Insta-Artists

At 11 years old,  I took the huge risk of putting myself out there. I was uncomfortable at first, I wasn’t used to sharing my art. Even in person, I never really liked sharing my art with other people. I never really knew taking this risk could lead to something life changing.  

The internet world can be a scary place, there are definitely times when the internet isn't great. But, the online world can give you the opportunity to share your talents and things that you love to do. For many artists, social media has created such a huge impact on their lives and it's become an online gallery for them.  More specifically, Instagram. Not only Instagram but other social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr etc.  

My story begins with my love of art. I've always loved art, ever since I was in kindergarten. Through my primary years I wasn't very passionate about art, until I discovered Kristina Webb. (@colour_me_creative) An internet sensation artist. I found her on Instagram at the age of 10. Yes, 10 years old. Crazy right? After following her for a year I realized how creative and amazing her art was. I came across one of her fan pages and thought I should make one too!  

October 2014 I posted my first picture of Kristina's artwork, I shared more photos of her artwork days after. After two days of having that account, Kristina followed. I FREAKED OUT! I CRIED SO MUCH! Then I started to post regularly. The more I supported her, the more I fell in love with her art. I was so inspired, I wanted to create my own art as well. March 26, 2015, I posted my first artwork inspired by Kristina. I received so many positive comments, even though I thought it wasn’t very good, in my opinion. Overall I had about 300+ likes and a lot of positive comments. 

October 8 2015, I posted my second artwork of a challenge I did in Kristina’s book ‘Color Me Creative.’ This time, I got a comment from Kristina. Let's just say, I “fangirled”. Over the years, I barely posted any artwork, but I've always had the thought of creating an art account.  

February 2017, I created my first art account. I shared an eye drawing, comparing how much I have improved over 8 months. I got so many positive comments, it was amazing! It motivated me to create more art. I still look back at those comments and it always puts a smile on my face. 

Positive 

The online art community is incredibly supportive. It's an inspiring world of artists, where you can get a range ideas. You get noticed by famous artists and get your art featured. You get an amazing amount of support and suggestions on how you can improve. There's always positive vibes, and barely any negativity.  

Negative  

Having an art account can be great, but one of the hardest things about running one is posting regularly. A lot of people expect you to post often, with new art pieces. I believe art takes time and I find it hard to post all the time, especially when I have school.  

When you post something online, it is easily accessed by anyone. Meaning anyone can see, like or comment. One of the worst things that could happen when posting your art is getting hate. This barely happens to artists but it still does. The only way you can get rid of the hate, is simply deleting and blocking the person. Don't ever let anyone's negativity bring you down. There is no wrong or right in Art, there's just people expressing themselves. 

I've asked artists on Instagram about their experiences and how they started. 

Here are their answers: