Uh oh. There is a problem. This happens to all artists. It happens to me and if you are like most people it will happen to you too.
You will become bored with what you are making. The answer of course is to do something different. To change.
But what if all those people who like your art, what if that gallery who sells your art doesn’t like it? You have worked so hard to get your career going and now all that work will be undone. What if you switch from that muted palette everyone loves to a more colorful one? Maybe you are tired of painting realistically and want to go more abstract? What if you want to make sculpture instead of paintings?
Before we get into what to do let’s first look at the natural improvement path of creatives of all kinds. It goes something like this:
My work has reached a certain level and I have become stuck and uninspired. I start paying attention to only what I enjoy in my art and focus on that part. I adjust my art accordingly. Out of this focus and discernment my new work starts to pick up momentum. I start to like it better. When I do, I tend to think about it more. As a result I come back to the studio sooner and for longer periods of time, as it is more and more satisfying to make. The new work gains momentum and in no short time, surpasses the older work. Sales of your new art slowly but surely begin to rise usually in time, surpassing previous levels.
Most people, especially those who are not in creative fields, you ask for advice will remind you how fortunate you are to be able to even sell your art. They question rocking the boat. This advice possibly works in most scenarios but not in art. “Do you really want to sabotage your career after you just got it going? You are so fortunate to be able to do something you love for a career. Most artists I know would kill to be you.”
But guess what? You are not most artists. You are you.
This situation is only a problem if we adopt this scarcity mode of thinking.
Don’t buy it.
Here is the thinking I have used to make changes, take risks and ultimately survive financially and happily as a fine artist. Maybe some of it can help you navigate this time of uncertainty. I will try to focus on certainties…things we as artists can control.
If the artist becomes bored the work will become stale. If forced to make something solely because it sells, in time the art will become unemotional and will be less valuable and less marketable. Be mindful of this deterioration of your practice. Change your art at first blush of boredom. This takes courage, integrity and a willingness to once again head off into slightly unchartered waters.
Your new art might not be clear at this point but your Soul knows and is just waiting patiently for you to become more in alignment with yourself. It keeps sending you signals by making you feel bored. How long will go on without listening? Remember why you just couldn’t give up making art early in your life? You kept coming back to it again and again against all odds. That was because your Soul, your inner knowing knew all along. It knew then and it knows now. If you are bored, do not walk towards changing. Run.
You only become bored with your art because you have outgrown it. It is too small for you. I rarely have seen or experienced a change that was not an eventual improvement in the artists work. Sometimes, your audience or galleries will not recognize the change as favorable. This is to be expected as you are bringing something new, unseen to the table now. People in general don’t like change.
The problem is not that you are changing. This is good. The problem, I hate to say, is with those in your world who are resistant to change. For example, if your gallery only wants you to keep making the kind of art that they have had success selling then I would strongly recommend finding a new gallery that actually understands art making and the long term sustainability of sales and maintaining a high quality of art by embracing, not resisting the creative path you are walking. High quality galleries understand this fact.
If your fans are no longer supportive because your art changes then you need to establish better relationships with collectors and buyers who understand art making. It is your job, I believe, to be in a dialogue with your fan base, literally messaging them about how you are changing and how excited you are about this new work. The kind of fans and buyers you really want to stay connected with are those who understand your need to change. Changing and communicating this journey through a once a month email will increase engagement, not lessen it. A true fan will want not just one kind of art but many kinds that you will be making over your career. Celebrate and embrace change and your fans will too.
Remember your art and all that surrounds it emanates from YOU. You are like the sun in your universe. Your own website is the dashboard for the world to see all you were, are and are becoming. Everything in your universe, adjusts to YOU not the other way around. Your commitment to your art and yourself is keeping that sun rising every day and shining brightly. It is your first priority. If you can remain passionate and excited, all the planets, the galleries, all the stars, your audience, will align around you.
Oh and there is one more thing is often overlooked during this time… Make sure you congratulate yourself for arriving at a place that requires you to change. This can only mean one thing: You have matured. You have improved and soon, you will be shinning even more brightly than before.
Has this ever happened to you? Please leave a comment/s about what has worked for you.
17 Comments
Hi! I’m
Nicholas Wilton
the founder of Art2Life.
With over 20 years experience as a working artist and educator, I’ve developed a systematic approach that brings authenticity, spontaneity and joy back into the creative process.
Join me and artists from all over the world in our Free Art2Life Artists Facebook Group or learn more here about Art2Life.
NIck, Such a great post! Thank you. My work has recently changed- big time. For me, I was sick of painting the old way. The new way I am painting, is so much more fun, less less labor intensive, more experimental. Funny thing is, now I’m getting interest in the old work. You have articulated the process of evolving as an artist so beautifully, as usual.
