Most artists struggle to sell their work at some point. Even Van Gough! But what if I told you it’s not because your art isn’t good enough, or that your prices are too high? What if I told you that you’re sabotaging your offer before you even give it? On this episode, I’m going to discuss why limiting beliefs undercut our ability to sell our work and how awareness and self-love can turn it all around.
Outline of This Episode
- [0:07] I’m moving!
- [4:24] Stereotypes, assumptions, and the pitfalls of adopting other people’s opinions
- [12:20] How limiting beliefs undercut you’re ability to sell your art
- [18:05] The power of YOU and how self-love creates connection
The power of your belief system
Have you ever had to push through the opinions of others to get to what you know is true? My recent experience finding a new place to live reminded me that even when other people think it’s “impossible”, my inner voice is guiding me to where I’m supposed to be. The same is true with our individual art journeys. There are so many stereotypes, assumptions, and misunderstandings around being an artist. I don’t even have to list them because we’ve heard them so many times that you could do that yourself. They are deeply rooted because they have been dripped into our minds for many years from many sources. It happens so often that we don’t realize these limiting beliefs are optional. This is the power of your belief system. When the lens that you see through is one of scarcity, you won’t believe the good things about yourself and your art. Even if they’re true.
Awareness helps you sell your work
One of the most common stereotypes about artists is that we’re bad at business. In fairness, many artists struggle to sell their work, but it’s not because creatives are innately bad at it. If we buy into the lie that we aren’t good enough, that our work isn’t good enough, that we are bad at selling our art…how are we ever going to gain the confidence to actually sell it? This is why so many artists have such a hard time selling their work. Asking people to buy our paintings is loaded with opportunities for limiting beliefs to jump in and sabotage the offer. If we truly believe that we don’t know how to price our work, we’ll signal that the price is negotiable before we say the price. We can even offer a discount before we give the collector a chance to say yes or no. If you don’t believe you can sell your work, you will not sell your work. That is why it’s so life changing when you become aware of the beliefs that are coloring how you see your art and how you see yourself as the artist who creates it.
Love yourself
We are all here, together on this planet, at a very particular time. There’s something miraculous about that, don’t you think? As artists we have a gift. A way of experiencing the world that is different from most people around us. That difference matters. It’s important. We connect with people and show them what we see. Some people just won’t get it, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Other people will, and it’s the best thing in the world. Some people won’t get it until you show them through your painting and love for this human experience we are all having together. And then they won’t be able to unsee it. They will have this experience of changing their point of view. And finally, others will see your work and think, “Oh my god, you see it too! So it’s not just me!”, and you will have given them the very powerful gift of knowing that there are others out there like them. You can only do that when you’re connected and in love with yourself. Art is about connection. It connects us to the world around us, the people in it, and ultimately ourselves. But if that last connection is broken, the whole thing falls apart.
Resources Mentioned on this episode
- The Savvy Painter Growth Studio
- The Savvy Painter Community
