The myth about consistency that nobody talks about

Be consistent for the right reasons or else you’ll burn yourself out sooner than you can say artist

Hi there, welcome to Follow Your Gut, a newsletter where I write about the artist life and business from soon a decade long independent art career.

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Today I want to chat about consistency and how I think many artists have misunderstood what it means for them and their artistic success

I think consistency has become another business buzz-word thrown around in artist circles like a heavy burden and it stops artistic careers from flourishing.

• “You have to stay consistent and post on social media daily if you want to grow your subscribers”

• “You have to be consistent in marketing and creating content if you want to be seen”.

• “You have to be consistent to make any sales… at all”.

GIVE ME A BREAK, I just want to make art.

Consistency, when positioned as a must-solution for business to thrive, becomes a negatively connoted concept that makes the artist soul cringe.

The greatest fear of artists is to be perceived as salesy, so the thought alone of having to consistently show up in front of others is draining.

No wonder there are endless entries from artists who claim “I stopped to enjoy my art when I turned it into a business”.

YouTube videos flashing about how much better their art is when taking off the financial pressure.

I get it, but I also think this is exactly what most get wrong about consistency

I have about 500k across social media platforms, so I know about the metrical rewards of being consistent. I know first hand how it’s incredibly powerful when you’re able to consistently show up for yourself and your art.

Did you notice what I wrote there?

Because this is the thing: We will fail quicker than we can say artist, if we don’t get consistency right.

The key to stay consistent is to identify FOR WHO and FOR WHAT you do what you do.

As long as the motivation is external, as in, other people’s expectations, algorithmic rewards, or some other external pressure for why we need to share, it will drain your creative energy in milliseconds.

The magic of consistency is when you manage to turn it into fuel. You show up on a regular basis to feed your creative genius with creative practice, NOT because you’re expected to; but because YOU WANT TO.

Whenever you prioritize to consistently show up for yourself, because your art matters TO YOU, the rest will come as a bi-product (audience and income growth).

A personal example;

I would never be able to stay up every night to write if I didn’t do it because I love to write.

Naturally, the more I write, the more I have to share and the more I’m perceived as someone consistent (which builds trust).

Read it like this and it will become even more obvious:

1. How can I build trust in my readers? -> I’ll show up regularly! How? I’ll write every evening (adding external pressure to use evenings for writing)

2. When can I write (or do the things that fuel me)? In the evening when everyone sleeps (creates an internal longing for those silent hours to get typing. You do it because you want to).

To change your relationship to consistency, and the reason for why being consistent is important, will free you from restraints around what to create, when to create and how to create.

Let’s burst the MYTH that we must be consistent for others, and let’s begin to stay consistent for the sake of our own artistic genius.

After all, Your Art Business = Your Rules.

💕

Ironically, when I least feel like making art, is when I need it the most, and that’s when honoring my artistic need for consistency matters the most ❤️‍🩹 here is a quick sketch I did this morning during stolen minutes on the floor outside

What is your relationship with consistency?

I’d love to know!

Ps. I’m also approaching the end of an internal experiment for this newsletter that I’ve run over the summer (I’ll share more shortly!), and with its reveal I want to spice things up a bit…

I’m contemplating on one of two additions for paying readers (and please let me know in the comments if you’ve got a preference):

1. Monthly discussion thread about a decided topic related to following your gut in art and business

2. A monthly Ask me Anything related to following your gut in art and business.

The main difference; the first would serve as a prompt to get conversations going to expand our thinking, and the second will cater to individual ponderings that one may desire to have external experienced feedback on

and so the pondering continues….

Much love,

Elin x

My latest essays:

• Why I do what I do as an artist

• I posted to Instagram (200k) for the first time in 1.5 years: this happened

And in are you’re into the artsy side of things too… you’re warmly invited to come and check out my Digital Art Magazine

—>Learn More Here: Petronella.Art Magazine