The Ups and Downs of Being an Artist

Current work in progress...

For those of you who have read my blog regularly, you know that there are times when being an artist  feels like I am banging my head against a wall. Nothing seems to be working out in the studio or nothing seems to be selling no matter how many pieces are in a number of galleries. It is really hard to stay positive during these times and not let it affect your self-esteem, but this is what it's like to be an artist sometimes. There are highs and lows, especially when it comes to sales.

We have all seen me write about the lows and the insecurities that come with it. I am very open about my feelings here. There are also some entries where I write about a new gallery that has chosen to represent me or show my work or some site that is featuring my work. I have also listed numerous shows so we know there good days too. But, like most people, I wish for more highs. It's human nature. I want to avoid the lows if at all possible despite knowing that it's just part of doing this job, and life, really.

This past week has been a good week, and what I would hope is an upswing, a trend with more highs to come. Just in the past two days, I have sold 4 paintings at two different galleries, had a gallery from Toronto inquire about showing my work at their establishment, had a vodka company want to feature my work during an event, and found out that a local magazine will be doing an article about me and my artwork which will be shown in a gallery this October. It was a great two days, the kind that we all dream to have.

It's days like these that I need to keep in mind when I hit a low and start to wonder why I am an artist. I realize that it's hard to do when I am in the depths of self-pity. Sometimes I need to just wallow in it a bit before I tell myself that this is just a dip in the roller coaster of my art career. But, good days are always on the horizon and positivity is the key to getting through the not-so-stellar days. The important thing is to keep doing what I love to do, which is paint.