This poem is not about robbing you of the status of Starving Artist, it is a great honor and privilege.

When looking back at that era of your life, you will always smile with pride.

In fact if I may, learn to make Sushi, and you don't have to put raw thing in it, and when creating Pizzas, at most, make that dough, three millimeters thick at most.

This is a poem about adding to your Holidays, when everyone else is chitchatting and you get a bit bored talking to the Uncles.

You can take out your phone, and see if you sold anymore of your art, now that the post-Holiday sale is starting.

It is very difficult to push yourself away from your art, it is a challenge, it is a little bit of a tragedy, even.

But when you are deep in your art, you lose the sense of scale you are working on.

You have to step out an look around, because run the risk, of creating things that are just too small.

The best example of this are your earliest moments, when you discovered artists that inspired you.

If you never noticed the artist that changed who you create, then you would not be at the level that you are now.

But, there is a lot more to this, then just becoming greater, you will have to start a new much shorter thread of artworks.

And they will feel nowhere as perfect as you main thread, it will feel wrong, but you have to be strong.

Your customers have needs other than the heights you are pursuing, companies have needs in areas you don’t care about.

But this is important, especially if you are just starting with sales, you will need to take a deep breath, and look at the calendar.

I am so sorry, but you have to begin tracking seasons, and holidays, and craft small runs of art that will match what people need.

Moreover, you probably need to check other forms of art as well, tessellation comes to mind.

Stable diffusion allows for creation of repeating patterns, and that means pattern sales, fabric design, and perhaps even dye sublimation printing.

You won’t find much comfort here, stepping away from your finest works, just to make a sale, will cause much discomfort.

But this is where humanity is right now, taking to these small sideways threads creates passive income, that will keep you safe.

This does not mean that you have to sacrifice your dignity, as an artist, you are encouraged to rebel.

And for a year or two as you get the hang of this, you are allowed to rage, rampage…

Remember that there isn’t a mother out there, who is going to buy her teenage boy, something that will make him go:

“What the hell, mom!?”, and have him dome downstairs in whatever the heck she ordered.

If you are going to work with Generative Art like DALL-E, Midjourney, or the free-ish Stable Diffusion, for which you will need an expensive computer.

Think in layers, of concepts, look at the calendar, figure out the next big holiday, and what kind of art people tend to buy.

And, layer, multiple concepts one on top of another, like Easter Bunny, Angry, Scary, Intricate Eggs, Sword, to create a unique product.

You don't have to follow traditions, it is OK if the Dad goes “What the hell is even that?”