Jared Steinberg Art
@jaredsteinberg.bsky.social
Sharing artist insights, creative breakthroughs & real talk on making art a career. Join my journey - newsletter here: http://bit.ly/3FugyOc
Sometimes a painting doesn't need more information.
It needs less interference.
I can spend hours adding details that technically belong there while slowly losing the thing that made me want to paint it in the first place.
I'm getting better at noticing when that happens.
It needs less interference.
I can spend hours adding details that technically belong there while slowly losing the thing that made me want to paint it in the first place.
I'm getting better at noticing when that happens.
September 25, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Sometimes a painting doesn't need more information.
It needs less interference.
I can spend hours adding details that technically belong there while slowly losing the thing that made me want to paint it in the first place.
I'm getting better at noticing when that happens.
It needs less interference.
I can spend hours adding details that technically belong there while slowly losing the thing that made me want to paint it in the first place.
I'm getting better at noticing when that happens.
One of the enemies of attention is presumption.
I was struggling with a painting because I thought I already knew what I was looking at.
Once I stopped trying to make the scene “right,” I could finally see what had attracted me to it.
I was struggling with a painting because I thought I already knew what I was looking at.
Once I stopped trying to make the scene “right,” I could finally see what had attracted me to it.
September 24, 2026 at 4:00 PM
One of the enemies of attention is presumption.
I was struggling with a painting because I thought I already knew what I was looking at.
Once I stopped trying to make the scene “right,” I could finally see what had attracted me to it.
I was struggling with a painting because I thought I already knew what I was looking at.
Once I stopped trying to make the scene “right,” I could finally see what had attracted me to it.
One thing I'm learning at 55:
Experience doesn't eliminate uncertainty.
It just gives you more evidence to work with when uncertainty shows up.
I don't need to know how this ends.
I need to make the next good decision.
Experience doesn't eliminate uncertainty.
It just gives you more evidence to work with when uncertainty shows up.
I don't need to know how this ends.
I need to make the next good decision.
September 23, 2026 at 4:00 PM
One thing I'm learning at 55:
Experience doesn't eliminate uncertainty.
It just gives you more evidence to work with when uncertainty shows up.
I don't need to know how this ends.
I need to make the next good decision.
Experience doesn't eliminate uncertainty.
It just gives you more evidence to work with when uncertainty shows up.
I don't need to know how this ends.
I need to make the next good decision.
Comparing my life to people with stable jobs is a reliable way to make myself anxious.
Then I remember: I chose a different path.
That doesn't make it better.
It does mean I should probably stop judging my journey by someone else's map.
Then I remember: I chose a different path.
That doesn't make it better.
It does mean I should probably stop judging my journey by someone else's map.
September 22, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Comparing my life to people with stable jobs is a reliable way to make myself anxious.
Then I remember: I chose a different path.
That doesn't make it better.
It does mean I should probably stop judging my journey by someone else's map.
Then I remember: I chose a different path.
That doesn't make it better.
It does mean I should probably stop judging my journey by someone else's map.
I used to think the art business was mostly about making better art.
Now I see the machine around the art differently.
The painting matters.
So does the website.
The follow-up.
The conversation.
The invoice.
The relationship.
The work has to travel.
Now I see the machine around the art differently.
The painting matters.
So does the website.
The follow-up.
The conversation.
The invoice.
The relationship.
The work has to travel.
September 21, 2026 at 4:00 PM
I used to think the art business was mostly about making better art.
Now I see the machine around the art differently.
The painting matters.
So does the website.
The follow-up.
The conversation.
The invoice.
The relationship.
The work has to travel.
Now I see the machine around the art differently.
The painting matters.
So does the website.
The follow-up.
The conversation.
The invoice.
The relationship.
The work has to travel.
I’ve noticed something about uncertainty.
It doesn’t seem to bother me as much when I have a next step.
I still don't know exactly where this full-time artist thing ends up.
But I know what I'm doing today.
That seems to be enough.
It doesn’t seem to bother me as much when I have a next step.
I still don't know exactly where this full-time artist thing ends up.
But I know what I'm doing today.
That seems to be enough.
September 18, 2026 at 4:00 PM
I’ve noticed something about uncertainty.
It doesn’t seem to bother me as much when I have a next step.
I still don't know exactly where this full-time artist thing ends up.
But I know what I'm doing today.
That seems to be enough.
It doesn’t seem to bother me as much when I have a next step.
I still don't know exactly where this full-time artist thing ends up.
But I know what I'm doing today.
That seems to be enough.
Twenty years ago, I wanted to make a living as an artist.
What I didn't understand was that wanting the career and knowing how to build the career were two different things.
The dream didn't change.
My understanding of what it requires did.
