Our move to Canada back in 2019 brought me the privilege to sell my art. I lived in the US for a number of years before that and visa restrictions forbade me from trying this. It also brought questions about what made my art deserving enough to sell it. Who approved it? Who said it was worth for someone to exchange their hard earned money for it? Was there a right way to begin selling? A right time? Who said I was ready? Who said my art was ready or good enough?
I did. I made a decision in 2020 to expose my art to all those questions. It could be worthless to some and not others, but I decided to try. It's the only real way to know.
Artists don't make enough money or rather most artists don't make enough money directly from their art. Our desire to sell art doesn't typically come from the need to acquire piles of money while we sit by a beach sipping margaritas, although, there's nothing wrong with that. Most artists try to sell their art so they can continue to make more art without starving. This is often the biggest driver. Also, there's nothing noble in this endeavour if you ask me. We simply love making art and so we want to keep doing it for as long as we can, which might sound a little selfish. Perhaps it is selfish to do what you love doing. Perhaps a little impractical? A little too confident? An act of survival?
Wanting to sell something beautiful you created with your own hands feels like a rebellious act, doesn't it? How dare you believe in yourself to that extent? We sure are a rebellious bunch that way. It takes courage to keep putting your work out there over and over again for a slight chance that someone might resonate with it. The joy that comes from someone connecting with a painting vs someone connecting with a painting and actually buying it is hard to differentiate for me. I hold both joys high in my heart. But, one way allows me to create one more painting, use better or different paper, try a different medium and as a result continue to occasionally put out beautiful things in the world.
We unquestionably need the beauty and wonder that artists and other creative folk bring to mundane things in our lives. Do you agree? Whose responsibility is it to support the artists of the world? Is the society responsible? The artist is surely responsible to make something high quality. They are responsible to announce their work is for sale. They are responsible to put it out there in creative ways and listen for what people crave and supply a particular kind of beauty. If we can't live without the beauty that art and artists bring to our lives, even if unintentionally so, why isn't art valued more? Why do artists often struggle to make ends meet? I don't know the answers to these questions. I don't often know what I'm doing.
I make art therefore I am an artist. I want to make art forever. Have I brought beauty in your life through my art somehow? Did you connect with one of my paintings? Tell me below. If you connect with my work and can afford it, consider buying it. At the very least, it will allow me to make one more painting and you will have something beautiful on your wall to show for your support of my rebellion.
Or you could buy me a tea or coffee here. Just like I need money to buy supplies and make art, I also need a ton of caffeine on a daily basis. Lol.
Sincerely,
Sneha