Working Alone | Breaking the Isolation that Can Surround the Pursuit of Art

Recently I had a conversation with an artist from Montana about overcoming the isolation that can come with working as an artist in a small community. As we corresponded I realized that artists living in a small community don’t have a monopoly on isolation. Even artists living in the largest cities in the world can feel alone as they pursue their craft in the solitary confines of the studio.

As a gallery owner, I get to spend my days interacting with artists and collectors – it’s easy to forget that most art is created in solitude. Creating is so different from the pursuits of the rest of the world, that even among friends and family you can feel alone.

I would like to share the email I received from another artist, Helen in Montana, describing the groups she belongs to that help her break the isolation.

I, too, live in a small community (large by Montana standards, small for the rest of the U.S.), but there are a number of artists in this town and the surrounding area.   I’m benefitting greatly from two forums.   Note that I didn’t start either one; they were in existence and I was invited to join. But I could have been the initiator if the need were there and the idea occurred to me.

First, I’m a member of an artists’ group here in the community.  We have about 70 member artists from this part of the state; about 40 are relatively active.  This group has been up and running for about 30 years, and benefits from having an endowment from an estate bequest, the interest on which helps with expenses.   Members also pay an annual fee, which we keep low to encourage participation even from “starving artists.”   What do we do together?

  • We paint together every other Saturday.   To be honest, those of us who are advanced don’t get much serious painting done, but we can show our works in progress for comment.   And it’s a chance to help and encourage one another.   More experienced artists, for example, can give advice to newer artists and can collaborate with one another too.
  • We sponsor 2 – 4 workshops a year, bringing in regionally or even nationally known artists.   (There is an additional fee for these workshops).
  • We hang works together as a group at two good local venues, changing out our work on a regularly scheduled basis.
  • We hold an annual juried show in conjunction with an area art museum.  This experience also helps newer artists learn the process of entering juried competitions.
  • We have a web site, where members can show some of their works and link to their own web sites.
  • And we socialize together, with annual parties in the summer and at Christmas.

Second, I take part in monthly art critiques.   These take place on a Saturday night, after hours at a local gallery.   About 25 artists take part, with perhaps 10 – 15 showing up for any monthly session.  Everyone brings a snack to share, or a bottle of wine.  We socialize for a while, then sit down in a classroom format.  Taking turns, we go to the front and present a work in progress — usually one near completion on which we have some questions or believe we’re struggling a bit.   Everyone is free to offer their thoughts and suggestions.   The key for this critique group, I believe, is having the right culture — constructive but positive.   It’s not just a chorus of “gosh, that’s wonderful” — critical comments are made, but in a helpful way.

There are some really good artists in this group. It would be interesting to know if other artists have found yet additional ways to create a community that can be there for them when needed.

Helen R.

What Have You Done to Get Connected?

Have you experienced isolation? What have you done to become a part of the art community? How important is it for you to connect? What do you like and dislike about the solitude that comes with being an artist? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

About the Author: Jason Horejs

Jason Horejs is the Owner of Xanadu Gallery, author of best selling books "Starving" to Successful & How to Sell Art , publisher of reddotblog.com, and founder of the Art Business Academy. Jason has helped thousands of artists prepare themselves to more effectively market their work, build relationships with galleries and collectors, and turn their artistic passion into a viable business.

42 Comments

  1. Up the road from Helena in Great Falls we have a few similar groups. One that I have been a part of thirty years, has been getting together for forty years. It was started by Jeff Walker who got the idea from Kalispel who met for breakfasts. Clyde Aspevig said to skip the restaurant and just go paint outdoors. Over the years it has morphed. At the point I joined, every Friday we would go and paint and if the weather was bad, simply go to a restaurant. Now our group is older (70ish average) and more diverse, including sculptors. Today we are meeting at Fuddruckers.

  2. While living in California, I taught a couple of different classes in oil (six artists in each) once a week. The conversations were fun and helpful for everyone. The rest of the week, I worked on my own works in solitude. This gave me social time as well as concentrated work time which was a nice balance.

