Blog
WHAT DO I NEED AS AN ARTIST?
03/09/2020
You do see common themes, subjects etc. that other artists choose to capture and there are millions of talented artists out there striving to sell. How do you stand out, be individual and get noticed? A lot of this is about trial and error and practise. A useful way to judge is to post on social media and see what sort of comments and how many likes you get from posting your art. But be careful, it's easy to get sucked into how many followers you have and how many likes you get...social media is just one part and not the be all and end all.
I started drawing at School and like most artists, have picked it up and put it down for various reasons. Time, other priorities and money being just some of them.
If you’re very lucky you will have attended further education, have contacts within an art/creative network and maybe even have a mentor. But what do you do if you have none of these and you don’t have much money to put into your art business?
What I have learned is that you don’t need the following:- An art studio - I use a piece of MDF board from a DIY store, which I lean on a small chest of drawers in my spare bedroom. Yes, a bespoke studio with a drawing board would be lovely, but we don’t all have the money or room to have that. Having state of the art equipment doesn’t make you a good or better artist. Practise, passion and hard work does. I don’t have an ergonomic chair, just one from the kitchen with a cushion to support my back (I was a DSE assessor at Work so I understand the importance of sitting correctly, although I don’t always do it!) . What is important to me is that I have plenty of natural daylight coming through my bedroom window. Artificial light can work for some but I don't find it easy, so would prefer not use it if I can help it. Plus I'm tired at the end of the day and that's not conducive to doing a lot of detailed work! My eyes keep flitting from the original image to my portrait, which is not only tiring for my eyes, but needs a massive amount of concentration, so my sessions are usually no longer than 2 1/2 hours maximum, if not shorter.
I started drawing at School and like most artists, have picked it up and put it down for various reasons. Time, other priorities and money being just some of them.
If you’re very lucky you will have attended further education, have contacts within an art/creative network and maybe even have a mentor. But what do you do if you have none of these and you don’t have much money to put into your art business?
What I have learned is that you don’t need the following:- An art studio - I use a piece of MDF board from a DIY store, which I lean on a small chest of drawers in my spare bedroom. Yes, a bespoke studio with a drawing board would be lovely, but we don’t all have the money or room to have that. Having state of the art equipment doesn’t make you a good or better artist. Practise, passion and hard work does. I don’t have an ergonomic chair, just one from the kitchen with a cushion to support my back (I was a DSE assessor at Work so I understand the importance of sitting correctly, although I don’t always do it!) . What is important to me is that I have plenty of natural daylight coming through my bedroom window. Artificial light can work for some but I don't find it easy, so would prefer not use it if I can help it. Plus I'm tired at the end of the day and that's not conducive to doing a lot of detailed work! My eyes keep flitting from the original image to my portrait, which is not only tiring for my eyes, but needs a massive amount of concentration, so my sessions are usually no longer than 2 1/2 hours maximum, if not shorter.
