An artist’s work need only land, at first, with one or two people who receive inspiration and value from it. That’s enough to keep us going.
We know the people exist who will appreciate our work. The name of the real game is finding them. Or helping them to find us. It’s exposure. It’s showing up where the conversations are taking place and engaging. It’s intentional representation.
The more engaging we do, the more people see and buy our art, plain and simple. Then we are free to spend more time creating, improving and engaging further.
Creating and sharing. These are the two greatest needs of every artist.
Not fame.
Not millions.
To create and to share.
If an artist can live by doing these two things efficiently, she has become a success story.
This is a simple model. Why then do so many artists see an artistic lifestyle as one so out of reach? Why did I?
(The recipe)
:: SOME COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT LIFE AS AN ARTIST ::
1. You Have a Choice
The truth of the matter is you don’t. Anyone with an innate talent or skill in a craft has an accompanying need (and obligation) to exploit it, to use it, to practice it, to create with it. Even if the talent or craft is not immediately evident or takes more work to cultivate, an artist is an artist. We all come complete with an artist’s soul.
And that soul will not shut up. It will nag at you until you listen, even if that listening is done on your deathbed in the form of a regret.
You do not have a choice in whether or not you are an artist. You have a choice whether or not you live as one.
2. Only Famous (and usually dead) Artists Make Money
As a child, though I didn’t know how to express it at the time, I had a dualistic perception of working artists. They were either rich (on exhibit at MOMA, making big budget films in Hollywood, styling those Hollywood types for the red carpet, on the Best Seller rack at Barnes and Noble) or they were starving, living like a perpetual college student in a tiny apartment, sustained by Ramen noodles and a prayer.
I never saw the artistic “middle class”.
In other words, I never saw the real artists. Because they were all doing what they were meant to do, creating and sharing. They weren’t preoccupied with barely reachable fame. And they weren’t kidding themselves thinking all they needed was that one big break.
“Middle class” artists have one goal : to create a sustainable and comfortable life for themselves through their art. To do the work, day in and day out, because that’s what inspires, fulfills and motivates them.
3. Artists Need to be Discovered
If there’s any one belief that has kept more artists from realizing their true potential, I think this must be it.
One of the most exciting aspects of the digital revolution has been and continues to be the opportunities afforded to artists to put their work into the world in unique and creative ways, reaching anyone with an internet connection. There are countless platforms and communities allowing artists to reach their true fans without the help of or need for a “discoverer.”
The real benefits of being discovered these days comes down to capital and branding, which are always helpful, but certainly not necessary to build a life and career from your art.
4. Artists Don’t Want to Work
I’d like to make a video of as many artists as possible reacting to this statement.
My own immediate reaction is anger. But looking deeper, I realize that individuals who think this way are more than likely doomed to an uninspiring, unfulfilled life of drudgery and regret. Then my reaction is changed to sadness.
To say an artist doesn’t want to work is like saying a dolphin doesn’t want to perform. It does, it just doesn’t want to perform according to your rules.
If there’s anything an artist is built to do, it’s work. “Do the work” is Steven Pressfield’s way of describing the artist’s task in The War of Art.
“Work” as defined by a person who would make a statement such as this is defined in a distinctly 20th century way. Work consists of a series of rote movements motivated by a paycheck and maybe a bonus. Work from this perspective is almost always done for someone else and almost never with a view to individual growth and potential.
An artist’s work looks nothing like this 20th century job, but is in fact centered on individual growth and potential both of the artist and of the appreciator of the art.
To live a life absent of inspiration and passion, of self and/or world exploration as many 20th century workers do, isn’t possible for an artist. For these are the means of our work, our raw materials. The raw materials which make up our different, though infinitely more authentic work.
If you are an artist finding yourself in such a discouraging 20th century work environment, run for your life. The longer you remain detached from your creative center, the more lifeless it becomes. Which brings us to the next misconception.
5. Artists Don’t HAVE to Work
In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield equates pursuing your creative genius with joining the Marine Corps.
In a sectioned called “How to Be Miserable” he says this
“An artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell, whether he knows it or not. He will be dining for the duration on a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt, and humiliation.”
ARE YOU READY TO SIGN UP YET ?!
Why in God’s name would I include this bit in a piece meant to inspire and motivate artists? Because if the miserable part of art doesn’t motivate you, you’re probably not an artist.
