Wearing the many hats while finding time for art
# Less Content, More Painting
So, while slowly — very slowly — turning art into a career, I’ve realised artists wear far too many hats. Painter, photographer, video editor, marketer, writer, accountant, caption-thinker-upper, algorithm appeaser, camera charger finder, video documenting and occasional human being not doing.
Recently, I’ve started putting quite a few of those hats down in order to do something fairly radical: actually make art. And then, even more radical, put it out into the world simply and not how the socials want me to. So the people who enjoy it can find it. It really should be that simple.
And yet somehow, in this glorious peak era of social media evolution — where we are all supposedly more connected than ever — it can feel strangely lonely. There’s always the little voice whispering that you ought to be producing content about producing content instead of just producing the thing itself.
This blog? I haven’t updated it in ages, and honestly I’d rather only write when I actually have something to say.
YouTube? I admire people who upload every week on a Tuesday at 7pm with thumbnails featuring shocked expressions, their head in the right proportions for maximum traffic and engagement, but I only really want to use it when there’s something worth documenting.
TikTok? Reserved for the occasional fun idea and those rare moments where I accidentally become fun for thirty seconds.
Works in progress on the desk easel
Because, ultimately, the painting is the thing. Not the endless documenting of the painting. I can’t imagine Maggi Hambling ever put up with this :D I do however secretly like the connection when it works and is natural.
I’ve quietly dropped the heavy video editing, the pressure to constantly write, and the need to turn every creation into “content.” The one thing I have kept up consistently is Instagram: share a photo, write a few thoughts, honest thoughts, maybe the odd reel with absolutely no editing — just as it is, as instagram decides to deal with it, add music, post. Revolutionary stuff.
And yet, the guilt continues. Particularly with Patreon. Though I know my two lovely patrons probably just want to see me doing well and making work I care about, there’s still that pressure of a actually having timetables, schedules, regular updates… I just post as and when. All things my brain tends to approach in one dramatic burst of activity before disappearing into the woods for three months.
So this is less of an announcement and more of a quiet note to myself — and maybe to anyone else feeling the same way. Permission to do things differently. Permission to work in seasons. Permission to disappear a little in order to actually make something meaningful. I do hope to get back into Patreon with enjoying the connections forming there, just it is finding a way to juggle it all that works to our strengths.
I’m still here. In fact, I’m painting more than ever precisely because I’m not documenting every second of it. Batteries are always dead, chargers have mysteriously vanished, the phone is already in use, documenting and filming work doesn’t always happen, and some paintings go straight from easel to market without ever seeing a lens.
But the work is alive and well. Come find me at markets and shows, browse the website listings, or message me privately if you’re thinking about but unsure of buying a piece. Latest ale began with voice notes on what’s app (once established wasn’t a scam….so many scammers make it tricky to connect to genius customers) asking about the piece and talking life. More conversations, fewer algorithms. Less showing the art life, more actually living it.
And thankfully — far more painting (even if storage is always an issue for this prolific artist).
