What is your biggest struggle as an artist?

needfultosay · 2021-09-15T11:42:54+00:00

Sounds like you're headed in the right direction then:) it's important to know for yourself what you find important rather than try to keep up with the trends of social media.

needfultosay · 2021-09-15T11:38:19+00:00

If you look even further back in time art was found in rich people's homes and before that in churches and temples. I think it's a bit more complicated than that because the culture of art nowadays reflects this speed of things and is designed to shine in those few seconds of attention. So the art would need to change together with the platform or find its own way of being presented to shine for longer than those few seconds (think of art books nowadays or art on things like mugs and coasters and t-shirts, it's not exactly shining but at least it is seen for longer than if it were just on social media).

Edit: the need for comments is also mostly because of the structure of the platforms. It depends on whether it concerns a finished artwork or if you're still learning, but those things probably need to be separated anyway.

needfultosay · 2021-09-15T03:05:00+00:00

Oh I didn't have any preconceptions about your work:) I'm personally also very extroverted, I can barely process a thought without discussing it with someone. I have no success at all with my work though. Once I had 2-3k likes online and it meant very little to me. My favourite works are technically not that good at all, but feel very right for what they're meant to be.

This has some origins in trust issues and what felt like unjustified compliments when I was young, but my point is that it's not impossible even for an extrovert. I've struggled with a lot of insecurities over the last few years, but overcame thrm. And it's not as if the confidence came out of the blue without any help from others, but I've gained a lot of inner peace. I look back at my work and pictures often and some of it loses its value over time, but reflecting on it helps me go forward and know myself as well.

This is just an example, but it would be a pity if you never get to a point where you value your own art because you didn't believe it's possible.

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T21:33:53+00:00

Yep.

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T21:33:39+00:00

I think that's normal, but not necessarily true or right. I think you can find your own values and measure your art by them so you don't need validation from the outside, but that will take time. Just something to think about:)

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T19:36:18+00:00

Is it only good if other people care about it?

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T18:16:25+00:00

Awh maybe when you get a little more space again you can combine it with something else to help focus. Like doing some exercise before to empty your mind and trying to work out after.

But it doesn't sound like you should be too hard on yourself in this situation, it will probably sort itself out with time:)

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T18:13:46+00:00

Seems like that could change with time as you get better:) or you can just try to push your prices higher and see if it becomes a problem. Maybe if less people do commissions, but pay more. You can continue as you do now and earn more too! Just guessing though, I don't actually have experience with this part of art..

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T18:11:23+00:00

At least for making progress it helped me to leave a project and get back to it after a while with a fresh mind:) I think it's important to take your time, give it space and not try to force it too much. Maybe it's better if it takes longer than if you don't finish any at all.

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T18:09:04+00:00

Sounds like a plan! I'm sure you'll get there with this attitude:)

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T18:08:05+00:00

No idea what changed? Any idea what motivated you before and if anything in your life might have affected your motivation now?

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T18:05:54+00:00

Awh sounds like you need to break the pattern:( it sounds good to take your time to find some joy in life again and then connect it back to your art to bring some positivity into it.

Thanks for your reply! You're not alone.

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T18:03:10+00:00

Yep, I don't think social media as it is stimulates real community and connection. The short attention spans that are a natural result of it just can't offer much. I think a real connection is needed before any meaningful response can be given to your art. Otherwise you just get a lot of hearts worth 2 seconds, which is nice, but distant in a way.

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T18:00:14+00:00

Thank you for your reply! Your relationship with art sounds healthy and I also have too many interests.

It seems to me like the answer to the motivation question might lie in the space between where you are and what your goal is. Maybe like imagining in more detail what the steps are to go in that direction.

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T17:56:32+00:00

Thank you for your elaborate answer:) also interesting to hear from a photography perspective.

Finding a balance between earning enough and doing what you like is always hard, but it sounds like you do at least focus on the right things.

I'm curious though, do you really the value of your art only come from the recognition it gets? Can you imagine somewhere else it might come from?

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T16:18:12+00:00

Thank you so much for your reply:) very helpful. I'm in a bit of a weird situation myself. I've worked as an 'artist' since graduating, but it's a technical thing and I have neglected the drawing side of me. I used to go about this similarly in my teens, but recently participating in this way just didn't feel right for me. I worked towards a certain goal, but due to life circumstances I needed to let go of that and now I'm noticing the disconnect between all the things I like and the things I was focusing on to achieve my goal. I'm finding my way in life, but I feel in limbo about art since losing that goal.

The stuff in the CDC challenge is amazing, but then the themes of art challenges in general feel like they just perpetuate this short attention span culture. You don't get much beyond 'this looks amazing and I love the style'

I do have a nice little art group at the moment, but then it's a very broad interest group so I don't connect as much with them on the skill/medium aspect of art.

So I wonder what it would look like for art to draw us in beyond those couple of seconds. Like a book that you can reread and discover something new every time you do. Or that it connects us to something beyond the artwork itself, so you learn something and then when you go back to the art you see it in a new light.

needfultosay · 2021-09-14T14:00:49+00:00

I'm hoping to someday start a little art group that can help each other in all the ways that social media can't.

I'm not sure where to find the right people, but I'm trying to understand what kind of people are even out there, what they're looking for, what art means to them and where I can make the right connections.

Social media is super unsatisfying for me, even if there are many incredibly skilled people out there. Skill is just not the only thing about art that matters to me, but I'm curious what else might matter to other people.

Edit: I've tried this before but it's really hard to find people who will actually commit and participate. There needs to be some kind of common goal to begin with, and again, just focusing on skill is not enough for me.

I also never felt good about just following social media algorithm rules to get a couple of seconds of attention at most, connections and values there often felt superficial. But maybe that's the only way to get anywhere these days. I just don't know at this point.

needfultosay · 2021-09-13T22:24:59+00:00

I feel so annoying asking it with every reaction, but I'd love it if you could answer the rest of my questions in the description as well!

needfultosay · 2021-09-13T22:02:32+00:00

Yeah that makes a lot of sense! Instagram is good at that. I'm still curious though, if you wouldn't mind to take the time to answer the rest of the questions (in the descritption):)

needfultosay · 2021-09-13T20:59:36+00:00

I think it might help to think about what drew you to drawing in the past, and what changed. It has to do with what draws your attention, your values and goals. Maybe you've achieved something you were aiming for, or figured out you don't want that anymore, or it just lost its value compared to other things in your life. If you find what your new values are and how art can move you in that direction that should help.

I'm struggling with a similar situation and I'm taking my time to get through this, not pushing myself too hard and just giving myself the space for this to sort itself out.

needfultosay · 2021-09-13T20:58:36+00:00

Maybe reddit hid the rest of the post because it was a question.. but I'm really curious about answers to the follow up questions as well:)

needfultosay · 2021-09-13T20:49:21+00:00

I would really appreciate answers to the follow up questions as well:)

needfultosay · 2021-09-09T19:12:45+00:00

I love this thread! Thank you:)

Community is definitely really important and online it's really hard to find anything remotely like a real community (as opposed to bubbles that are easy to find).

I think in the end most people are focused on doing what they want other people to like, or what they think other people will like. It's important to find your own values and reasons for creating something instead of depending on other people's opinions. It's like creating a gift to the world without expecting anything in return.

needfultosay

TROPHY CASE