The Hidden Beauty in an Artist’s Life: Beyond the Mess
I often find myself ridden with guilt and shame over my living space. Much of this is due to my ADHD—lacking the focus, drive, or foresight to get over the final hurdle and make my place look like I've made an effort to tidy up. Some of it is also due to being an artist, where there's no time or room for everyday chores. The dream is to afford a garden and a spare room or garage for an art studio. I wish to invite people into a place of wonder, filled with artwork, oddities, and creative happenings, but at the moment, it’s chaos.
But is this what others see? What is the real narrative? Is it the curse of the artist to forever be creating faster than we can sell and shift our work into other spaces?
The Struggles and Surprises of Art Sales
How long should we keep artwork in public spaces like cafes before asking for it back? Is it even possible for art to find its human in such venues? Do people buy art at cafes or at all?
I made my very first online sale through someone seeing my “rough” sketch on TikTok and falling in love with it. I sold it for cheap—£35 and £28—because these sketches take less brainpower than my paintings. But it shows you never know what will connect with another human being. If you're reading this, I hope you're enjoying your purchase. I’m so happy you connected with my sketches, which I create to amuse myself and fill spare moments.
Perhaps I ought to share more of my loose sketchbook work, but I have to be careful not to be steered by what did well last time. Just because something sold once doesn’t mean it will again, and the intention changes. I didn't even have those sketches listed on my website until someone asked if they were for sale. One of them I had drawn only the day before, and the other I was thankfully able to locate easily.
Perspectives and Perceptions
The point of this blog post is that you simply don’t know what it's like from another point of view—how others see your art, your living space, or you. Like viewing an artwork, each person brings their own life experience to the reality, altering how they connect to it.
It's so easy to worry, but really, we have nothing to worry about; the narrative of the imagination is likely not as true. Sure, I've had instances where things turned out worse than I could have ever imagined, but thankfully, this is rare. More often than not, the experience and the way someone reacts is far more positive than our wayward imaginations would have us believe.
Kindness and Acceptance
So, dear reader, will we be kinder to ourselves today? Will we remind ourselves that this fear is not based on fact but speculation?
I have to accept that I hit a brick wall when it comes to tidying. I need to focus on one room at a time rather than attempt to get everything to standard all at once. There is, and likely always will be, art stacked in piles against walls, in folders, hung on walls, and anywhere else it will fit.
Trust that change is always happening. Even if I live here forever, it doesn’t matter, even though it feels like it does because our living space can change how we feel about ourselves. But trust that change will find me, and this place will go to someone who needs it for their stepping stone, as I once did. Trust that options will present themselves.
Maybe I'll always question order and organization until the day I die, but I trust I will figure it out. I trust I will connect and have my art reach people, lifting them up to remind them of who they wish to be. Not just art, but a statement of being truly themselves in a world that asks us to conform.