  3. I too feel isolated by the location of my home. I joined the art group in my city but find it frustrating because the focus of the art group is too narrow for me.
    I have met other artist, most of whose work I find more compelling, who have left this group. So I am left connecting online through art societies or making efforts to meet illusive artists in my area.
    I would add that the critiques I have been to in my area are frankly awful. Everyone jumps in and says move this change that color etc. As a past art director, I know this is the wrong approach. Instead, ask the artist what they want the piece to express. Try to help them discover their own adjustments in keeping with the piece.
    Also, sorry but this is my ecpetience, I find my area competitive in ways that I hadn’t experienced in bigger art centers.
    I am now trying ti connect with just a few individuals.

  4. Jason, I’ve found your Wednesday critique sessions to be so helpful. I belong to no other critique groups, although I might rethink that.

    During this pandemic, and especially these past several months, I’ve found online training/art sessions to be very beneficial in terms of breaking my own creative blocks. The London Drawing Group is a good example of that.

    Essentially, however, I’ve found your weekly critique sessions to be generously guided by you, and contributed to by artists who are respectfully offering their own skills, experience, and support. Thank you, Jason!

    1. Juliana,

      I too have been studying on line. The constant barrage of media coverage/ doom and gloom or threats – created a mental block. I took to online studies. Not only curing the “writers block” but teaching me new skills. I can’t think of a better way to use the time. We will both be better for it when the whole thing goes away.

      Fellow artist. Debra

  5. I find moving to a small town (Sandia Park, near Albuquerque) with my partner, where I don’t know anyone else, catching Covid long-haul, etc., has certainly isolated me. I will admit part of it is that I’m so busy now just catching up on painting time, I haven’t missed socializing much -which suits my massively introverted psyche just fine…
    But of course, there are paint-out groups (when I can go), and a very, very large circle of online friends, including those dear ones I left behind, with whom I can socialize as much as I want. And there are people I can meet for lunch within a couple of hours, should I be able to take the time off…and my partner and I are good friends as well, so the days stream by…

    1. As an update, I have been participating in a plein air association with paintouts, etc., and am less isolated in that sense, having made friends with a number of people “local” to my area, and that has helped…along with the other suggestions made above. I still like to be private when I paint, but a couple of plein air shows are curing me of depending only on that. I’ve found (to my surprise) that as long as I can retreat at the end of the day, talking, demo-ing, and otherwise involving an audience has also had it’s rewards.

    2. This is obviously a couple of years after the last post. I have just come off of two weeks working/selling in a gallery while the owners were away at a big show. I LOVED it! Overall, I suspect that balance of studio/social media/close personal contact is great for me. And what a great place to be in!

  6. My approach was different. I chose to work as a travel agent occasionally in an office with others. It gave me a place to go where there were other people, interesting challenges, and a break from my isolation in my studio. I found the art organizations I belonged to in my area were more competitive than supporting and helpful so being together to paint never brought me satisfaction.

  7. Because of COVID lockdownsI felt even more isolated this past winter. I invited some friends and former students to start a group on Zoom every Wednesday morning. We met to chat and share whatever we had worked on during the week in a supportive environment. Often group members shared new techniques and ideas they had learned. Our Wednesday Zoomer meetings became a way to break the isolation of being artists and the separation we’ve all experienced as a result of the pandemic.

  8. Thank you. Artist’s isolation is a heavy subject for me. I feel very isolated in my location in Northern Nevada. I belong to an established artist’s association in Carson City. I benefit from being motivated to create new work for each 6th week show change, we also have juried shows. However, I don’t get any feedback and there is no forum for critique of work.–maybe I should present this idea to my group? .Anyway, I have also found that artists lean heavily towards landscape in this area-and I am a abstract artist. I have talked to my friends in the area-but they on the whole don’t really relate to my work, and /or are not interested in art. I have one good fellow-artist friend that I am sharing my work with online. I post my work on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter with “likes” from my friends, but no feedback. I have a webpage. I am not letting any of this stop me. I am planning on applying for artist’s colonies for summer 2022-If COVID isn’t closing things down again. I am slogging away in my studio, working towards my goal of a body of work that I feel confident with-using myself as a guide, and getting my groundwork done-biography, resume,etc. Am I missing something? suggestions?

