “tortured” is “for the superhuman and those who want to die young” (119). Rather than taking away from the tragedy of artists who lived short lives, he emphasizes how the behavior of a “tortured artist” is not a pre-requisite to making good art. On the contrary, the tone and argument of Kleon’s book promotes the idea that art is part of a healthy, active and enriching experience for both the creative and others. His encouragement and deliberately sunny tone and his assurance that art is for everyone challenge the trope of the “tortured artist.” Kleon also presents his reader with several practical strategies for maintaining wellbeing, such as having a routine and keeping a day job to alleviate financial anxiety. His approach supports his argument that creativity is in a virtuous cycle with wellbeing.