5 Underrating Tips for Becoming a Professional Artist

It is quite intimidating to start your career as a professional artist, especially in a scenario where the perception of an artist’s work and practice is always on a roll. From a hobbyist to becoming a professional in your field, there are several prerequisites.

In this article, we will talk about the tips and tricks to pursue your passion and become a professional artist from a different angle. In other guides that you have read about becoming a professional artist, experts hint at upskilling, promotions, networking, practice, and so on. 

But there are a few other related but less talked about aspects of becoming a professional artist. These pertain to lively aspects like habits, testing, feedback, etc. We won’t be talking about your skills or teaching you how to paint or sculpt, but this article is about upgrading your thought process to go from a hobbyist to a professional.

Tips to Become a Professional Artist

Give Up Some Habits

Professionalism means working with dedication and self-discipline. Because sometimes it is not about affirming everything that you should do but more about what you can leave out to pursue your dreams.

One thing to note here is that you should quit the “not enough” thinking. There won’t be enough time, money, resources, or skill to bring a change in how you pursue your passion. Start where you are with what you have. Following the “Not enough” thought process directly relates to losing confidence in yourself and your skills. Once you have come out of this fear of not enough, everything will start to fall in place. 

No Comparison: Another thing that you should immediately start leaving out is comparing yourself. There is no doubt in the fact that you will be better at some things and bad at others. So, there is no point in dwelling on either of the things. 

Instead, focus on how you have progressed in these years. Invest your energy in analyzing your progress and contemplating who you were 5 years back relative to where you have reached today. 

Expect To Work and Not Relax

The thing about becoming a professional in art is that we think relaxation is given in this field. But, you have to realize becoming a professional artist is not about joining a class and come out of it as a professional artist. 

It takes time, experience, and practice. So, all these things require your time and effort. Plus, the goal should not be to earn loads of money or be featured in ARTnews. Just focus on your work and eventually you will reach a stage where money and fame will follow everywhere you go. Although Georges Seurat was born into a very rich family in Paris he was working hard and experimenting a lot to create a new movement in art. As a result he became the founder of the French school of Neo-Impressionism. Georges Seurat artworks were sold for millions of dollars.

You Need To Have A Strong Income Source

This is especially important when you are starting to become a professional artist. Even if you have to work a day job until you can sustain the income from your artistic ventures, go for it. 

As we have said before, making a career in art takes time. Till the time you are able to upgrade yourself to a competitive level, you will need to work at some other place. The thing with learning an art form is that you need financial freedom. 

Having financial freedom means that you won’t have to worry a lot about lower sales or fewer returns on your investment. 

Find Ways to Get Critical and Constructive Feedback

No, your friends, partner, or even your mother may not be the choices for getting critical feedback. Constructive feedback might hurt sometimes, but it is one of the best sources to improve your skills. 

Moreover, you should be ready to hear and absorb such feedback throughout your career. Even the likes of Michelangelo or Da Vinci had their fair share of criticism. The fact that your clients, fellow artists, or an art enthusiast is giving you constructive feedback means that you have what it takes to move ahead in the field. 

Plus, if you keep on listening to what is so good about your work then you won’t be able to up the game. Listening to some bad but constructive things about your work convinces and motivates you to learn and upgrade. 

Use Diverse Marketing Channels

It would be a great dishonor to your work if you are not using social media channels to promote and endorse yourself. This is where you can take help from your friends, family, and colleagues. 

Ask them to share your page, group, a profile on their social media handles and get more attention. Review from strangers and referrals from a personal connection is better for building trust and recognition in the market. 

More importantly, it is better to use platform-specific features to improve your prospects. For instance, you can use the Facebook marketplace to sell your work. You can also make a business account on Instagram to further promote your artwork. 

Artists find Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (yes, Twitter) helpful in promotions and endorsements. But that is not it. Along with these methods, you also need to capitalize on other marketing channels like emails and newsletters. 

Conclusion

Besides all these methods to become a professional artist, practicing your skills is of paramount importance. You can take the canvas outside and paint nature with a bit of your imagination or find enough paint-worthy scenes indoors. 

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Created on Jan 21st 2022 03:18. Viewed 196 times.

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