Moving through Resistance in order to tap into your creative center is the most challenging part of being an artist, it isn’t the art itself.
The ruthless tenacity that is required of us is far more than what is required to get out of bed and make it to the office (or wherever you’re going) on time.
6. There’s No Money in Art
That depends.
How much money are you looking for?
Are you looking for millions like the Hollywood stars? Then you might as well cast your lot in with all the poor saps buying scratch cards from the 7 Eleven or get in a different line of work. The artistic life is not for you.
By no means am I against dreaming big, and if reaching Hollywood is your lifetime goal, more power to you!
I propose being open to the millions, aiming for the thousands, and preparing for the hundreds.
What if you broke your artistic lifestyle down into manageable pieces, like you do with a budget?
How many of which pieces of art would you need to sell at what price in order to live?
Once you begin to see yourself come closer and closer to self-sustaining through your art, one piece at a time, suddenly the possibilities open up before you.
The realistic possibility of living an artistic lifestyle becomes much more plausible when viewed from the ground up. The more willing and/or able you are to live minimally (for 1,000 days) in favor of your artistic calling, the more realistic this dream becomes.
The point is, there is money in art. If you’re patient, fiercely committed, and strategic, then making a living from your art isn’t nearly as out of reach as most artists think.
7. It’s a Good Idea to go to Art School First
No, it’s not.
I used to think this too and was looking into getting a $30,000 loan to attend an LA design school.
About 6 months later everything changed and school was no longer a realistic possibility. I felt completely in the dark as to how to pursue a life and career that was meaningful and fulfilling to me.
I knew one thing, I didn’t want it to depend on a resume. And whatever form my ambitions took, I knew I was on my own to make them happen. No “school” as a crutch.
I guess that was two things, but you see my point.
School is an excuse. It’s a good excuse, but still, I think, an excuse.
Why do you need to spend thousands of extra dollars per semester (not to mention all the hours to make those thousands at a “real job”) just to reach the end of your studies to be met with the pressure of having to pay back those thousands , ideally with your art sales, but probably not since you won’t have had time to do much of it outside your classes and other work obligations?
8. You’re (Art)Work is Nothing New
If Solomon, often identified as the wisest man who ever lived, can write an entire book about it, we can be sure, some 3,000 years later, that there is still “nothing new under the sun.”
Except one thing.
You.
That’s the difference in your art, in all our art. If we don’t embrace this one huge glaring reality, our work won’t only fall flat much of the time, we’re also missing one of the most valuable assets in the money making business, personality.
While art can be about technique, principle, and good design, it is even more about expression, perspective, and STORY.
The first three things are largely objective, the last three things are entirely subjective. It’s that subjectivity that makes your art unique and valuable in its own right.
You could say, it’s the “you” in your art.
9. There is a Direct Path to Success as an Artist, All You Have to do is Find it
The path to success in almost anything has been dramatically changing since the internet took over. Since social media, times that last sentence by three.
Direct paths are no longer. Success now depends on just how creative (and persistent) you can be. The man of the hour’s name is Captain Unconventional. And if any group of people is ready to take on the challenge of being creatively unconventional, it’s the art community.
10. Artists Are Not Business People
Do you happen to remember #1 in this list? It was a long way back so I’ll remind you.
It said you don’t have a choice about being an artist.
The same is true about being a business person.
You may not like business talk, business concepts or business taxes, but if you’re going to be a successful artist by creating and sharing your work, you’re going to be a successful business person. And you’re going to do so by surrounding yourself with other good business people, artist or not.
Somewhere over the past year, being an artist and being a business became synonymous for me. Since then, both have come more easily and more enjoyably.
“Real artists ship.”
What does this statement mean to you?
A few months ago, I watched an hour long “lost” interview with Steve Jobs. I left really understanding what he meant when he said “real artists ship.” To listen to Steve talk about his own artistic journey, his products, his vision, you cannot miss the supreme importance of the connection between his creations and the USER. He was wildly motivated by the idea of his work affecting people and the world.
Real artists affect people and the world with their work. Real artists don’t just create. They SHARE. This is the business part of being an artist. So yes, we are business people. We ship.
As I near the time when I will push publish on this post today, I remember that it is my obligation as an artist.
Publish.
… .
(Source: misconceptionsonartlife)
