An Artist's Biggest Trap

What will trip up any artist no matter how good the art work is? Avoiding this one trap will make your art life much easier.

There are many obstacles and challenges that every business person has to face. An artist also has to run a business in which the artist has to cover all bases. Not only must she be business savvy. but also produce work of sufficient quality and supply to make a living. However this is not a retail business where stock can be purchased and sold. This points to the problem that we all have to face.

The biggest stumbling block is where you, the artist, measure your self-worth against the quality of your art. This is not the same as trying to produce good art. If your self-worth is attached to the perceived quality of your art then you will be riding a roller coaster of emotions.

The result is never good. Think about extreme mood swings, stress, despair and creative blocks to mention only a few consequences. What about the good moments? They are never enough since you will always have your eye on the next punch to the ego. You are no longer in charge of your feelings nor your art career.

To escape this cycle of highs and lows you will have to be aware at all times. Awareness is a process of recognising vulnerable moments. This may be when you show off a new work for the first time. Approaching a gallery or online sharing. Will the community out there appreciate your work or will it remain anonymous? Do you rely on sales or merely responses to social media as a yardstick? Whatever form of attachment you have to the outcome will only bring uncertainty. 

A healthier approach is to revel in the creative process. Quality is subjective at best. The fact is that with regular output of work and a positive approach to learning and creating, the quality of your work will follow a natural upward trend. This is inevitable. This alone should inspire any artist to give regular attention to creating.

It helps to include your business development as part of the creative process. After all every e-mail, blog post or social share is a creative act. You are making something that was not there before so use your creative soul to be authentic. With care and attention you will have a growing art business over time. 

Yes not every day is a fantastic day.  So what? It is the consistent focus on growing your art and business over time that results in success. The only failure comes when you do not try.
 
As for your art. Well that is your forte, but the response from potential collectors is beyond your control. Release yourself from attachment to other people's reactions. Trap avoided!