How to succeed as an artist

I’m probably not qualified to write this blog post. I’m not really successful and not even a real artist. I sing sometimes in the shower for myself, play piano and drums on beginner level but this is most probably not enough. And if a small boy asks me „dessine moi un mouton“ he will be horribly disappointed from my artwork. But I'm actually not sure about this (see my rule 1 below). Maybe I'm just an artist which produces particularly difficult to understand art. Be that as it may, I will give it a try anyways:

1. Walk your own path and enjoy
   Always do what you enjoy to do. Fun is the best compass indicating the way to success. You will meet many people who claim to be able to tell you what you should do instead („the current trend is…“) and if you are doing well or not. They organize competitions, issue diplomas and titles and write critical articles comparing you to others. You can safely ignore all of them, listening to them is a waste of time or worse. Why? If you want to rank art by quality, you need criteria to tell from two pieces of art which one is better. But this does not make any sense. First, it is very personal how art moves an individual and second one might be tempted to favor the more pleasant, flattering art over the more awkward and difficult.
   And you also don't need the promised visibility of competitions. An early forced visibility will only distract you from listening carefully to the audience which you already have. And making them happy should be your primary goal: if you can really touch their hearts, the same will work with 100 million people.
   Note that people who criticize your work without the need of investing much efforts (i.e. for free) are an asset (see rule 6).
2. Let other artists inspire you but don‘t copy anybody.
   Study other artists recipes for success, copy their technical and artistic skills and perfectionism. But always pursue your own goals and stick to your personal signature style.
3. Regularly experiment in extreme spheres.
   You cannot learn and discover new things if you always walk on the same known paths. So get used to try extreme stuff. Don‘t be afraid from disharmony and chaos. They are the mothers of harmony and structure (and often even very attractive „spice“ when added to the „meal“ in moderate amounts). Don‘t be afraid to fail magnificently.
4. Be critical with yourself and tolerant with others.
   You only grow when you face your own limitations. Therefore always compare yourself to artists who are better than you in some aspect.
5. Surround yourself with people who are better than you.
   Don‘t let your ego lure you into settings where you are the star admired by everybody. You will stagnate and be unhappy in the long run. Following this rule will help you to follow rule 4.
6. Enviers are the most valuable critics.
   If you show your work to your best friends, they will tap your shoulders and praise you. While this feels great, it does not offer an opportunity to grow. Your enviers on the other hand invest a lot of energy into finding the flaws in your work. This is actually very valuable! So don‘t argue angrily with your envy critics, but embrace them and listen carefully. Your victory will come later when you have fixed all the criticized flaws.
7. You are primarily a human being, then an artist, then a musician and last (but not least) a drummer.
   To become a great drummer, all these spheres matter. You have to be good in all of them. Therefore you should be curious and willing to learn in all these spheres. Always remain hungry for insights and knowledge. Live a rich life and try everything which can be tried without excessive risks.
8. Put yourself into context.
   Your art is always part of a bigger piece of art. If you make music for a movie or a game, you contribute to something bigger. Be aware of this and try to produce something which serves this higher purpose. Even if you create „standalone music“, there is a bigger piece of art: our planet earth, our society.
9. Don‘t be afraid of high obstacles, dare to walk long detours.
   If you come to the conclusion that, to give an example, you need to learn electronics to be able to achieve your goal, then just go for it. Rest assured that you can master it, even if it is something you have never done before and you feel you have no talent for. You will regret later if you don‘t do it.
10. Don‘t neglect the analog.
    The digital must be rooted in the analog. If you don‘t play conventional physical drums regularly, your electronic drum patterns will sound strangely lifeless and sterile. Even with digital patterns, one should be able to imagine how they are played on real drums.

Image: Shutterstock / Barandash Karandashich

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