You have to believe your work is worth it

As artists we want to be perfectionists, we want to wait until our work is exactly as we ever could have imagined it. We feel guilty, because we know it could be better, if only you gave it more time.

Then, of course, we’ve been taught not to be boastful. We are supposed to be reserved and reticent when it comes to our work. We are supposed to allow praise to come to us, to wait for someone else to see our worth.

Well, fuck that.

Be proud of what you’re creating. Be proud of the hours you put in to make. Be proud of who you are today. And where your work is today.

If we don’t believe in ourselves, no one will believe in us for us.

We have to be willing to fight for what we want, and if we want a career in art, we can’t be hesitant. We don’t have time to wait for someone to come to us.

We have to be brave and bold and loud. We have to prove that what we have to offer is worth consumption, and better yet, that it’s worth a paycheck.

Because you can get so much art for free, it’s hard to believe that yours is worth paying for, but that’s the ultimate goal, no? No one wants to work a part-time job forever, constantly counting dollars, hoping that you’ll have enough to cover all your bills.

We have to train ourselves to be half entrepreneur and half artist.

Now, I know this is an artist’s nightmare — I certainly oscillate between despair and excitement on this one — but in order to succeed, we have to create the business of our art.

You have to schedule out time for creating, marketing, and growing. You can’t do one without the others.

Learn how other people market themselves, and see if they’re tricks you can use as well. Get on social media, get business cards, put it on your LinkedIn account… tell the world about you and your art. What makes you special. And why they need what you can provide.

You have to put in time to practice and get better. Love who you are today, where your art has gotten you today, and ask yourself to push the envelope. And push yourself to level up.

You want to be paid for your work? So does the next artist.

So why you?

Look within and answer this for yourself. When you feel confident in your answer, internalize it, share it, spread it. And turn that passion into a full time job.

That’s what I’ll be working on.

Will you?