That’s an actual conversation I had last week during the Competa Art Walk.
The husband – a very skilled painter – was sat, busily working on a very detailed piece, and his wife stood by the table.
And she just casually dismissed ‘being an artist’ as ‘not work’.
Now to be fair, it was a tongue-in-cheek remark, and I doubt it caused a domestic dispute that night, but still…
It’s an attitude that far too many people have.
Artists and non-artists alike, in fact.
The idea that it’s not work, to create art and build a living around making things.
When in reality, being an entrepreneur of any kind is harder work than having a job.
Especially if your entrepreneurship revolves around actual creation.
It’s comparatively easy to, say, design websites or to write articles for a living.
I used to do it: clients would brief me on copy for their website, I’d do the research, and hammer-hammer-hammer went my fingers on the keyboard.
Also work, but incomparable to the process and business of making ART.
To me, you artist guys are brilliant, all of you.
You have all my respect, and you deserve it too.
And, in case you find it difficult: you deserve a whole bunch of self-respect too.
Like Mark McGuinness told me in the interview I’ll publish today or tomorrow:
As an artist you render an important public service.
And, you deserve to be paid well for it.
So think about that.
Whether making your art is work or play to you, being a professional at it is every bit as respectable as having a ‘regular job’.
And don’t let anyone tell you different.
Hey, and if you’re not yet getting paid as well as you want or deserve?
Then maybe your website needs some help.
Specifically, in terms of tweaking it in order to convert visitors into subscribers and buyers.
Too often I see beautiful artist websites, where it’s all form, but no function.
But form and function should support each other, not compete.
Neither of the two should be put second place.
So if you want me to give you a full 2-page report custom written to help you keep the form and design, but improve function?
Then go here and get a custom site optimisation report –> http://martinstellar.com/turn-your-site-into-a-conversion-machine/
Cheers,
Martin
