These days, artists are strongly encouraged to write about their work on a regular basis. I resisted this notion for quite some time because of not knowing where to start. Nor did I feel that there was time in my life to make a proper effort. I did not want to add more noise to the universe. After all, I was a visual artist….
I have been considering building a blog for about 3 or 4 years. The idea was pretty overwhelming. Optimally, content should be added every day or two. What in the world would I write about? If I could not produce something somewhat interesting or intelligent, why bother? Just more noise….
A monthly newsletter seemed like something I could handle, so I started there. What a huge learning curve that was!
The first year (2012) was more miss than hit. Readers seemed to enjoy what ever I did manage to put out there which spurred me on. In 2013 I successfully published a newsletter of sorts every month. This writing thing was becoming fun and rewarding. With practise, advice from other artist bloggers and art business coaches like Alyson B. Stanfield, I decided to take the plunge and get this blogging thing going. It will be interesting to see if anyone will read it!
I have been told that artists writing about their work on a good quality blog, for instance, can be valuable to the artist as well as the reader. Apparently, all of this writing can serve several purposes:
- help me learn more about my self and my work
- help me find the words I need to talk about my work
- help me build a stronger relationship with my (potential) clients
- help me build a larger audience for my work and make new friends
- my words and processes may inspire others (would be nice!)
- it will become a record of my thoughts and growth
- would allow others who were interested to get to know me
- it may turn out to be a lot of fun
- give me another reason to keep creating more paintings!
So here I go… Hopefully you won’t find me too noisy!
Great first post Judy. I started with a similar post when I started blogging. It’s never easy to put yourself out there and it does take time to build a following.
The hardest thing I find is to get people to talk, leave comments. I just kept talking and eventually someone left a comment and then another and another.
Have fun with it.
Be Your Best
Kim