Why change is crucial to an artist part II

By painting and drawing so much over this year (twice as much as in the last two years together) i have become a precious new friend, that entertains me, motivates me and gives me challenges: Change!

"We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden. "
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Whilst observing this natural expansion of boundaries by myself i understand a lot why other artist struggle with that, as the behavior of their "Fans" changes also, not in a bad way - but no or only rare feedback slows down the motivation to create or publish any more.
Some artists refuse to publish anymore on the web and some avoid the communities that once helped them to grow in popularity.

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."
Sir Winston Churchill

So you must either be stuck in the style that made you popular (referring to the names above) "giving in to the demand" or  learn a "don´t care attitude but be still nice" and step ahead the ladder of progress to get a better artist.

This is in fact no easy decision and working as illustrator makes it not easier as well, while a fine artist can have "phases" or whatever they call it, the popular art shapes an artist on demand -thats the sad part about an otherwise "dream job", a little more acceptance would be desirable.
Sure one can put up different portfolios for either category, but that won´t change a "body of work", thats what i count important when going through portfolios, the ability to bring a unique signature into different styles and techniques.

Below i have put together the most extreme style contradictions of my work, to motivate others that its always important to stay true to yourself regardless of what you do.

One could argument that being in online art communities brings comments and appreciation and even art appreciators to the artists, that is true, but after 8 years of having my work in online art galleries its safe to say that statistically only 1 percent of the viewers give a comment and only 5-10 % are giving a favorite or a good rating, thats fact and makes it hard for emerging artists to learn anything.






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Oliver aka Fantasio is a creative blogger who likes to share his insights about art, marketing and social media. Follow Fantasio on twitter or facebook

3 comments:

  1. The thing I like about your work is that it changes quite markedly but it's always you. I think that's a wonderful talent to be able stay in demand in your industry whilst being true yourself.

    I had the choice of doing a Graphic Design Degree or Applied Art and Design but I went for the the latter because I didn't like the lack of freedom in Graphic design where you're always trying to stay ahead of the design trends and I can change as the mood takes me. I have moved away from Photoshop and Video this year in favour of sculpture and 3D work. It's very challenging but also a lot of fun :).

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  2. Thank you, your words mean a lot to me. And so your decision to stay away from trends seem reasonable - i also enjoy beeing free in subject, technique and ideas;-)

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  3. jahooooor.
    My god. I typed this whole message. And now it's gone. WTF. I copied the message first. Because i had to log in, annnnd. now. it's gone. \
    Fine.
    I start all over.
    I also send you a message at deviantart because i saw you in the list of Leonie and she is an old classmate/friend of mine so i checked you out.
    Impressive gallery! I like the octopus lady.
    And i totally feel your credo! Yeaahhhhh
    Ok. Bye.

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