In my experience, the best way to start learning the guitar is to know the f**king notes.
Yeah, you're an artist. But you've got one thing down on you, you're also a guitarist. Every guitar store in the world is home to the masses of Peruvian monkeys who play Stairway to Heaven on Red Stratocasters. Your friend stopped next to you, at the parking light? He plays guitar. So does your dentist, and your tax collector. Everyone plays guitar.
However, the majority of these people aren't guitarists, they're human tablablature playback devices. The guitar is an instrument of harmony. Each note, even in the same octave, can be played in any number of places on the neck of the guitar. Multiple notes can be played at the same time, with no limit to the amount of variation. So, learn all the [musical scales|scales, all the chords, all the diatonic chords, and all the tricks. Which note is that? It's F#. Does it belong in an A minor scale? No. Can I play Bb major in a F scale? Sure. Don't just fumble around. Know this stuff.
The idea is that the more fluent you are with an instument, the fewer thought cycles it requires for you to remember a chord or a scale, the better will be your ability to make music with the guitar.