    1. Hi Amy,
      From the far north-west of Scotland, I can relate to what you say. Here it is a very small fragmented community of about 68 dwellings, and there is no-one who is in the least interested ! Before moving here, I lived in Cornwall and Devon where the situation was a little better but most of the art around was ultra-traditional.

      I’m very old and now live the life of a recluse. I have come to enjoy it – the lack of competition and judging, and I found the social side increasingly tiresome . So, now, I rely mainly on Artfinder and a few collectors for outlets.
      I also write and with this the situation is much the same. My publisher is in London, the length of the country away, so we’ve never met !

      I wish you well in your solitary ‘slogging’! Enjoy the peace.
      Richard

      1. Thank you for taking the time to comment. seems like you are far more isolated than I am— Geographically. I like your thoughts about where you are philosophically. It’s good to remember to stick to one’s own vision. Self-promotion that is loud enough to rise above the noise just isn’t who I am.

  9. I have my own ceramic sculpture studio at home, but I go to a communal studio every Saturday afternoon to nominally take “lessons”. But what I am actually seeking there is the social interaction -we have lots of fun- plus they have a larger kiln than the one I own so I also get the benefit of using that. The instructor is also a good second opinion when I have doubts as to aesthetic aspects.

    I would love to have the same kind of group work available without having to pay the price for the supposed lessons, which I find expensive, but I keep on going because otherwise I tend to isolate myself way too much.

  10. A group like she mentioned sounds amazing. I have not found luck in finding this near me. I’m not good at starting these things and frankly not sure how to even begin. I think I really need something like this to remind myself that my art is a valid career.

  11. There’s a difference between isolation and solitide.
    I live halfway between two reasonably robust urban centers.
    I was a lot more active earlier- not so much now. Much of what was a cultural draw has either changed or disappeared. The communities (30 miles away) have become more stringently insular. There are no art groups that would cater to a kind of art discourse. Oh Yes, there are 6 higher ed institutions that have art departments.
    my wife and i are at a point where we ask, “How close can we park? and Will it be dark when we go to drive home?” It’s not bleak because we are not directly involved.
    Isolation is the other thought. It fits me well. In my early years I eagerly pursued inquiries into art and my beliefs. There were religious retreats and formative days spent in museums. But i learned how to be alone with my thoughts and that sense of being sequestered with an image in progress has always been reassuring.
    This is not to say I’m not gregarious in a social situation because I am and I want to be there.
    The main drawback of course is the extra pair of eyes. I have no one who can be that for me even though I’m the extra eyes fro many others. This is taking an adjustment as I continue to lose art people I count on for their perspective.

    1. I lived alone on a remote island in the Caribbean for 4 years. I went into the nearest town, 1 1/2 hours by boat, to pick up supplies every few months. There were no art groups or even artists. I lived and worked in isolation. Like Stephen says, Isolation and Solitude are very different. I learned to cherish solitude, and to trust myself as an artist. When I was younger, I enjoyed discussions and critiques from other artists but now I prefer to not be distracted by the voices of other artists. I rarely go to galleries or museums, so as not to be influenced by the voices of others. After 60 years as a painter, I am still trying to refine my own vision.

      Agnes Martin was right, when she said “I paint with my back to the world.”

      1. Hi Douglas,
        It was very good to read this. As odd as it might sound from where I live in the north-west of Scotland near the Isle of Skye, I feel I can relate to everything you say. I guess I’m much the same age as you, and these days have come to love my reclusive solitude.

