Hi this is Eric from Cafe Watercolor.
Welcome to this week’s coffee talk!
I hope you are doing well.
So..
I was busy working on some paintings for an art show.
And if you are following me on Instagram, you probably saw this photo.
So I got the best of show award which is this huge ribbon.
Honestly.. this is the biggest ribbon I’ve seen in my life.
It was such a honor because this is a huge recognition and validation for me.
And I felt really really happy for about........... two days.
And that’s what I want to share with you today.
I used to really care about being validated and recognize in the art world.
I wanted to be featured in magazine, to get into big art show and winning award.
And in the social media world, I wanted to have more followers and be internet famous.
I really wanted to get that YouTube plaque one day.. or to have that “K” next to
my Instagram follower number.
And don’t get me wrong, I still do!
And I do believe one day I will.
But I also know that I will probably be really happy for a few days when that happens.
Because those things don’t define my value as an artist.
Ribbons, certificate and plaques are nice.. but they are not who I am.
The most I can do with those is to display in my home and say “award winning artist”
in my artist bio.
But those don’t matter much for the people whom I’m serving!
None of my past commission client EVER cared about if I am an “award winning” artist.
And at the same time.. having award and being internet famous doesn’t really add more
value to my students who’s learning from me.
Yet, I used to be stress over them and tried really hard to obtain them!
To a point I was actually start feeling bitter about this.
And that is a really bad place to be for an artist!
It’s not me saying art shows and awards are meaningless.
I do think it is a good motivation and goal to have.
And they can really push artists to do better in their crafts.
However, your value as an artist shouldn’t based on how many award you’ve got or how
many followers you have on Instagram or Facebook.
For me it should based on how many people’s life have been bettered because of you.
How many people you were able to help both emotionally, physically or even financially.
That’s what I want to based my value as an artist on.
Is that how much value I bring to others.
Ribbons are nice, more subscribers are nice (subscribe to my channel please) But at the
end of the day, I just want to bring value to others and build connections through my
art.
So... those are my thought.
What about you?
What do you think?
If you are an artist as well, let me know what’s your take on the art show and awards.
And if you are someone who collects artwork, is it important that the artist has some award
under his or her belt?
Let me know from the comment down below and let’s continue the conversation!
That’s it for this coffee talk.
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If you are interested in more coffee talk and my painting videos please subscribe.
Also visit my website to see more of my works.
Thank you and I will see you next time!