Is art still worth learning?

My view on the future for creatives.

It's taken me a good, long while to process all of my emotions around AI.

We're still in the middle of the hype bubble, with more and more disruption piled on to society each month it seems. And an increasingly polarized debate.

It's an... interesting time to be alive.

For over a year, I've lived in perpetual, existential dread about the future for creatives (and for people in general).

I've had very little motivation to paint. I've sometimes questioned my very identity as a creative and whether I should be doing something completely different. Ugh... I get stomach cramps just thinking these thoughts.

But I'm grateful to have come out on the other side with a bit more perspective. Through countless articles and podcast interviews with experts, I've educated myself on the finer nuances of what's going on. And the more knowledge I've gathered, the calmer I've become.

Not that I'm particularly "chill" about any of this. I'm not. (Don't be fooled by the name of this newsletter. 🙄) I still have moments of panic, and despair, and dumbfounded disbelief over what's going on.

But most of my fear has turned into anger. And determination. And a healthy kind of detachment.

I'm curious to see how this will unfold. How the world will deal with this disruptive technology that's running amok, and with the greed, recklessness, and anti-human sentiments so rampant among the tech capitalists.

I'm confident in our ability as creatives to persevere, fight injustice, and remember our inherent value - our irreplaceability in human society. I hope we'll get to see something better emerge out of the rubble.

And in this week's video, I do my best to instill some much needed hope and confidence in my fellow artists. The ones among us (including myself) that are despairing over their choice of career, and wondering whether they have any future at all. Who no longer feel like drawing or painting. Who feel lost, and empty, and confused.

I explain why I believe learning art - and making art - is more worthwhile than ever. Despite how bleak things are looking. And that our art will likely become even more valuable in the future, especially if things continue going downhill.

It's a video I've had in the can for over a month, itching to edit. And now I finally get to release it. I hope you'll like it. 🖤 (There are also some shots of me painting watercolor bugs in there. 🪲)

On the topic of art, I've started work on a new painting collection. 🥳

Last week, I was thinking it would be watercolor, and that I'd turn it into either a wall calendar or a series of posters. (Thanks for voting in the poll, by the way. The calendar is in the lead.)

But then I sat down to plan the project… and was immediately gripped by fear. The kind of fear that only watercolor can instill. Because it's the most unforgiving, most nerve wracking, most cruel of all painting mediums. (Sorry watercolor, but you know it's true...)

I decided to let the watercolor wall calendar idea rest for a while, and pick up my oil paints instead.

I've been craving to paint sea birds for a while, and now's the perfect time. I have so many unused canvases at home. I want to continue honing my oil painting skills. And I want to build a collection that I can exhibit around the area my family lives in, on the east coast. (Norrtälje, for you Swedes...)

Inspiration struck, and I started sketching out a bunch of gulls, in stormy skies and foamy waves, and on cliffs and beaches... I want to incorporate more of nature into my paintings. More landscapes in the background, as opposed to the clean white or simple toned that I'm used to. And I want to continue developing my style of loose oil painting that I found through my Horns collection last year.

I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and start painting. 😌

With love,

---

New video: Is it even worth learning art anymore?

---

Some favorite things lately:

• Simon K Jones
  , on why artists aren't the ones that should be fearing AI:

  It's not artists who should fear AI

  "When the dust settles, those who have cynically exploited workers and creatives for centuries will find that they’ve wiped out their own markets in a race to the bottom. Their own technology, pursued at such a rapid pace there was no time to pause to consider the consequences, will be their undoing. They’ve disrupted and innovated themselves out of existence. In a world of infinite, zero cost generative content, people will crave anything that is unique and human.”

  “The consolidated corporate channels and platforms and streams will be full of infinite, meaningless content, and as the subscriber interest dwindles, all the execs will panic. The accumulated distrust from their betrayals will foam up about their waists and the shareholders and CEOs will look up and shout ‘SAVE US!’

  We’ll look down and whisper ‘No.’

  And there will remain the hard graft and earned creations of humans, where the experience of making the thing is paramount to its existence."

  👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

• Cara. The new social media/portfolio app that artists are migrating to in droves. I'm not even that interested in posting my art on external platforms, but I went ahead and joined anyways, mostly to be able to follow other artists there. Here's Bobby Chiu's video about it:

  Are you on Cara? Let me know, so I can follow you there!

• Currently listening to: Solar Fields - Movements. Part nostalgia trip (I had this in my ear buds aaaaall the time back in 2012-2014), part immersion tool for the sci-fi novels + games I'm enjoying right now.

• The Devil's Plan on Netflix. 12 smart people try to outsmart each other in a series of really well-designed games.

  We haven't even finished bingeing Physical 100, which I raved about in last week's letter. Then this one popped up, and now we're bingeing it too. Like I said to my partner the other day: "Wait... These are only the ones recommended to us on Netflix. How many MORE great, Korean reality shows exist that we will never know about? I'm going to have nightmares..."

• Playing: Outer Wilds. Which has me thoroughly hooked, but keeps on crashing on Switch so I've had to move on to the PC version and start anew. But it’s worth it. There really is something magical about this game. It's both meditative, and absolutely terrifying.

• Also playing: Subnautica. Same thing here actually, but instead of space, it’s an alien planet with a vast, deep, beautiful, terrifying ocean… Great exposure therapy for my long-time water phobia.

If you enjoy my writings, consider subscribing. Become a premium subscriber to get access to the full archive + community. Your support means a lot to me. 🖤

I am a watercolor wildlife artist by trade. You can view my original paintings and prints for sale here.

If you're a beginner artist, you might enjoy my self-paced courses on drawing and watercolor painting.

If you run a creative business and are tired of the social media hustle, I have a workbook called Calm Marketing you might find useful. I also offer personalized business advice via my Creative Business Audit. It’s like a high-powered coaching session, but super-affordable, and delivered via pdf.