What I didn't understand was that wanting the career and knowing how to build the career were two different things.
The dream didn't change.
My understanding of what it requires did.
September 17, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Twenty years ago, I wanted to make a living as an artist.
What I didn't understand was that wanting the career and knowing how to build the career were two different things.
The dream didn't change.
My understanding of what it requires did.
What I didn't understand was that wanting the career and knowing how to build the career were two different things.
The dream didn't change.
My understanding of what it requires did.
I’m trying to find ways to work faster without making worse paintings.
That means better planning, clearer decisions, and knowing when I’m fussing with something that doesn’t matter.
Speed isn't rushing.
It’s reducing the number of unnecessary decisions.
That means better planning, clearer decisions, and knowing when I’m fussing with something that doesn’t matter.
Speed isn't rushing.
It’s reducing the number of unnecessary decisions.
September 16, 2026 at 3:56 PM
I’m trying to find ways to work faster without making worse paintings.
That means better planning, clearer decisions, and knowing when I’m fussing with something that doesn’t matter.
Speed isn't rushing.
It’s reducing the number of unnecessary decisions.
That means better planning, clearer decisions, and knowing when I’m fussing with something that doesn’t matter.
Speed isn't rushing.
It’s reducing the number of unnecessary decisions.
For months I was building systems without much visible payoff.
Website. Follow-up. Email. Sales process. Presentation. Relationships.
It wasn't particularly exciting.
Now some of those systems are beginning to produce results.
Turns out the boring stuff was doing its job. #artbiz
Website. Follow-up. Email. Sales process. Presentation. Relationships.
It wasn't particularly exciting.
Now some of those systems are beginning to produce results.
Turns out the boring stuff was doing its job. #artbiz
September 15, 2026 at 4:00 PM
For months I was building systems without much visible payoff.
Website. Follow-up. Email. Sales process. Presentation. Relationships.
It wasn't particularly exciting.
Now some of those systems are beginning to produce results.
Turns out the boring stuff was doing its job. #artbiz
Website. Follow-up. Email. Sales process. Presentation. Relationships.
It wasn't particularly exciting.
Now some of those systems are beginning to produce results.
Turns out the boring stuff was doing its job. #artbiz
I’ve noticed I’m walking faster lately.
Not dramatically. Just a little more purpose in my step.
I used to move through the day wondering what I should do next.
Now I’m moving toward the next thing I’m excited to work on.
Interesting what a little confidence does to your gait.
Not dramatically. Just a little more purpose in my step.
I used to move through the day wondering what I should do next.
Now I’m moving toward the next thing I’m excited to work on.
Interesting what a little confidence does to your gait.
September 14, 2026 at 4:00 PM
I’ve noticed I’m walking faster lately.
Not dramatically. Just a little more purpose in my step.
I used to move through the day wondering what I should do next.
Now I’m moving toward the next thing I’m excited to work on.
Interesting what a little confidence does to your gait.
Not dramatically. Just a little more purpose in my step.
I used to move through the day wondering what I should do next.
Now I’m moving toward the next thing I’m excited to work on.
Interesting what a little confidence does to your gait.
Here's what a second chance of going full-time as a creative taught me, compressed: Hope less, build more. Research less, ship more. Perform less, practice more. The unsexy version of the dream is the only one that comes true. Still in it. That's the whole report.
September 11, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Here's what a second chance of going full-time as a creative taught me, compressed: Hope less, build more. Research less, ship more. Perform less, practice more. The unsexy version of the dream is the only one that comes true. Still in it. That's the whole report.
The more I write about painting, the better I paint. The more I paint, the truer I write. I used to keep them in separate rooms. Now I think they're the same muscle — both are attention, aimed hard at something real. Every practice feeds the others.
September 10, 2026 at 4:00 PM
The more I write about painting, the better I paint. The more I paint, the truer I write. I used to keep them in separate rooms. Now I think they're the same muscle — both are attention, aimed hard at something real. Every practice feeds the others.
Comparison is a habit that dies hard. I still catch myself scrolling past peers with the shows, the sales, the security. The difference now is what I do with the sting. It used to stop me. Now it tells me where my attention drifted, and I bring it back.
September 9, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Comparison is a habit that dies hard. I still catch myself scrolling past peers with the shows, the sales, the security. The difference now is what I do with the sting. It used to stop me. Now it tells me where my attention drifted, and I bring it back.
Six months ago I wrote that I didn't need better systems, I needed a better identity. Update: I was right, but incomplete. You need both. The systems are how the new identity practices being real.
September 8, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Six months ago I wrote that I didn't need better systems, I needed a better identity. Update: I was right, but incomplete. You need both. The systems are how the new identity practices being real.
