Selling Before You've reached Your Prime
I've done a search without finding a post on this subject, but didn't find anything. I hope this is not a duplicate.
Currently, I've sold a lot of art--starting when I was 12--and again a few years ago. I had down payments for five commissions to total strangers before I'd ever seriously picked up an oil brush (long story about pure luck)! I must confess I sweated the entire time I painted them, hoping I could pull it off.
In hindsight, I'm sick to my stomach that during my learning curve I was "flooding the market," so to speak, with my name attached to relatively poor art. I mean, the drawing was good and the color was okay, but the lighting, technique, and style development needed a lot of work. On the one hand, I'm happy I just got started but other times I wonder if I did the right thing.
Now, I feel my art has progressed tremendously and almost wish I could go back and paint for all my clients again--just to get better stuff on more walls. Does anyone else have experience with evolving their style while still selling their work?
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