        My dealer retired and I now have no good artist friends… that’s fine, I have many internal dialogues every day. I also write and my publisher is in London, as far away in this country as it’s almost possible to be !

        I’m with you and Agnes – she’s been a favourite for a long time, and I wish you well in your refining. I feel sure you’ve found great refinement.

        Good luck, Richard

  12. Since covid and now, my husband’s hospice status, I sometimes feel pretty isolated in my local community. There is a portrait group that meets to paint together, but I’m unaware of any other group.

    Since my choices are limited, I choose to participate in numerous Facebook groups. One is a paid monthly membership that includes regular zoom Q&A Chats and now we zoom and paint together every other week. It’s been great to meet artists from all over the world and build solid relationships with some who I communicate with regularly outside the group. Friends I haven’t met yet, but have painting sessions with. Thanks for the article, but I also want to add that I enjoy my solitude when I’m painting.
    Regards,
    Kate

  13. I joined a Plein air club and also stay in touch with former classmates from art classes and occasionally we arrange painting opportunities indoors or out. I continue to take online classes often with art friends signing up for the same classes and contacting each other regarding our work between classes. I attend art receptions and art talks to support art buddies. I realize creating is solitary but honestly I don’t feel isolated at all. Maybe it takes a little effort to find one’s tribe but it pays off in motivation and sharing opportunities for shows and fun events.

  14. I very much like that you noticed and addressed this. It is huge. Joining the Art Business Academy helped a lot! Also I paint with a couple of plein air groups, and am making friends gradually through that. As a retired teacher who always intended to work as an artist but got side-tracked into a much enjoyed teaching (art) career, I miss having people around and these groups are much appreciated.

  15. Fascinating responses to your question and these are only from those who chose to answer.
    Solitude is often the partner of creativity. Isolation is what can happen.
    I greatly miss the exchange that occurred within a group of homogeneously dedicated artists. Insight exchanges , support, encouragement and quips buoy our souls. Changing locations , losing art companions , energy plus plus means working that much harder to stay connected to others with artistic interests.
    Personally , I need the alone time to dwell within oneself but Covid has definitely added to isolation some of it self imposed.
    I’m fortunate to have a few fellow artists to connect to through emails . I find the stimulus of other like minds a required ingredient for moving forward.

  16. I love my isolation though it has gotten worse since my dog died. I construct geometric wall hangings with seemingly desparate items to make a whole ‘picture’. I love talking about art as a social construct and reading art biographies but I can’t imagine getting input from a group about my art.

  17. Besides the isolation associated with creating art, many artists have physical disabilities and other health issues which prevent the suggestions of Helen. In fact, such circumstances are the reason they have become accomplished artists. The solution for them, while not ideal because serious discussions are limited, is belonging to a variety of FB groups. Yet, participating in these groups often opens communications with artists all of the world. I communicate daily with an artist in Tasmania.

  18. Hello everyone I am so looking for a place to sell my art. The definition in the beginning of this website describing us artists as isolationists head home and I could relate. My art is not like other peoples art it’s one of a kind and cannot be reproduced very easily if at all.
    I can only hope this workshop whatever this is helps and I can find an outlet to sell my work and make lots of money so I can retire next year. Ha ha

  19. I live in a relatively small town for Connecticut. There is now an artists association with about 32 people. It brings us all together with the common thread of art. I have broached the town council with representation by selectmen, on establishing a Commission f/t Arts. It would unify all the arts in this town, while educating families and locals to all of the offerings. In this manner, it creates a ‘community’ of talented people who are not in isolation.

  20. As far as passing my work time alone in my studio, audio books are great.

    Most of my friends are not artists which actually helps with separating my work from the outside world. I either take off in the car and visit them, hike, talk about geek culture, or take aerial arts classes. If early in the week I break up the day and head up to Starbucks and chat with the baristas I know and work on computer stuff, customer follow ups, etc…

  21. I thrive on the “alone-ness” with my art. I have always been alone in my artwork and relish the fact that that is how my best is done! I’m not a community style artist, its just the way I work. No way am I bashing this, but just stating my preferences.

