February Musings; Advice and Tips for Artists Starting Out
It’s been a busy few months both with work and home! January was spent finishing the illustrations for the six children’s books as well as supporting my son with a few bumps during his first year at secondary school (his school is amazingly supportive, we are very lucky!). February has been a slightly less frantic month of admin, starting to plan for Art:Surrey in March and bouncing around ideas for future author/illustrator visits and workshops whilst having the boiler, tank and pipe work replaced in my house - it got a bit chilly at times! The big boost in February has been the cover reveal for all six of the children’s books, it now feels like this is really happening and I admit I felt pretty proud of what Marielle and I had achieved!
March is now almost here and I am really hoping that spring arrives soon (fingers crossed!). I am already looking forward to warmer, longer days and nature starting to wake up; it has such a positive impact on my motivation and inspiration.
I am pretty much ready for Art:Surrey in March but I’m itching to start creating again and I am planning some big pieces ready for my art fair in October. I was initially nervous about exhibiting at Art fairs but now I just really look forward to them. This got me thinking about how difficult it is when you start out as a practicing artist and how things get easier as you do more and your confidence in yourself and your work grows. So, for this month’s blog, I thought I would offer some tips and advice for artists starting out.
Play and experiment so that you will grow as an artist. Playing and exploring is an important way to develop ideas and experiment with different materials; you never know what you might discover or what might feed your inspiration. Even when time is tight, try to have a bit of fun with no pressure or expectations.
Don’t be caught up in finding your ‘style’. It will happen through play, experimentations and time. Your ‘style’ will also develop and change as you do as an artist. It will get very boring if you keep producing the same work and so your work and style will develop organically. Saying this, being uninspired is also part of the process at times so keep creating!
Create for you! The moment you start creating for someone else, in a different style or because you think it will sell is the moment your work stops coming from you. It will become less enjoyable and will not capture your unique approach or interpretation. You need to be authentic so keeping doing what love to do in the way that you do it!
Be true to yourself. Do not try to be someone else; whether that’s dressing like ‘an artist’, creating work like other artists, or develop a brand like another artist. Be authentically you!
Put in the time. You have to invest your time in being creative, a lot of it is practice. This is the only way to improve and develop but if you love doing it then it will not be a chore and will come easy.
Learn from other artists. Artists are generally pretty open about their experiences; what has worked for them and what hasn’t. Try these things; some will work for you and others wont.
Say YES to every opportunity…even if it makes you uncomfortable! When you start seriously creating take every opportunity that comes your way as you never know where it might lead. It will not only build up your confidence and expose you to different possibilities but will take you out of your comfort zone; this can be uncomfortable but it will give you a big boost after!
Be selective when ordering prints. Your work will develop and change a fair bit at the start so do not invest in too many prints until you gage their selling potential; especially if your ‘style’ evolves differently to that on your prints.
Get your work out there! As daunting as it is get your work on social media. Love it or hate it, social media is a great tool to find your audience, your collectors and create communities. And ultimately people can’t appreciate or buy your work if they dont know it exists!
Connect. It can be a lonely ol’ game working as an artist so it’s important to make those connections. This could be through social media communities, art fairs or local art groups; whichever way you are comfortable. Connecting with other artists will create connections with people who ‘get it’, who understand, can give you feedback, advice and support. It’s a good thing!
Sell! You need to sell your work at some point. This can be achieved through social media, selling platforms, a website, gallery or art fair. You are entitled to be paid for your time, hard work, skills and talent, so do not give your work away for free!
Set short and long term targets. These will keep you on track and give you a focus and something to work towards. At the same time be flexible if an opportunity arises; targets are not meant to restrict you, only act as a guide.
This is a journey. If we all created out best work at the start we would stop creating. Chase the dream and enjoy the process because you never know where its going to take you!
Don’t forget, YOU are the boss! You can do what ever you want; you are only answerable to you! Once you get your head around this it is truly liberating!
Finally have fun! You are so lucky to have a passion, enjoy the process and wherever it takes you!