A Series of Thoughts on 'Being' and Artist

It can be quite challenging to monetize your art. A lot of this is “learn as you go”—from designing a website to taking pictures of paintings in the perfect lighting, where the varnish doesn’t reflect weirdly off the image. Then there’s Instagram, Facebook, story posts, reels… it can all be pretty overwhelming. I see jokes about this on reels all the time—how “everything is content,” and how it’s often less about creating the art than marketing it.

This has all been a fun learning opportunity, and I can’t say I ever expected something I love—painting—to become my side hustle or small business, which I’m really just beginning to establish. Courto Art… branding myself, in a way. Learning to establish value in my work and to take myself seriously as an artist.

It gives me such deep joy to know that pieces I’ve created are hanging on someone’s wall. That someone would reach out to me to recreate a memory or evoke a mood or a vibe—it’s a true honour, and I feel blessed to be appreciated for it.

Art has always been an outlet for me and a way to express what I see. Developing my style and form has been an ever-evolving practice. Painting puts me in a flow state, knowing that what I’m creating is one of a kind. I can’t say I ever pictured myself getting to a point where I have a website and, if I really wanted to, could turn this into something wonderful. Who would have thought I’d get to do what I love, even in some small way? It’s a blessing, and something I’m happy to invest my time into.

I recently listened to the podcast How to Be a Better Human, and an episode with Chris Duffy and Austin Kleon called “Why stealing other people’s ideas can be a good thing.” I found it really interesting—this idea of being “unoriginal” and how borrowing from others’ art is actually good. I’ve often tried to avoid spending too much time admiring other people’s work for fear of it infringing on my own creative constructs. But as I continue to develop my style, I’m starting to see that we do, indeed, mimic what and who we admire.

I’m often compared to the Group of Seven, and I’ve decided to embrace the overlap instead of resisting it. Maybe leaning into that balance between influence and originality is what will make me original. Who’s to say?

This is all an experiment, and sometimes I feel like I have no clue what I’m doing. But maybe that’s part of the fun.