If you've heard something about an artist who showcased controversial works or dreamt of museum fame, then it's better not to start. In short, if you want everything all at once, then it's better not to start.
You should only start in one case. If hundreds of fresh ideas are swirling in your head, itching to be unleashed onto paper no matter what. And if you're okay financially even without drawing.
The profession of an artist, in terms of prestige, income, and effort, holds a high position. But not for everyone. And not everywhere. Be prepared to hear "what's the big deal about waving a brush here" and "why get tired from just moving a pencil on paper," as well as the masterpiece "and you're asking for so much money for these three lines?"
You probably won't make huge amounts of money. But you'll definitely ruin your nervous system and all other aspects of your health. If you have a dog or a parrot, they'll die. Firstly, you won't have anything to feed them, and secondly, you simply won't have time. If that doesn't stop you, then keep reading. When an artist says they're an artist.
When an Artist Says They're an Artist
How can an artist attract clients without advertising? Let's start by understanding what advertising is. If an artist runs their blog, which automatically increases the site's ranking in search engine ratings and boosts traffic to the site, is that advertising?
And what if the artist writes a very useful post, providing valuable recommendations? And then they want as many people as possible to benefit from these recommendations? Because they're genuinely helpful. How should we perceive a request to share the post in a group with 100,000 followers?
Yes, undoubtedly, when an artist shouts about being the best among all artists, it doesn't look great, agreed. And if they further promote themselves in ads with a cry of "come to me, I'll draw everyone better than anyone!" I sense your smiles. But. If an artist knows how to, for example, decorate a living room or office, or how to draw an apple, or choose brushes, and they write a series of posts about it in their group or profile, why not share this useful series with people? They're not directly advertising themselves. They're not promoting their services overtly and with a shout. They're doing it much more delicately and effectively. They simply provide value in their posts and want as many people as possible to read them to genuinely help as many people as possible.
Thanks to these actions, on one hand, information about the artist spreads, and on the other hand, clients find them and place orders. Everyone reads tons of articles and posts on Facebook. Suddenly, they come across an article by an Artist. The reader likes it and subscribes to a series of similar posts. It's all ethical and beautiful, isn't it? Then the reader feels a connection with the Artist, resonates with something (or doesn't, everyone has their preferences), and reaches out to the artist to buy paintings. Here, too, everything is ethical.
How will you know if it worked?
In my opinion, knowing the answer to this question is very important. People come to me with the request "teach me how to draw." But how will you know when you're already capable and have learned?
Another request is "how to sell paintings?" How will you know when you're capable of selling your paintings? The question is not as simple as it seems at first glance. When I was learning, my teachers of drawing and painting often used to say a phrase for some reason: "Well, now you've learned how to do a job that puts bread and butter on the table." We didn't just draw or come up with ideas. We worked. We thought with our hands. This phrase was uttered every time we submitted our work. A special praise sounded like "This is already caviar on bread and butter." It might seem like a triviality… but you never know what might strike a chord with someone.
This was in the early 90s. Back then, there were no Lexuses, laptops, or iPhones. We used ink and a pen to show frost on bare tree branches. The quality of execution (not the idea or the flight of thought) was evaluated separately. Do you catch my drift? Why am I telling you this? I'm showing you an achievement. What I'm capable of. Doing. Such works and selling them. It hit me literally the other day. And how do you personally understand when you've achieved something?
Impressions from browsing an online gallery
Saturday night thoughts. Impressions from viewing a mass of artworks, more than 15,000 in a couple of days. I was looking in a popular online gallery, in the painting category.
And do you know what tired me out? What predominates in the mass of works?
From fashionable abstract portraits. Very colorful. I especially note the expressions on the faces, they are either frightened or angry mostly. And this combination of depression in emotion and vividness in presentation gives a dual feeling, unpleasant for me personally.
From smudges with dirty shades, a messy mishmash passed off as flights of fancy in abstraction. Well, of course, it's all abstraction. It's just widespread and mass trash. Where do artists get so much dirt in color, it's a mystery. Why they choose to make the size of the work bigger, that's also a mystery to me.
And the masterpieces. Human bodies with distorted proportions. No, it's not a technique working on the idea in a series of paintings. It's one leg longer than the other in mid-air. It's rubbery stretched arms that, if straightened alongside the body, reach the knees. And naked bodies fragmented, with a focus on the genitalia. You know, they depict something very strained, and with wild shades too.
What did the eyes find restful? On proper proportions. On skillful color solutions. On techniques that work for the idea and are fully justified. And on realism. Yes-yes. Among the fashionable abstractions, realistic works attract. This is what I wanted to look at, and I wanted to get to know the authors.
And it turns out that these authors not only have decent paintings. But also decent graphics and drawing. Even if they have different themes and genres and subjects and fantasies. I am all for good taste. In both abstraction and realism. And for respectful treatment of the human body. And you, as you browse through the works of other artists in large numbers, what do they exhibit? What are your overall impressions? Please share.
Communication in social media posts
Why do I ask for a description and make a request when posting your paintings as separate posts? Description in the post with the painting: it's the author, technique, size, year of creation, country (city), preferably the title. This description is also called "cataloging," meaning the method accepted in catalogs.
The rest is a request. What is a request? It's either a question or a plea. A question that can be answered and then discussed. A plea is similar. From the series: advise, help, what do you think, all questions go here. Responding to a post without a question is not a very good reaction. So, the artist wrote something. And? There's no question. Here are also the expectations from participants that they will write something about the painting, and then the complaints about not being recognized.
Firstly, these are your personal expectations from others. What are they based on? On your own individual reasons.
Secondly, you don't even voice your expectations and needs. What should people comment on in this case? No question, no answer. And that's it.
And a normal reaction would be to write without a question on another topic, if you feel like it, of course. Phrases without anything, just talking about everything and nothing, and then sighing that nobody responded to me, I'm so tired, I thought it would be different, and so on, are also in this category. And what do you think, colleagues?
Sell yourself, the rest will follow
Tell me, who do you usually trust 100%? That's right, people who are authorities to you. That's your brand. Let me explain. I build my image in such a way that people, seeing and hearing my name, know what to expect from me. It may seem impossible, but it's much simpler than you think.
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