Want artist friends? Here’s how to find an art community

WHO ARE YOUR PEERS?

Everyone needs somewhere to fit in. Whether your group is large and mainstream, or small and niche, it feels good to find a space to connect with others. That’s why I always recommend finding a place for yourself in an art community. 

NOTE: Artsy Friends, a Patreon group by Carolyn Tantanella, is open now! It’s the perfect place to find your new friend circle online. Join the group here.

WHAT COMMUNITY CAN BRING

An art community can give you motivation and inspiration. 

Seeing other people create always makes me want to pick up my pencil. Different compositions, color schemes, figure gestures, and subject matter always get my mind going with ideas for my own illustrations. 

If someone else can make such beautiful art, so can I, right?

Being in an art community can help you learn and grow. 

You can find advice on art business, pricing, handling customers, and other practical tips in some groups. In others, you can post your work and ask for constructive criticism. You can try your hand in a #drawthisinyourstyle or participate in monthly challenges to stretch your skills. You can ask questions and get answers from people who are experienced in art like you. 

You can also find lifelong friends and have a lot of fun in your art community.

It’s awesome to see how quickly you can click with another person who has the same interests as you. Don’t forget to have fun and relax in your painting practice! What’s the saying? Do what you love and who you love follows. 

Immersing yourself in an art community can help shift your mindsets. 

And mindset matters. 

If you see successful artists in your online feed all day, you can start to think, “Well a lot of people are doing this, it might be possible for me too.” If you only follow friends or people from high school, you might think, “Well, no one I know is doing it and people say art careers are a pipe dream anyway. Why bother.” 

Believe that it’s possible and it will be! Practice courage and confidence alongside others who are doing the same. 

Surround yourself, in person and digitally, with people who support your dreams and support their own too!

WHERE TO GET INVOLVED

Go to shows and workshops locally.

You probably already know that art shows are one of my favorite things. I love the diversity and strength of Detroit’s art scene and I make myself a regular at local events. 

This to me is the easiest way to get deeply involved, find real opportunities, form real relationships and experience really cool stuff. 

Art shows are super fun! I mean at the last event I went to, a naked woman in a wig ziplined across the gallery and sprayed paint on a floor canvas on her way down. Talk about cool performance art, amirite? It was a permission slip to experiment with weird art, a shared experience with everyone else who attended, and a memory for life. Art shows are where you can let the weird out, and find other people who are weird like you. Anyone who hangs at The Tangent knows exactly what I’m talking about!

Of course being a vendor or performer at a show is equally fun, and I recommend doing this as well. I’ve made most of my artist friends by chatting up the artist in the booth next to mine at a show.

Don’t discount the value of experiencing things in person. Showing up is important. 

If you want to read about how to get into local art shows and sell your work, I’ve got a downloadable book on it here. 

Go to conferences and big cons.

Traveling to creative events can be a good way to get in touch with an art community that may not have its roots in a city near you. 

Comic cons, designer cons, surface design trade shows, educational conferences and the like may require a bit of effort to get to, but the people you meet there are serious about their craft. 

Have you seen the attention to detail that goes into costume design at comic cons? Impressive.

These groups are usually hyper-specific, and if you find a yearly event that you fit squarely into, don’t hesitate to grab the opportunity to go. These are the places where you can meet people who understand you and your craft.

You can also learn so much behind-the-scenes details about operating a creative business, straight from the mouths of people who are currently running creative businesses!

If you’re willing to travel (or you live in a city where these communities exist or tour in) you can find your perfect niche art community and keep in touch with your new friends online and at every con celebration afterwards. 

Go to galleries.

Galleries do more than host art shows. They also offer studio space for artists to work. These studio spaces are either rented by local artists, or awarded to them for a duration of time, or given to artists in exchange for work. Sometimes it’s referred to as studio space, sometimes called a “residency.” Certain galleries even allow artists to live an work in a studio space full time!

You can apply to get your own studio space or you can attend open studio tours and see other artists’ workspace.

I highly suggest attending any open studio event you see. The people you meet will be dedicated artists — the perfect people to make friends with if you are also committed to your creativity!

I once scored a free photoshoot with a photographer simply by attending an open studio tour. He had his whole setup curated for the event: backdrops, props, professional lighting. It looked great. I signed up for his email list just to get updates. Two days later he contacted me by my email, saying he loved my artwork and wanted to do an artist-themed concept shoot! Obviously I said yes. The photos turned out flawless and I made a genuine new connection.

What’s noteworthy is I went alone. I had no idea who most of the artists were. I had never been to that building before. I was fully winging it. So if you’re anxious or shy about showing up solo, I want to remind you that nobody is judging you. Everyone was welcoming to me and many other people showed up alone too.

Go to these small and intimate events! You won’t regret it!

Find your art community online.

NOTE: Artsy Friends, a Patreon group by Carolyn Tantanella, is now open! It’ll be the perfect place to find your new friend circle online. Find art business friends here.