Found a canvas from fifteen years ago in the back of the studio. Genuinely bad. Wrong values, muddy color, no idea what I was doing. I kept it. It's proof the distance is real — and proof that starting badly is still starting.
September 7, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Found a canvas from fifteen years ago in the back of the studio. Genuinely bad. Wrong values, muddy color, no idea what I was doing. I kept it. It's proof the distance is real — and proof that starting badly is still starting.
For years I thought I needed validation — a gallery, a grant, a critic's nod — to call myself a real artist. It was never going to arrive from outside. So I stopped waiting and acted like it was already true. Nobody validated me. I just got up and painted.
September 4, 2026 at 4:00 PM
For years I thought I needed validation — a gallery, a grant, a critic's nod — to call myself a real artist. It was never going to arrive from outside. So I stopped waiting and acted like it was already true. Nobody validated me. I just got up and painted.
Artwork doesn't care how you feel about it. It only responds to whether you showed up. Some of my best paintings came from days I dragged myself in convinced I had nothing. Mood is a liar. Attendance is the truth. Show up anyway. #ArtistLife
September 3, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Artwork doesn't care how you feel about it. It only responds to whether you showed up. Some of my best paintings came from days I dragged myself in convinced I had nothing. Mood is a liar. Attendance is the truth. Show up anyway. #ArtistLife
#ArtistsLife Some mornings I feel like I'm getting away with something — like a real job will tap my shoulder and end the experiment. Then I remember I chose this. Twenty years of wanting it. The imposter feeling isn't a warning. It's the cost of doing something that matters.
September 2, 2026 at 4:00 PM
#ArtistsLife Some mornings I feel like I'm getting away with something — like a real job will tap my shoulder and end the experiment. Then I remember I chose this. Twenty years of wanting it. The imposter feeling isn't a warning. It's the cost of doing something that matters.
I used to think discipline meant forcing myself to the easel. Feelings be damned. Now it looks like removing friction — studio ready, phone away, one clear task. Willpower is what you use when your systems fail. I'd rather need less of it.
September 1, 2026 at 4:00 PM
I used to think discipline meant forcing myself to the easel. Feelings be damned. Now it looks like removing friction — studio ready, phone away, one clear task. Willpower is what you use when your systems fail. I'd rather need less of it.
Sometimes a collector stands in front of a painting and just goes quiet. Doesn't ask the price or the technique — just sits with it, thinking. That's what I paint for. #ArtCollectors
August 31, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Sometimes a collector stands in front of a painting and just goes quiet. Doesn't ask the price or the technique — just sits with it, thinking. That's what I paint for. #ArtCollectors
Nobody tells you starting over means grieving the version of you who thought he'd arrived. At 25 you have nothing to lose. At 55 you've built a self, and the bet asks you to risk it — and the grief that comes with it isn't a detour. It's the price of the ticket.
August 28, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Nobody tells you starting over means grieving the version of you who thought he'd arrived. At 25 you have nothing to lose. At 55 you've built a self, and the bet asks you to risk it — and the grief that comes with it isn't a detour. It's the price of the ticket.
Some days the whole plan is one sentence: what needs doing today? Not the five-year vision. Not the perfect version. Not the grand thesis. Just today's honest next thing. That's where every big thing I've ever finished actually started.
August 27, 2026 at 9:21 PM
Some days the whole plan is one sentence: what needs doing today? Not the five-year vision. Not the perfect version. Not the grand thesis. Just today's honest next thing. That's where every big thing I've ever finished actually started.
Hope is not a plan. I know that now in my body, not just my head. Hoping the art would work out kept me stuck for twenty years. Building — systems, reps, honest correction — is what moved the needle. I'm not hoping anymore. I'm building.
August 18, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Hope is not a plan. I know that now in my body, not just my head. Hoping the art would work out kept me stuck for twenty years. Building — systems, reps, honest correction — is what moved the needle. I'm not hoping anymore. I'm building.
A 60-year-old artist told me this week: it doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it just has to be done. And by done, he meant — love the making, show up daily, leave something behind. I've been chasing the masterpiece my whole life. Maybe it was always just the not-stopping.
August 14, 2026 at 4:00 PM
A 60-year-old artist told me this week: it doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it just has to be done. And by done, he meant — love the making, show up daily, leave something behind. I've been chasing the masterpiece my whole life. Maybe it was always just the not-stopping.
I started writing about my paintings to sell them. That's not what happened. Writing about the work made me understand it — why I chose that color, what I was chasing. The words don't come after the painting. They finish it. Turns out I've been making two things all along.
August 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM
I started writing about my paintings to sell them. That's not what happened. Writing about the work made me understand it — why I chose that color, what I was chasing. The words don't come after the painting. They finish it. Turns out I've been making two things all along.