+ Sarah Main

69 Tips to Becoming a More Successful (NFT) Artist.  Not my first rodeo. I wrote this blog post on my website in 2019. Seems as relevant now as it was back then. I got some love for it. Got some hate, too. It is what it is. Have a look over it, take what you like and ignore the rest.  1. Continue to study & learn. Artists never retire and they never stop exploring. 2. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new mediums – physical and digital. 3. Constantly explore new ways to push your artistic limits and always be open to new ideas. 4. Try to work with artists who are more skilled and experienced than you. 5. You learn the most from your mistakes. 6. Focus your work on themes. Successful artists have something important to say and it’s much more effective to get complex and meaningful messages across through multiple pieces, solo exhibitions, and lifelong investigation, exploration, and creation. 7. Continuity is important. 8. Develop your own style that is recognisable throughout your work but continue to experiment and expand your visual language. 9. Create an exciting and relevant USP. 10. Learn from other artists, past and present, but don’t simply copy. Create your own style that is relevant and meaningful for today. 11. Build an awesome website. True, most people will discover and admire your art on socials but your website is curated specifically for people to visit to get to know you and your story. 12. Only put your best work on your website.  13. Less is more. Quality over quantity. 14. Don’t mint every single thing you produce. 15. Don’t discount the lessons and knowledge you could learn from traditional artists and the institutions of the legacy art world. 16. Don’t try to write about your artwork in an art historical context if you’re not an art history major. 17. Don’t make up an ‘ism’ to describe your art. Leave that to the art critics and historians after you become famous. 18. Feel free to write about your creative processes and your inspirations. 19. Drink wine. 20. Study other successful artists of various disciplines. 21. Study other successful people in general. 22. Define what success means to you. 23. Take constructive criticism with grace but ignore that which isn’t relevant to you. 24. Don’t take art advice from your friends or family if they aren’t artists or involved in the art world. 25. Be aware that just because your latest artwork you posted on X attracted a lot of likes doesn’t mean that it’s actually any good... and vice versa. 26. Organise a solo or group IRL exhibition as you’ll learn important lessons: organisational skills, management, advertising, and marketing, etc. 27. Work with honesty and integrity. 28. Always give credit where credit is due. 29. Dedicate your free time to artistic pursuits. 30. Visit galleries – commercial and national museums. 31. Read artist biographies. 32. Study the history of art. 33. Study the great masters. 34. Don’t let new ‘flash in the pan’ trends affect your work, themes, and direction. 35. Always be true to yourself when you’re creating your art. 36. Collaborate with other artists, especially artists with completely different styles and skill sets than you have. 37. Treat your art career like a business. 38. Make intelligent and strategic decisions, think long term but be ready to adapt if necessary. 39. Be efficient with your time. Make lists and tick off at least a couple of things every day. 40. Spend less time on social media and more time developing ideas and skills. 41. Set achievable goals and write them down: daily, monthly, annually, and so on. 42. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t achieve every goal. Re-evaluate and continue. 👇