To Share Your Art Or Not

Social Media and Artists

To share your art or not, that is the question. Perhaps you have been mulling that question over in your creative mind. Do you dare?

Are you considering sharing your art?

Maybe you’ve happily spent time on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook scrolling through other artists work. Some are absolutely breathtaking and others are obviously beginners. There are artists from all over the world and of all ages. Some are professionally taught and others are self-taught. And maybe you’ve even liked and commented on a few.

Have you wondered how your own work would fare on social media?

It’s a scary thought, isn’t it? There are countless trolls out there who are more than willing to rip artists’ work to shreds with their ignorant comments. Still, you see a lot of the beginner’s pages getting likes and encouraging comments. Should you take a chance and share your art too?

Sharing your art on social media can be terrifying for both seasoned artists and beginners. (Photo Credit: 123RF.com Copyright: Dean Drobot)

If this is you, I would encourage you to take that step. If you’re super apprehensive, start off by just inviting friends and family to get a solid fanbase. On Facebook, you can search artist groups and request to join them. Make sure you look for the rules of each group. Most of them have strict rules, not only about what to post and what not to post, but also whether or not they have a zero tolerance for trolls. These groups are a safe environment for beginners to post their work and also ask for critiques and advice.

I am personally liking Instagram more and more these days. It’s a constant streaming gallery of artwork. This platform makes it easy for you to browse through other artists who have huge numbers of followers and check out what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and what hashtags they’re using. If you’re nervous about Instagram, you can start off like I did. I used Instagram as a personal page that included food pics, fitness pics, gym selfies, travel pics, and the occasional art pic. The art pics were sometimes buried in all the other stuff. But with the right hashtags, I started gathering a growing number of followers just for my art. It got to the point where I created another Instagram page strictly for my art. You may eventually choose to do the same.

It doesn’t matter which platform you choose. Trolls always seem to find you. Know how to handle them! (Photo Credit: unknown)

Because haters love the internet, when you decide to share your art, you must remember that everyone gets their fair share of trolls. You shouldn’t pay them any attention. They are not the majority and the more you engage with trolls, the more they are encouraged to keep harassing you.  99.99% of the time, trolls are not artists and have no inkling as to what art even is or what makes art good or not. Don’t listen and don’t engage.

Also, real artists will not offer unsolicited critiques unless asked to do so. And when they do by your request, it is not only educated but uplifting. They will not shred your self-esteem or demean you. On the other hand, remember that a critique is a constructive criticism meant to build you up. Likewise, you must be willing to set your bruised ego aside and look at it from their point of view. If you can see what they’re talking about then go ahead and try to improve. That’s what we’re all after anyway, isn’t it?

And as far as trolls go, if they get too out of hand…the power of the block feature is a wonderful thing!