We all want to become successful artists. But for each of us, success means something different. What makes an artist successful largely depends on your personal mindset. What’s your main motivation to create art? Do you want to make money with your art, become famous, or realize your dream? Knowing your focus is key to make your art career successful. Here’s how to figure it out!
We all have the desire to be successful. Successful in our jobs, successful in our relationships—successful in life in general. If your job is to create art, you want to be successful as an artist.
BUT—what makes an artist successful?
Success can mean many things, and usually, it means something different for each of us.
For some artists, being successful can mean getting a lot of eyeballs on their work and selling their art. For other artists, success equals approval and recognition in the art world. And yet others might measure the success of their art by how much satisfaction and joy they derive from the creative process.
So, one thing we can already nail down is this: what makes an artist successful largely depends on your personal mindset.
All in all, we can identify three key areas that define the success of an artist: monetary profit, acclaim, and artistic self-realization. Do you agree?
Of course, artists might not only want to become successful in a single one of those areas. What makes an artist successful to your mind may be multiple things from two or even all three of those areas.
So let’s delve a bit deeper into it!
What makes an artist successful depends on your mindset
Mindset #1: MONEY makes an artist successful.
Many artists might feel selfish telling you that the money they make defines the success they have with their art.
Despite all the bias around ‘wanting to make money‘, there is nothing wrong about striving to make money with your art skills. We all need money to live, and the more money we have, the less worries we have. Right?
Having enough to go round gives you the freedom to do what you want with your time and enjoy the feeling of safety and security.
Plus, when you do what you love, you can work in the flow state as an artist. That means, instead of counting the hours at a day job you don’t like, you feel happy and fulfilled doing something that doesn’t even feel like work!
There are lots of ways to make a living as an artist, and if you want to become successful at selling your art, go for it!
Mindset #2: ACCLAIM makes an artist successful.
Art is all about self-expression. When you tell your story through your artwork, you also desire to share it with the world. Hence, many artists would tell you that a work is only complete when you share it with an audience.
In return, such artists seek to receive feedback on their work. That feedback can come as views, likes, shares, and the comments people post under the piece. There are heaps of social media and art sharing sites. Depending on where you post your art, there will be different mechanisms of ‘recognition’.
Other artists enjoy the attention they get in the art world when their work is being written about in art magazines or included in galleries and exhibitions.
Admittedly, creating exposure for our art feels good, because it gives us the confirmation that our art is meaningful to others.
Mindset #3: PASSION makes an artist successful.
For some artists, success has nothing to do with money and it has nothing to do with the number of likes or followers they have on social media and other platforms.
For these artists, success equals the amount of joy and satisfaction they derive from doing what they love.
However, as you may know, reaching a level of artistic skill that allows you to be satisfied with what you create takes some time and effort. When I think back to the time I started with digital art, I remember very well that my creations didn’t look like anything I imagined.
That can be a frustrating experience that will leave you feeling everything but joyful and satisfied. But if you keep going and follow your intuition, you will gradually get better at where your passion lies!
∗∗∗
At the end of the day, only you can decide what success means to you. Determining what aspects are the most important to you to make your art career successful will help you focus your efforts in the right direction.
As for me, artistic success means a bit of all of the three areas above. I want to make money selling my art because I want to able to provide for myself, have a certain level of financial security, and the freedom to manage my time as I like. I appreciate it when others value my art in a way that they want to have a piece of mine in their homes. That always makes me happy!
Getting exposure and feedback on my art is also important to me, because it allows me to get in touch with like-minded people and build meaningful connections. However, social approval is not so important to me that I would shy away from criticism and try to make art that pleases others. Always stay true to yourself!
Last but not least, passion is what brought me here in the first place. I wouldn’t be creating art for more than a decade if I didn’t feel joyful, happy and fulfilled doing it!
What makes an artist successful in your opinion? Let me know what you are thinking in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
How to make your art career successful
At the end of this post, I still have a little goodie for you. ・゚✧*・ Everyone who wants to take their art to the next level can download the FREE Art Business Startup Checklist to help you get your art career going!
- Grab your FREE Art Business Startup Checklist
![5 Tips On How To Stop Overthinking Art [Tackle Your Art Anxiety]](https://ginangiela.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/How-to-stop-overthinking-art-500x400.jpg)
