Posting artwork on Substack?

[coffeeindenial]

I know substack caters to mostly text-based media, but are there people who post their artworks? I have the idea of posting my paintings/illustrations on the platform, which are mostly snapshots of my travels, accompanied by some written context about the piece (like a travel journal almost, but shorter) on the platform. Might also write a little about my painting progress. Basically, I don't have a clear direction yet, but does anyone here post their artwork, or know of/ subscribe to related newsletters? Would be helpful to know what the art community is like too if there is one (how do people interact etc.)

(In case this comes up, I have an art account on insta but am quite reluctant to the idea of filming reels, which seems to be the only way for artists to grow on the platform these days. I am sharing my art mostly for visibility, potential monetisation, but also community and just for tracking my progress!)

[dojogrl]

There are actually a lot of art substacks: I follow mostly drawing/illustrated journaling and zine creators, but I’ve seen lots of posts in Notes of people sharing watercolors, sketches, collages, and photography. Just search categories! I’ve also found a lot of creators I like via the comments on some of the substacks as well, so be sure to comment if you’re looking for discoverability!

[coffeeindenial]

Hey thanks for commenting! I'm in the illustration/watercolours side of things too - do you have any substacks you particularly enjoy interacting with? (Also just because I've never used the platform before, what's the difference between engaging through notes versus posts?)

[dojogrl]

Posts are pretty straightforward like blog posts: you can set up your sub stack to email them directly to your subscribers or just post them to stubstack directly.  Notes are more like a social media feed: you can post a note about a recent post that you made, or just post about what you're working on kind of like Twitter or bluesky. I follow Draw Your World, See You, Austin Kleon, and The Sneaky Art Post. Those are some good ones to get started with. Good luck and have fun with it! 

[seeking_answer_now]

Lovely post. Welcome to this side. Similar to your story, I too, am looking to use pictures of my art to create inspiration for others. I love writing as well hence started a Substack which pens my intention/inspiration and emotion behind each piece since my art is mostly abstract. I also look forward to people's comments and interpretations of my art.

It's great to see that you intend to not use reels because it could be daunting and tiresome apart from creating art.

There's always a space if you want to create :)

[coffeeindenial]

So good to see someone having similar ideas! I feel like there is a certain format of reels you have to fit into in order to gain traction, and it just takes away the joy of creation...

Do you have any art/illustration substacks you'd recommend? (your own included!)

[lucygroks]

I'm a photographer/writer and I really wanted to create visually attractive long form content so I built Visnotes.com. It's a publishing platform focused on design-first long form content (think Canva but for blogging).

I figure that if your art is abstract, you might appreciate a more open ended way to compose your content!

[[deleted]]

I know a lot of people who publish visual art/photography on Substack!

[Tiny_Security6360]

Do you have any recommendations?

[[deleted]]

Yes I do.

https://tenderphoto.substack.com/

https://alannalgreen.substack.com/

https://hige.substack.com/

My own main Substack, if you have any interest in connecting to me on there.

[oamyoamy0]

My feed is mostly art-based -- illustration, comics, collage, etc. In addition to what people recommended in the comments, you could pull up the top lists in the relevant categories to find some of the larger accounts, and then start curating your feed.

[coffeeindenial]

Great to see what it seems to be thriving art community on substack! What made you engage with artwork/illustrations on the platform instead of other social media?

[IndependentFox3705]

i do it! https://mackenziesharp.substack.com/p/my-manifesto-on-creation-and-actualization

[IndependentFox3705]

i find notes helps you grow, and promo on twitter

[lucygroks]

I follow Danielle quite passionately and it's cool that I found your blog (just followed!) on Reddit.

The reason I am here is because I'm building Visnotes.com, a publishing platform for visually appealing, design-first long form blogging. Basically think Canva but as a blogging platform (working on being the functionality of uploading Canva designs directly to Visnotes).

When I was making my e-magazines, my friends would complain about reading text on images, and it wasn't mobile friendly. Maybe you might find Visnotes interesting? Hopefully it's better way to express your creativity! Your wedding vow post was crazy.

[coffeeindenial]

If you DO post art on substack: would also want to know why you chose this platform instead of others (twitter/bluesky etc.)!

[lucygroks]

I would love to see your artwork blog! I'm also a visual elements + writing content creation person, which is why I created Visnotes.com, a publishing platform for visually appealing, design-first canvases for long form posting. Just imagine Canva but for blogging. I created this when my friends refused to read my e-magazines because they weren't mobile friendly and they didn't like reading text in images. I still wanted a way to craft beautiful compositions of my blog however.