Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

Abstract

NFT rock up the hill while its weight is pulling you down — leading to endless wasted hours that could be used for painting.Grabbing brushes and paints and standing before an easel immediately puts me into “the zone.”Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi‘s ‘flow state’ which is always available to me when I paint and would be available to any artist who loves their craft.Your creative juices will flow.<h2 id="602b">II. Fantasize that one day you’ll find the RIGHT workshop, the perfect mentor, or the most compatible art association.</h2>This is the stance that you are still a student and others more experienced than you are BETTER THAN YOU. This is pure garbage.Painting workshops are fun to attend and you learn something. However workshops are never going to provide you with the information to begin selling your artwork. Nor is gaining a mentor or becoming a member of an art association. These are useful enterprises but they don’t move you one inch toward selling more.<h2 id="43be">The psychological term for this behavior is using an external locus of control to measure your worth as an artist.</h2>Locus of control is a concept in psychology that refers to the extent to which individuals believe they have control over the events and outcomes in their lives. People with an external locus of control tend to attribute their successes and failures to external factors such as luck, fate, or the actions of others, rather than their own abilities.On the other hand, people with a strong internal locus of control tend to b

Options

elieve that their actions, decisions, and efforts directly impact the results they achieve. They view themselves as responsible for their successes and failures and believe that they can shape their future through their own actions and choices.Artists can benefit from a strong internal locus of control. It will enable them to find their painting style — from endless practice at the easel — and eventually find their painting voice.<h2 id="e9be">III. Saying: “I’m not in it to sell. I’m painting for myself.”</h2>This is a cop-out. Every artist who is serious about their work sells. When you sell intermittently it’s not because your work sucks, it's because you haven’t marketed yourself properly.Artists may say “I’m painting because I love to paint.” While there’s a smidgen of truth to this, the next phrase — “I’m not in it for the money” — is a cover-up.It’s choosing to stay unaware of your vulnerabilities. Putting your artwork before the public is hugely vulnerable and no artist — no matter how successful — would say it's an easy process.When you swallow hard and put your work up at a gallery, through open studios, or some other venue, you allow yourself to learn something. People may like your work or not — but, believe me, you will learn! And, what you learn through exhibiting your work will inform your future artwork.I hope you enjoyed this. I’m on a 30-day writing challenge and this is day 4. If you feel inclined to buy me a coffee — go to ko-fi.com/lorwenpaintingsThanks!</article></body>

What Not to Do (if You Want to Gain a Toe-Hold in the Art Market)

3 Stumbling Blocks Artists Fall Prey to.

“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” — Albert Einstein

These 3 stumbling blocks — chasing the elusive gravy train, over-reliance on external support, and the “Not in it for the money” fallacy — are some of the ways artists fail to get noticed in the art market.

I. Hop on the latest gravy train and hope you’ll strike it rich.

In my view, NFTs are the latest ‘gravy train’ or distraction to a serious artist [I might change my mind but that’s my view right now].

I’ve looked into minting NFTs and selling on Nifty Gateway. Being a statistical whiz in graduate school, I believed I could go straight to the “horse’s mouth” and produce AI-generated images through Stable Diffusion (SD) and Google Colab Pro.

Sure enough, I was able to generate some fascinating images and the process was frankly addictive but the outcome was sisyphusian. Since the whole process requires a steep learning curve, you are constantly distracted by some new coding or some new way to market your NFTs to sell.

You are pushing the NFT rock up the hill while its weight is pulling you down — leading to endless wasted hours that could be used for painting.

Grabbing brushes and paints and standing before an easel immediately puts me into “the zone.”

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi‘s ‘flow state’ which is always available to me when I paint and would be available to any artist who loves their craft.

Your creative juices will flow.

II. Fantasize that one day you’ll find the RIGHT workshop, the perfect mentor, or the most compatible art association.

This is the stance that you are still a student and others more experienced than you are BETTER THAN YOU. This is pure garbage.

Painting workshops are fun to attend and you learn something. However workshops are never going to provide you with the information to begin selling your artwork. Nor is gaining a mentor or becoming a member of an art association. These are useful enterprises but they don’t move you one inch toward selling more.

The psychological term for this behavior is using an external locus of control to measure your worth as an artist.

Locus of control is a concept in psychology that refers to the extent to which individuals believe they have control over the events and outcomes in their lives. People with an external locus of control tend to attribute their successes and failures to external factors such as luck, fate, or the actions of others, rather than their own abilities.

On the other hand, people with a strong internal locus of control tend to believe that their actions, decisions, and efforts directly impact the results they achieve. They view themselves as responsible for their successes and failures and believe that they can shape their future through their own actions and choices.

Artists can benefit from a strong internal locus of control. It will enable them to find their painting style — from endless practice at the easel — and eventually find their painting voice.

III. Saying: “I’m not in it to sell. I’m painting for myself.”

This is a cop-out. Every artist who is serious about their work sells. When you sell intermittently it’s not because your work sucks, it's because you haven’t marketed yourself properly.

Artists may say “I’m painting because I love to paint.” While there’s a smidgen of truth to this, the next phrase — “I’m not in it for the money” — is a cover-up.

It’s choosing to stay unaware of your vulnerabilities. Putting your artwork before the public is hugely vulnerable and no artist — no matter how successful — would say it's an easy process.

When you swallow hard and put your work up at a gallery, through open studios, or some other venue, you allow yourself to learn something. People may like your work or not — but, believe me, you will learn! And, what you learn through exhibiting your work will inform your future artwork.

I hope you enjoyed this. I’m on a 30-day writing challenge and this is day 4. If you feel inclined to buy me a coffee — go to ko-fi.com/lorwenpaintings

Thanks!