The Tormented Artist: How Stereotypes Hold Us Back.

We all know the trope of the brooding writer and the tortured soul of the painter — but it might be time to replace them with something better.

Pained and Suffering.

There is an unspoken assumption running beneath our image of the “artist.” The greatest creative minds are almost always the most tormented ones. From Van Gogh to Anne Sexton, Michelangelo to Frida Kahlo — artists of all kinds have been portrayed in popular culture as long-suffering, mentally ill caricatures of humanity with laundry lists of tragedy peppering their childhoods and adult lives.

And while it would take a book to explore the why of our obsession with this image, it begs the question: Why does torment have to be a part of the creative process?

I remember the day I first learned about Frida Kahlo. I was in my high school art class looking through a book about famous female painters. Frida stood out to me in a way the others didn’t. It’s not a surprise — she has that effect on a lot of people.

What struck me the most, however, was the focus this book put on the pain she endured throughout her life. From the physical disabilities she endured as a result of a childhood bike…