What every artist should think about

You often wonder if your art is any good. You've asked me, and you've asked others before. You've submitted your work to magazines, galleries and compared it to others. Rejections from some collectors, platforms and galleries have been disheartening.

Now, since you've sought my advice, here's what I'd suggest: Stop seeking validation from external sources. Avoid comparing your work to others. No one else can truly advise or help you at this point - it's something only you can do. Look inward. Discover what drives you to create. Examine if that drive is deeply rooted in your heart. Ask yourself if you'd feel a part of you would be lost if you couldn't create. Most importantly, during your quietest moments, ask yourself: Is creating a must for me?

Search your inner self for a heartfelt answer. If this question elicits a firm, straightforward "I must," then organize your life in accordance with this imperative. Your entire life, even in its most ordinary and unremarkable moments, should reflect and bear witness to this inner calling.

Then, get close to nature. Try, as if no one has tried before, to put into words what you observe, feel, love, and let go of. Avoid creating generic, overused pieces of love; they are the most challenging to work with and require a mature artistic power to create something unique in a landscape filled with well-established traditions. So free yourself from these typical themes and draw inspiration from your everyday life. Create from your own struggles, desires, passing thoughts, and your belief in beauty in some form. Portray all of these with heartfelt, quiet, and unassuming sincerity. When you express yourself, use the elements in your surroundings, the images from your dreams, and the objects stored in your memory. If your daily life seems uninspiring, don't blame it; blame yourself. Admit that you haven't tapped into your artistic potential to unlock its richness. For a true creator, there is no poverty or uninspiring place.

Even if you were confined within prison walls, isolated from the world's sights and sounds, wouldn't you still have your childhood, a priceless gem filled with cherished memories? Focus on that. Make an effort to rekindle the buried emotions of your extensive past. Your character will strengthen, and your solitude will expand into a place where you can reside in the quiet, while the noise of others remains in the distant background. And if, from this introspection, from diving deep into your own world, inspiration emerges, you won't worry about whether others deem it good or not. You won't strive to attract collectors to these works. Instead, you'll see them as precious, a natural part of your life, a voice from within. A work of art is truly exceptional when it arises from a sense of necessity. That's the only way to truly understand it.

So, my dear friend, I can offer you no other advice but this: Take a deep journey into your inner self and explore the profound source from which your life springs. There, you'll find the answer to the question of whether you must create. Embrace that answer exactly as it is, without the need for interpretation. You might discover a calling to be an artist. If so, accept that destiny and carry its weight and importance without ever seeking external rewards.

A true creator must be self-sufficient, finding everything within themselves and in the natural world, to which they dedicate their entire life.