One of the least discussed realities of being an artist isn’t the doubt, the rejection or even the criticism.
It’s the cash flow.
Or more accurately, the lack of predictability around it.
Sales don’t arrive on a schedule. There’s no weekly pay cycle.
No guarantee that effort this month translates into income next month.
That part can be quietly exhausting.
And yes, I know all businesses experience this to some degree. Peaks and troughs aren’t unique to artists. But when your work, identity, and income are tightly braided together, the silence between sales can feel louder than it probably should.
Lately, I’ve been returning to a phrase I heard years ago:
“Rest in the uncertainty.”
I’m nowhere near mastering it. Some days I barely touch it. But remembering the idea helps, especially on the days when the numbers don’t reassure me and my mind starts racing ahead, trying to solve everything at once.
Because that’s the trap.
When things feel uncertain, the instinct is to fix everything immediately. Rethink the whole business. Question every decision. Demand certainty before taking the next step.
But uncertainty doesn’t respond well to force.
What does help and this was a reminder I needed today, is narrowing the frame.
Not the whole plan. Not the next six months and not even the next week.
Just the next step.
Sometimes that’s taking a short walk with no headphones. Completing one small, defined task like opening the studio door, responding to one email, finishing one brushstroke.
You don’t have to take all the steps. Just the next step.
There’s something quietly stabilising about that. It brings the nervous system back into the room. It reminds you that movement doesn’t require certainty. Only presence.
I don’t pretend this removes the anxiety entirely. It doesn’t.
But it does soften it and it creates a little space around the noise.
And in that space, work gets done.
Momentum returns, often quietly and without announcement.
Being an artist means learning to live alongside uncertainty rather than defeating it. Some days I do that better than others. Some days I don’t do it at all.
But on the days I remember to rest instead of panic, that’s usually enough to take the next step.
And for now, that’s enough.