3 Tips on Being Taken Seriously as an Artist

If you are fresh out the gate on getting started like me, it may seem intimidating to call yourself an artist when Pablo Picasso and Beyonce are called the same. You may have stopped and started, stopped and then started up again because of thoughts like that. But deep down inside, you know you have a special way to express your thoughts and feelings. You know you're an artist. You may sing, rap, dance, write, paint, or do all and more. You do these things in private, but now you're ready to share this form of expression and don't know how.

Here are a few things I've done to be taken seriously as an artist.

1. I introduce myself as an artist.

For example, WHENEVER I am asked what I do for a living I always explain that I am an informative conscious artist. It doesn't matter where I am or who asked. Even though I work at a call center right now, I am not a customer service representative. I am an artist. I speak it for it to be, with anything in life. I just don't say "an artist" either. I have chosen to be more specific by titling what I do as an informative conscious artist. It best sums up my work and my mission. Introduce yourself as what you want to be and be specific.

2. I make an effort to be around other artist.

Go out and meet like-minded people that are in your field, whether aspiring or inspiring. Be around them. Birds of a feather flock together, right? My immediate circle doesn't have similar ambitions, although they are doing great things in their own lanes. It's unnecessarily challenging to figure out how to move in this field alone. When I go out to an art event I'm learning more about the art world, meeting new people in that field, and talking about projects that I'm working on. In doing that, I am spending that time living and be understood as an artist. These opportunities won't fall on your lap. I dedicate time to looking for art events going on in my area and make sure that I go to them.

3. I take myself seriously.

This has been the most effective thing I have done for my art career. I have made a website, business cards, a blog, and put myself on every social media platform in just six weeks time. I didn't take too much time to overthink these moves. I just did them. I didn't have much money to start either. I got 100 business cards for $20, the website was free (hence, the domain name), and I don't pay for any advertising for my social media or blog.