08/07/2025
When I set out to become an artist fresh out of college, I pictured endless hours of inspiration and creativity in the studio, producing massive amounts of art, and selling my work in galleries around the world.
Reality often clashed with this ideal (surprise!) through seasons of life changes, raising kids, and working in nonprofit and ministry world. Although my romanticized vision of being an artist has changed, the passion to create beauty in a broken world has never wavered.
If I could go back in time, here are some things I would tell my beginner artist self:
🔹Full time art is a business, requiring many non-artsy abilities.
🔹You will use math a lot in art! (Sorry math haters!)
🔹As much as you want the art to speak for itself, you still have to talk about your art.
🔹You are your best source material: refer back to older work to remind you what inspires you the most.
🔹Making what resonates with YOU is going to be your strongest work. Quit worrying about trends or what others like and tell your own story.
🔹You will have to do work you don’t enjoy to support the work you do enjoy. (This may seem obvious but I fought it for a long time)
🔹Art is done best in community. Sharing your work with others, getting honest feedback, talking through ideas are essential to keep going.
Which of these is the most surprising?
If you’re an artist, what would you add to the list?
📷: .pix.photos