  22. In this relatively small community, we do have a thriving plein air group that meets to paint out every two weeks. I go out when the weather permits. They also have a group show once a year. Three or four of us used to meet once a month for a critique and brought food to share, but Covid stopped that. We’re just now starting that up again. I try to invite an artist friend to my home for lunch every couple of weeks; we talk about art and share our work and ask for feedback. We have an Open Studio event here once a year which has brought a lot of new people, art lovers, into my life. A few have become friends. A husband and wife, new to plein air, are now students who come occasionally to my studio for instruction. My latest project to connect with others and to sell art is hosting open studio events at my home studio. I’m just now organizing an “Art Lover’s Christmas Party” inviting those on my mailing list via my art newsletter. Three artists, including myself, will be showing our work and hosting the party. I live alone and am retired so I have quite a lot of free time these days. Working in the studio is very isolating, this latest project gives me a variety of challenges and a new creative adventure to balance out the sometimes lonely existence of being a working artist.

  23. I was tired of working alone, and I experienced isolation, because I retired and Covid. I had been in a group of students through Community Ed, but when Covid started that all went away. Recently, this past year I went one town over and joined their Community Ed classes and they have more of a community atmosphere than the town that I live in. I joined their Community Arts Center, which has helped greatly with isolation.

  24. As an artist working alone I do need to get together with others from time to time. It can be hard to take the initiative but we can make that happen ourselves. I started a “salon” which turned out to be very stimulating. I didn’t limit it to artists but I did have a strong artist community that I reached out to and invited them to bring anyone they thought would be interested. It turned out to be a very engaging group of people including not only artists but some scientists, unique thinkers, etc. I approached a restaurant owner and asked if he might let us use his lounge/front room on Mon nights when it was closed. He was all for it…and even suggested someone in the kitchen keep a pot of coffee going for us! At any given Salon there were maybe 10-20 people. I conceived it thinking I would be a sort of moderator but the groups seemed to moderate themselves with conversations that were fascinating and respectful. So fun!

  25. I might point out that there are other artists than painters. I am a fiber artist and can’t take my sewing machine to artist’s groups. I am a member of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Assoc.) which has a small local group whose members bring fabric art pieces to occasional meetings for critiques (generally positive) and that is helpful. Unfortunately I am quite elderly with back problems which keep me from constantly standing to cut and iron, and sitting to sew fabric so it is hard for me to continue making art. I miss even being solitaire.

  26. I live in a very small rural community in Oregon where art is at about the bottom of the list of interests among the residents. I joined a county gallery and guild in a neighboring city which has improved the situation a little for me. But it’s not classes or workshops that I miss so much as more casual conversations with other artists in the city where I lived before. It is those casual conversations and connections that generated the three shows I had there in as many years. And it was the casual conversations and connections that kept me growing as an artist. I miss that very much. I also miss the great access to art supplies where I could wander through the big art supply store (Artist and Craftsmen is my go-to) and see what might be new, might be something I wanted to try. Ordering online is okay for some things, but the stimulus of new ideas is gone. When Wal-Mart is your art supply store, it’s pretty darned limited. I am an introvert like so many artists, so solitude in the studio suits me fine, but I greatly miss just the environment where art is part of life. We have no galleries, no museums. We’re part of the fishing/hunting/tourist culture and unless you’re painting along that line, no one is very interested. I try to keep my chin up and often do, but some days, there’s a really empty hollow space in me regarding my work.

