Michael Craig-Martin reflects on artistic practice from the perspective of both artist and teacher.

On Being An Artist combines memoir, professional reflection, and practical advice. Craig-Martin writes about his childhood in the postwar United States, his studies at Yale in the 1960s, his development as an artist, and his later work as a teacher in Britain. The book follows the formation of an artistic position through education, studio practice, teaching, exhibitions, and public recognition.

A central part of the book is Craig-Martin’s experience as a teacher and mentor. He taught several artists later associated with the Young British Artists generation, including Julian Opie, Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, Liam Gillick, and Gary Hume. His reflections focus less on formal instruction than on how artists develop confidence, judgment, independence, and a practical understanding of the art world.

Structured in short sections, the text moves between anecdote, self-examination, professional experience, and advice. It addresses questions of artistic identity, failure, ambition, work habits, teaching, influence, and the conditions under which an artist’s practice can develop. Rather than offering a fixed theory of art, On Being An Artist describes the practical, intellectual, and personal processes involved in becoming and remaining an artist.