If you’ve noticed that I haven’t posted much on my various social media platforms lately, well, first of all, thank you for noticing! I haven’t disappear, nor quit. I’m still around. I’m just slowing things down a bit and taking a breather.
For awhile I was going non-stop with the “business” side of art and feeling the pressure to create sellable art. I thought if others can do several postings a day, long articles on their Patreon several times a month, packaged orders and still have time to create fantastical large paintings, edit them for prints, not to mention have time to eat and sleep and take care of kids if they have them, I can do it too … right?
It took me a while to figure out and accept that everyone is different, and just because you cannot keep up, it doesn’t mean you’re lazy or not as dedicated to your creativity. I had to repeatedly tell myself not to stress. I had to slow things down and allow me to be me, and that is to just create and just create the things I love to create, even if it might not appeal to others. I’ve heard the saying countless times by other artists: Be yourself, be true to yourself, be authentic. It is so counter intuitive when the “being yourself” can mean that the art may not appeal to others, and “appealing to the mass” means you cannot be true to who you are as a creator.
I was still trying hard to create for the mass during the pandemic, but with no gallery exhibits or conventions, it was starting to become depressing. It was only in the last few months that I started slowing down everything but the art creation. The result is I allow myself to play more with my creation and not feel like I was wasting time and effort because the result might not be something I can sell.
This is my journey. I think that perhaps every other artist went through this journey during their 4 years of college. I was on a different journey during my years in college, a creativity of a different kind. I hope you’re still following along.
