{"id":2216,"date":"2025-12-13T08:58:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T04:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hub\/?p=2216"},"modified":"2025-12-11T21:46:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T17:46:00","slug":"sharing-your-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hub\/society-culture\/arts\/sharing-your-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Sharing Your Art With Others a Good Idea? Artist Answers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Should you share your art right away or wait? While it&#8217;s natural to want an audience for your creative work, artist Austin Kleon warns against rushing to share too soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his book <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/steal-like-an-artist\/preview\" rel=\"nofollow\">Steal Like an Artist<\/a>, <\/em>Kleon provides advice for artists on when to start sharing your art, how you should do it, and how to handle inevitable criticism. Here&#8217;s what he has to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-pros-and-cons-of-sharing-your-work\"><strong>The Pros and Cons of Sharing Your Work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve made something you\u2019re proud of, you\u2019ll naturally want to share your art with others; however, Kleon cautions against rushing into this step because anonymity is an asset for beginner artists. Right now, you have the freedom to experiment as much as you like because no one is expecting anything specific from you. However, once you\u2019re a big-name artist, that freedom will disappear because people will expect you\u2014and pay you\u2014to keep producing one particular kind of art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In Kleon\u2019s view, having your work become well-known automatically means losing your creative freedom; however, this isn\u2019t always the case. Many artists and authors have created famous works while still maintaining personal anonymity (and, therefore, the freedom to create whatever they like). For example, writers like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stylist.co.uk\/books\/15-authors-who-used-pseudonyms\/126657\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mark Twain, George Orwell, and George Eliot all rose to fame while writing under a pseudonym<\/a>. In the modern era, the graffiti artist known as Banksy has attained international success <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/arts-culture\/the-story-behind-banksy-4310304\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">while remaining anonymous<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-use-the-internet-to-share-and-connect\"><strong>Use the Internet to Share and Connect<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019re ready for people to see your work, the internet is the best tool at your disposal because people from all over the world can easily find your work. Kleon recommends creating a website and a social media presence. Share your completed work as well as some glimpses of your creative process so that others can learn from you (and you can learn from them).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to sharing your work, the internet is a great place to connect with other creative people. Kleon recommends using social media to find people doing work that inspires you. Then, spark up a friendship by complimenting them. If you want to express your appreciation for an artist (whether well-known or not), Kleon recommends posting a public tribute to their work on your website or social media account rather than messaging them privately. That way, the artist will feel appreciated but won\u2019t feel pressured to respond.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Kleon frequently takes his own advice to post tributes to other artists. These tributes take different forms\u2014for example, he often posts <a href=\"https:\/\/austinkleon.com\/2021\/12\/20\/10-good-books-i-read-this-fall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lists of the best books he\u2019s read lately<\/a> with a review of what made each book so memorable. Other times, he\u2019ll post a deep dive into the thoughts of one writer or artist\u2014for example, he posted <a href=\"https:\/\/austinkleon.com\/2021\/12\/03\/the-mothers-of-matrix-by-lauren-groff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">his illustrated notes on a talk given by the novelist Lauren Groff<\/a>. This practice also allows him to connect with other creative people online and gives them a chance to learn from his creative process.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-handle-criticism\">How to Handle Criticism<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>As you interact with people online, keep in mind that you can\u2019t please everyone. If someone doesn\u2019t like your work, ignore them and refocus on the process of making your art. If their words make you angry, all the better: Kleon argues that <strong>anger is an excellent motivator for creative work<\/strong>. He advises channeling that anger into making even greater art rather than wasting the motivation on arguments with people online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Scientific research supports Kleon\u2019s argument that anger strengthens creativity: One study found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artsy.net\/article\/artsy-editorial-rage-lead-creative-breakthroughs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">people in an angry mood produced more novel connections between ideas<\/a> than people in a sad or neutral mood. Other studies showed that bottling up anger can <em>reduce <\/em>your creativity over time, so it\u2019s best to express your rage (in healthy ways, as Kleon recommends) when it happens.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Kleon acknowledges that we\u2019re not made of stone, and shaking off rejection or criticism is easier said than done. For that reason, he recommends saving every complimentary email or message you get in a folder that you can revisit when you need a reminder that people appreciate your work. (Shortform note: There are many ways to go about building this folder. For example, in a blog post, Kleon clarified that he uses <a href=\"https:\/\/austinkleon.com\/2009\/09\/30\/saving-up-for-when-this-is-all-over\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the \u201clabels\u201d function in Gmail<\/a> to build his own praise file. Alternatively, if you prefer a more analog approach, you could set aside a few pages of your notebook for recording praise.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-learn-more-about-sharing-art\">Learn More About Sharing Art<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to learn more about creating and sharing your art, check out our full guide to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/steal-like-an-artist\/preview\" rel=\"nofollow\">Steal Like an Artist<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is sharing your art with others a good idea? Artist Austin Kleon provides advice for when and how to go about sharing your art. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is Sharing Your Art With Others a Good Idea? Artist Answers - Shortform Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is sharing your art with others a good idea? 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