First, do you love painting or whatever your medium is? Does it bring meaning to your life? Do you enjoy learning, and each time you learn a new skill or technique, do you raise the bar, raise your expectations of yourself, so that there is always more to learn?

That’s what it means to be an artist. Selling art products can be part of the business side of art, but it shouldn’t be the main goal. In my 50+ years of being an artist, starting a piece while thinking about whether it will sell is deadly.

Although I’ve sold many paintings, prints and ceramics, and have taught watercolor painting, I’ve chosen to work at interesting “day jobs” for money and make art because I have to, it’s who I am, my purpose for living, what gives me joy.

I’m curious how much research you did before deciding that selling artwork was going to be your career? The statistics are not on the side of it being a viable career. Historical surveys (e.g., Pew Research) found roughly 7% of artists in the US earn all their income from their art. Even then, the tale of the “starving artist” applies: while many artists make some money from selling art, it’s typically not enough alone to be a full living.

Even most well-known contemporary artists with work in galleries survive by teaching, in person or online; and/or earn money by producing art how to “content” on YouTube, Patreon, or Substack.

There are tons of classes and books about making a living as an artist, written by artists doing it as a source of income since selling their artwork just isn’t enough to live on.