And what they have in common

Sept. 30, 2023

There happen to be a lot of concepts and ideas of things you should and shouldn't do as an artist. Some of these are "rules" about making art such as proportions and balance, or the concept that cool colors recede while warm colors advance. For the most part, they are more like mere guidelines.

However, here are 3 things I think that you shouldn’t do as an artist that actually have nothing to do with how you make art and have everything to do with your mindset.

1. Don't Wait for a Following on Social Media

If you are wanting to sell your art, don’t wait for a huge following on social media before you start selling. A huge following on Instagram is not a prerequisite to selling your art. You can take steps to begin selling while growing your following.

This may sound counterintuitive. If you don’t have a huge following, who will buy? If you don’t know who will buy, how can you purchase the supplies you need or the products you plan to sell, ie. prints and stickers?

If you are wanting to build a business around selling your art, sometimes that means investing some of your own money before you have even started making any from your art. This can be tricky, and I understand that sometimes not everyone can afford to do this.

Are there any low cost entry points for getting started with selling your art? YES!

1. Digital Downloads. They are a great option if you are able to get high quality images of your art. With digital downloads, the person who purchases your art download is responsible for getting it printed somewhere. You will need to find a platform to list these on, and depending on which platform you choose, the cost will vary. Choosing to build out a website on a platform such as Wix or Square is going to cost more than choosing to list on a platform such as Etsy.

2. Print on Demand. You can start by selling on a Print on Demand platform such as Etsy, Redbubble, Shopify or even Wix has a POD option for selling prints and other items. Some aspects that may be cons from some people may be that you aren’t able to add a personal touch to the packaging and that you do not have full control the quality - maybe the paper options they offer is thinner than you would like or maybe the shirt options aren't the exact fit you would prefer. These are aspects that you can always choose to address at a later point if you choose to start carrying your own physical products instead of only offering Print on Demand options.

3. Original Art. Selling original art pieces is another option, if you don’t mind parting with your art, for getting started with selling your art without any additional costs since its somethings you've already spent the money on to make.

There are still some costs with all of these options, but its not as much as getting physical products of all the art you want to sell, nor is there as much risk with these options. With these options, you are not sinking your money into products that you are not sure will sell, so you are not 1.) out of the money if something doesn't sell as well as you hoped, and 2.) stuck with a lot of product that you now have to figure out where to store.

2. Don't Sell Yourself Short.

Whether you are wanting to sell your art or are wanting to take on commissions, at some point you are going to have to show your art to others and talk about it. I know that this can sometimes be uncomfortable to do, especially when first starting out. You may look at some of your art and think, “man, this isn’t something that will people will like.” Guess what! Sometimes, that one thing that you think isn’t noteworthy will be the thing that gains people’s interest.

Don’t believe me? My pet portraits and commissions in general all started because of a simple pen drawing I did of a cat in a journal that I was using as a decorative item in an apartment model I was staging back in 2018. A fun little drawing that I thought nothing of, aside from adding a fun touch to the model unit, garnered interest in my art…and at the time, I didn’t have an Instagram account or a following of any kind. If I had chosen to hide my art away, even though deep down I knew I wanted to eventually pursue selling my art, I would have missed out on an opportunity to begin doing pet portrait commissions.

3. Never Say Never.

When I was younger, I thought I would NEVER love using colored pencils. I did a drawing in color pencils, and the final results didn't look as good as my brother's color pencil work. Because mine didn't look as good, I just thought I didn't want to work in color pencils ever again. But, I fell in love with using them for pet portraits. When I first started taking on pet portrait commissions, I NEVER imagined I’d be offering watercolor pet portraits because I didn’t think I was good enough at watercolors to be able to provide a quality pet portrait. My experience with pastels when I was younger made me think I would NEVER be interested in them again….and well, here we are. I have been having a yearning to try out both oil pastels and pastel pencils.

If I would have said that I would never draw in color pencils again, I would have never grown my skill to the point of being able to create those two pet portraits above that I am proud of. If I said, “I will never offer watercolor pet portraits,” I am not sure I would have had as many people fall in love with my pet portraits in such a short span of time.

This isn’t me saying that you need to create what other people want and use the art mediums they want, regardless of your own personal preference. I grew my love for color pencils by using them in coloring books when I was younger to the point of being excited to work with them again for art pieces. I already liked experimenting with watercolors in my sketchbook; I just didn’t feel confident in my own skills to offer watercolor pet portraits yet. There is a difference.

Thankfully, I was given the opportunity to try my hand at a watercolor pet portrait with a person that I knew would understand if I messed up and had to start all over again, thus delaying the turnaround time. While I had been practicing a couple watercolor paintings of pets in my sketchbook, it was this opportunity that gave me the confidence to begin offering watercolor pet portraits to other customers. So, a huge shout out to Jo for trusting me with my first watercolor pet portrait outside of my sketchbook!

So, What do they have in Common?

Have you noticed what all 3 of these things have in common in regards to your mindset about your art?

The underlying theme here is that we shouldn't have a limiting mindset, which is an idea that can also be applied to other areas of life as well. Whether you are wanting to create art as a hobby or for a career, limiting beliefs can creep up in various ways, which is why it's important to work to break free from any limiting beliefs you, or sometimes others, have put on you. We weren't made to be enslaved to a limiting mindset.

Have you struggled with any of these? I know that, for me personally, the second one happens to be a mindset that likes to try to creep back up into my life. At times, I find it hard to talk about my art and not down play it. As an introvert, it can be uncomfortable to draw attention to myself and talk about my art with others because I sometimes think, "why would anyone care to know about my art? There are so many other artists better than me." I know those thoughts are just imposter

syndrome trying to sink its teeth in me and put limiting beliefs on myself and my art.

Let’s chat in the comments and break free from these limiting beliefs we sometimes fall victim to as artists.