Thanks Nick!
HI Karen, that is great…and yes that happens to me too —as soon as I move on, my old work gets an uptick….But don’t worry you will be glad you changed…
Great words Nick.
Thanks George…hey btw where are you based?
I’m in Brighton on the South Coast of England.
Oh boy, nothing could be more timely. I’m in that place right now. And I almost feel like I’m in the throws of some sort of weird addiction or obsession. I can’t stop making this new series of work. And I have no idea how the galleries will react. I do know this: it came to the attention of an important curator.
I particularly liked what you said about continuing that ‘dialog’ with your fan base. You’re right: it keeps the excitement going. If the work is strong and genuine, it will resonate with viewers who understand and are curious about your journey. At least I’ll keep telling myself this!
Thanks, Nicholas!
Yes Pat, and remember if you lose a bunch of people because they are not excited about your new work–this is ok and probably prefered. There are a lot of other people you would rather be involved with..fans or supporters who really understand you as an artist…
I find I am increasingly impatient with product line thinking. I see the pressure on individuals and galleries to consciously, or unconsciously, succumb to pleasing others for the sake of (paltry) sales. I find it poisonous to the spirit. Actually pathetic and depressing to observe.
Art making is a great gift for the maker, and hopefully it has an energy ripple effect outwards. I really think generating enthusiasm and inspiring more art making is the real purpose of art. Passing the baton. Exploring, playing, resolving compositions, discovering colour symphonies where you least expect to find them…. That is what art making is all about. It is like cooking, different every time.
So thank you Nicholas for a great pep talk on honesty and courage in the quest for expression and personal growth.
Catherine. thanks for your ideas here… that thing where one is trying to please others before yourself is such a trap in artmaking. I used to do this and it really stalled my development …
Yikes, never was anything more timely than this post. Thanks Nicolas. I’ve been evolving rapidly the past year or two. I don’t know where it’s all going but I look forward to seeing it evolve. Problem is, the gallery has noticed my evolution and has asked me to stay with where I’m at now, but I worry that could poison me. I can understand their point of view – they need an artist to be consistent and recognizable – “Oh, that’s a XYZ” – year after year. For now it’s OK to be where I’m at but the evolution feels like something I cant resist. Initially when the gallery asked that, I thought I had arrived at a destination I could stay at for some time…heck….I once stayed with a series for 10 – 12 years though it was taking anything from 6 months to 2 years to finish something so it’s a wash. I might have to part ways with the gallery if my work is pushing me elsewhere. We’ll see…. Scary stuff.
Wow is right! A couple of years ago I stopped painting realistically. I felt that if I had to paint another landscape I would just quit painting altogether. I still have people (even other artists) say to me on occasion that they really like my older work. I know that I turned off many people with my new choices. One person even implied that she had been “very patient” with me while I evolved. I don’t make my living by being an artist but it is what I do with my time. There have been many times when I simply wanted to pack up my studio because I just couldn’t see a way clear to making what I want much less knowing what I want to make. And I didn’t want to continue in that “landscape” direction.
I like very much that you wrote about being the “sun in your own universe.” You really have to have the courage of your own convictions to do what you want and make what you want. Feedback from the Internet (people who follow your work) makes that hard these days. Thank you again for such a timely and spot-on post.
Libby
Yes! This has happened to me several times!! I appreciate your thoughts on ‘growth’ soul and truth. As artists, we are branches on the tree of creation. Art lives a breaths with in us an outward expression and manifestation of becoming.
So YES to your wonderful post. I am in one of those ‘shifTs’ now. And yes it sometimes hard to hold fast to our souls calling.
All good things!
Eva
Nicholas, thank you so much for these words! They mean more than you know 🙂
absolutely totally true for me right now, and has been for several years while I explore new possibilities and still keep something of the old intact….it’s a delicate balance and it’s a deep soul journey. your words resonate as truth
Thank you Nick, you are so right. All through CVP this year I would wake in the night planning colours and marks, I would wake desperate to get back to my studio. I was, and still am excited about what will ‘come out of there’ instead of working towards my style/subject that I’m known for. I also realise how lucky I am to have a solo show at a gallery soon, the owner believes in me, my soul, my energy – and knows that the work will come from there.
Thank you Nicholas. It amuses me that people who come to the studio often make the comment that they like the old work better. The next time they visit and like “the old work better” it’s the very work they didn’t care for the last time they visited. I so agree with you, don’t stop changing your audience will catch up sooner or later.
This is one of your better blog entry’s. I found if I create art that I think people will like it totally bombs. But when I create from my soul my artwork soars. It’s alway a lesson I have to keep re-learning!