Every few months, I catch myself slipping into a familiar trap – one I know many artists struggle with – wondering whether my art should be an honest expression of myself, or a product designed to sell.
I’ve always believed that doing what you want with your artwork, photography, music, or whatever is more important than doing what you “should” do or what others tell you to. After all, it’s your art, not theirs. And yet, I’ve fallen into the same trap myself, choosing things to paint based on what I think will be popular or sell well, instead of honestly expressing my thoughts and ideas into the world.
That said, there have also been pieces that I’m honestly proud of, and I feel share a strong message that happens to resonate with a specific event or cause. An excellent example of that for me is my “Kintsugi” piece that I submitted for the New Westminster Hospice Society’s Dialogue on Death & Dying series:
This piece embodies the feeling of loss as a dark aura of pain and suffering pushes down on a grieving man. The grieving man exudes light around him, and the gold stripes throughout his body represent Kintsugi, or golden joinery, a Japanese art in which broken pottery is repaired using lacquer dusted with powdered gold.
Like Kintsugi, the man is showing the world that he was broken and that he is healing, rather than hiding the grief away; he exposes it to the world and uses it to make himself stronger.
The work suggests that death, while painful, is also a moment to reflect on what made the departed shine in life. By carrying that glow forward, we keep their light alive for future generations.
Recently, I became obsessed with getting business cards and postcards, and printing more “product” so I can start selling at markets, etc. However, the more I think about it, the more I realise that maybe that’s not what it is, or should be about for me — Maybe I should be making art I like, and if somebody else likes it too, great, but that should be secondary to the art itself.
Since coming to that realisation, I think I’ve been creating more interesting and diverse art again:
So I think that’s the message of today’s blog. Don’t let “fame and fortune” get in the way of your vision and your art style. There will always be ways to make money, but once you cloud your vision, it might be very hard to get back.
Cheers all,
