What is it like to be an artist during a pandemic? I obviously can only speak for myself, although I am in touch with a lot of fellow artists, through social media of course, so I am seeing what some of them are doing to cope.
Being an introvert, I am not minding the isolation brought on by the pandemic. We are lucky to be in a comfortable house, and to have no worries about where our next meal is coming from. We are lucky to have a lot of space around us to safely take walks and be outside. My partner and I get along incredibly well, and often joke about the fact that we have never had a real argument, even though we have been together for almost 17 years. Our children are all healthy and have kept their jobs during all this, although in modified form for most of them. So we are truly lucky, and very grateful. But I realize that not everyone is so lucky, and that is starting to show in the way many people act on social media. People are becoming more thin-skinned and less tolerant of those who disagree with them, and are “unfriending” people left and right. Others seem to be spending their time looking for ways to mock, insult or pick fights, usually with strangers, just because they have differing views.
These are sad times indeed. Governments have started to react to the looming psychological crisis by advertising a lot of mental health tips, strategies and resources, letting people know they are not alone in feeling bad.
I am also lucky to have art. I know I mentioned last week that I haven’t been able to do the usual art shows and that sales have been slow, that future shows are still “up in the air”, and of course that is disappointing. But the extra time this has provided has allowed me to expand my knowledge and hopefully my abilities. I have always enjoyed learning, so this is all good. I don’t want to sound like it doesn’t occasionally get me down, but I am in no position to complain. I have used the extra time to connect with new artists through social media, to learn to paint in oils and in pastels, to set up a website with an online store, to set up a Facebook Business Page, a blog, an email subscriber list, a weekly newsletter, an Instagram account, a LinkedIn account, a Square payment account, and am currently working on setting up a Pinterest Business account. I have learned about goals, insights, traffic, engagement, reach, SEO, campaigns, sign-ups, pop-ups and audiences. In the process, I also learned that the only way to make money on the Internet seems to be by selling courses that teach others how to make money on the Internet! I have entered four international art competitions and was selected for three of them. I have joined Artists in Canada and now offer some merchandise with my artwork on it on ArtofWhere. I have learned to use a wonderful tool (Airtable) to keep all of this information organised! I attended a four day online conference on Realism last fall, and today will be starting a three day conference on Watercolor. I have joined another local artist group and through them I am showing in a lawyer’s office. I have learned to write artist bios and artist statements that don’t sound pretentious, at least I hope they don’t. I have read, or at least started to read, dozens of books on art including composition, geometry in art, drawing, color theory, philosophy, techniques, principles, etc., and was recently gifted an incredible set of books on Picasso. So this gifted time has been good for me, and I have learned a lot. I know other artists who feel the same, but I also see a lot of them, especially those who rely on their craft for income, getting more and more desperate as time moves on and sales dry up. Understandably, buying art is seen by a lot of people as a luxury that they can not afford at this time. While many artists are introverts and may actually be happy with being more isolated, using the time to experiment and grow, many others are frustrated, depressed, and are really missing the social aspect of art shows and fairs. I have seen several pieces of art created recently that reflect the anxiety they feel. I haven’t felt the need to express myself this way yet…. While I totally understand that uncertainty for the future keeps many people from spending money on art right now, I think that most people, myself included, don’t realise how important art is in their life. We are surrounded by art, but we have been taught from a young age that you can’t make a living through art, so you had better get a “real” career. This is sad but true, and unless you become a famous artist, which is unfortunately not always because of talent, but rather through clever marketing or sheer luck, you likely can’t make a living through art, because most people just can’t justify spending what your art is worth, especially if you price it based on a reasonable hourly wage. Thankfully I make art for my own pleasure, and of course the pleasure of others, but I do feel badly for young artists trying to make a living out of it. Music is the same. Unless you are famous, you can’t rely on it to pay the bills. That is why so many artists become teachers. I just did the reverse!
Some day, soon I hope, art shows and fairs will be opening again. Make a point to seek them out and visit them, talk to the artists, and when you see piece of art or craft that calls out to you, whether it is pottery, leather, wood, textile or a painting, appreciate the person behind it and the years of effort that went it to it, not just the minutes or hours that it took to create it, but also the months and years of study, research and practice that made it possible.
Be grateful for the joy it brings you and will continue to bring you, and be happy that you can help the artist to continue to create more.
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AuthorMy name is Claire Bureau. Archives
March 2023
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