  27. Jason
    Judging from the extensive comments I think you have hit on an important topic. I think the open letter is very helpful in describing a supportive environment for artists. Thank you for sharing it.
    Bruce

  28. I’m lucky, I have both…alone time to paint, create, think, doodle, whatever…and artists around galore. Living in the Sarasota area of Florida there are so many
    Possibilities from exhibiting in art centers, community events, outdoor markets,
    I’m a member of the Women’s Contemporary Artists (WCA) of about 150 women working with any type of medium, meeting once a month for art critique, having member exhibitions etc. Besides that I and some of my artist neighbors meet once a week at our clubhouse in a special room to paint and share ideas, critique and help newer artists.
    So it depends where you live in this big country to feel isolated , lonely or not.
    But besides all this hustle and bustle I prefer to be alone to create and appreciate not to share my space with anyone.

  29. Teaching some classes on drawing and painting here at the local community center, gives me a sense of connection with the community and a quickening of spirit. The creative artists that regularly come to the community center for classes do so for the social interaction as much as the instruction. In the new year we are going to offer a one night a week evening Painting & Drawing Speakeasy (Open Studio) where people can come and work on there own (no instruction), chat with others, ask questions, share snacks and drinks. Mainly this is just to be able to work next to someone else and not be alone.
    Michael

  30. Interesting topic. The discussions above have sparked an interest in searching out any potential groups since our latest move. I hadn’t been interested in doing it yet again since solitude is something I have to fight for. Isolation as a concept hadn’t occurred to me until one day, during covid, I heard laughter next door. At that point, I did notice that there had been no human sounds for quite a while in that area where outdoor living was the norm (New Mexico). For a brief moment, I experienced isolation. As a typical introvert, I enjoy solitude so it was just a brief moment. However, you people point out that there are benefits to finding groups of like minded people. Thank you, group of like minded people. 🙂

  31. Wow, a town with an actual, dues-paying art society! And a gallery you can meet at! Must be a really big town (typing from a 10,000-ish town in Wisconsin). We’ve got one “art” gallery (with a paint-it-and-take-it area, but no gatherings for serious artists), 2-3 craft and/or collectibles-that-take-local-artists, and a few artists that operate their own gallery-off-the-studios. We’ve got one “art” organization (dominated by a theater in the woods that hoses a “folk music festival” and a “arts & crafts” festival annually), and an annual “Miles of Art” ($100 exhibitor fee, plus 10% of your gross). I paint with a casual group that’s currently at 3 people–and one of them’s 94. The group (been around for over 30 years) is in serious danger of dissolving.

    I’ve got paintings at the gallery. I watch people come in and buy photo-on-canvas prints that the artists can replicate endlessly, but my originals just get “they’re beautiful” comments.

  32. After Covid, people are even more isolated than ever! We noticed that pockets of people we knew didn’t know each other in our medium sized art community. People are hungry to expand their circles, make new connections and find new opportunities.

    Studying the effects of connection on people and how the lack of connection impacts mental health, we decided to do something about it. We started a social group where we meet once a month and eat dinner and talk. That’s it. Spouses are welcome and people just get to know each other. We typically have an ice breaker and then mingle and eat dinner. It is held in a private room at a restaurant and each person pays for their own.

    We started in February 2023 and today, in December of 2023, we have 195 members. We cap the dinner at 30, and usually have between 20-30.

    There are two rules- no talking about politics or religion. This group has grown to have a very tight core that share opportunities, mentoring, resources and friendship. In 2024 we are going to add studio visits.

    It was easy to start! I made Facebook and IG pages, created events there and in Evite, booked the restaurant and then called with the number. After that, we just show up. I’d rotate some ice breaker games and everyone just took it from there. People paid for their own dinner. It’s very easy to start and you can even have a friend help you get it together.

  33. Frankly, I enjoy the isolation of painting alone. It is a great time to listen to wonderful music and to reflect on things going on in my life. That being said I also enjoy spending time with other artists from time to time. I live in Spokane, Washington where we have a very active art community. We have the Spokane Watercolor Society and another painter’s group called RRAFA (I’m not sure what that stands for).

    We have several co-op galleries in Spokane. I have been a member of a co-op art gallery for a decade and really enjoy the artists involved in the gallery. We plan fun events together and meet monthly do discuss gallery issues. I truly feel blessed to be a part of this group.

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