If you’re unable to get out, or you want to start small, join free groups online.

I’ve been a part of Facebook groups for artists, artistpreneurs, hobbyists, and creatives, and that’s been really nice. It’s motivating to see what other people are making. When I pick up my phone just to scroll, I immediately see creative people doing their thing. Sometimes it makes me put down my phone and start painting! Also, it feels good to cheer them on, and get cheered on too. Even from strangers 🙂

Instagram is a great place to connect with individual artists, and I’ve made a few cherished internet friends there. Commenting on their posts, following along with their journey, answering questions and asking advice can quickly turn into an online friendship. I notice artists who create in the same style often connect more easily because they genuinely love each other’s work.

You can also join groups on other sites like DeviantArt, DoodleAddicts, MeWe, Reddit, and more. 

There are tons of online outlets for community!

Take classes and workshops. 

Either online or in person, taking a one-time workshop or a series of classes will bring you into an art community. 

If you take watercolor classes, you’ll meet a lot of other people who are also working to improve their skills in the same medium as you. Find friends you can grow with!

A lot of workshops have mailing lists, social media presence, and or groups that continue after the workshop is over. Make sure to join these as well! That way you’ll know when the next class is you can stretch that motivation from the experience into the future. 

Find classes at your local community college, on SkillShare, on Udemy, through local art groups and businesses, or with online programs through other artists. 

My only caveat would be to make it more serious than a Paint N Pour night or a Clayin’ Around craft day. These places are neat (I’ve done both, definitely fun) but you won’t find a true art community there — just people who want to dabble then go back to not making art when they get home. These activities are for non-artists who just want try something new for fun. They’re cool but definitely NOT what I mean when I say take a class. 

Follow artists and tags on social media.

Most people spend a lot of time on social media — myself included, a lot more than I’d like to admit. So why don’t we fill our news feed with art and artists?

I’d say about 75% of the people I follow are people that I don’t actually know in person, they’re just creatives who inspire me. When I open up Instagram, I want to be catapulted into the wider art community that motivates and challenges me. I want to stay up to date on things happening in the art world and watch emerging artists become established. 

I also follow a lot of entrepreneurs and spiritual thought workers. They help me elevate my mind and get focused on what really matters to me. 

You can hang out with me on Instagram here 🙂

Surround yourself, digitally and physically, with artists and creators. You’ll start to feel like a part of the movement in no time.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A GROUP

You want to feel included and welcome. 

I used to love high brow art. I took a few art history classes in college and got introduced to the many doors of intellectual meaning behind art. I learned about concepts, art movements, process-based art, history’s role in art — it’s truly fascinating. 

High brow art meant for prestigious galleries and shown in textbooks felt like a pillar of worthiness to strive for. 

Until I actually started to go to art shows for high brow artists. 

I remember one time, going to see an artist from LA that I deeply admired at the Red Bull House of Art in Detroit. 

I had parked in a lot in the Eastern Market and planned to walk a few streets down to the gallery. I noticed a couple parking beside me. They hopped out of a hooptie (I did too, no judgement here) but they were dressed to the nine. Suit, tie, shiny shoes, pearl earrings. This wasn’t their normal getup; they had dressed up for an important occasion. I quickly realized as I walked that they were headed to the gallery too. 

I was underdressed. 

I was wearing slip-on off-brand Toms, a crewneck hoodie and leggings. Welp. I walked into Red Bull and knew that I stuck out like a sore thumb. 

Every single woman in the whole joint was wearing her standard “little black dress.” And I mean every one. 

People really stared at me and I felt unwelcome and awkward. No one talked to me. It didn’t help that I showed up alone — none of my friends were interested in my art adventures at this point in life — and I stayed long enough to see the art but not long enough to have a drink. 

I haven’t been there since. 

If an art group makes you feel unincluded for any reason, or you feel like a bad fit, leave quickly. You won’t feel comfortable sharing your art, speaking your mind, or feeling welcome enough to talk to anyone. 

You can do better than a group that makes you feel awkward about being yourself. And trust me, you’ll know if you are feeling included or if you’re sticking out like a sore thumb — I sure did.

Be sure you’re also helping to make others feel included in the group once you’re feeling at home.  

Look for a diverse group. 

Artists come from every corner of the world and the art they make is wildly different. Don’t limit yourself to one type when it comes to an art community. 

Follow black, white, native american, japanese, south african, brazilian, iranian, phillipean, swedish, etc. artists on social media. Don’t count anyone out! I will admit it’s hard to connect sometimes when the artist posts in a language you don’t speak, but the internet has many translation tools. And art speaks for itself a lot. 

Follow people who work with paper, graphite, oils, clay, animation, collage, and more. It gives you insight to see similar ideas expressed in a variety of mediums.

Follow people with different backgrounds and life experiences. Trans artists, poor artists, rich artists, young and old artists, skinny, fat, Muslim, Christian, mentally ill, disabled, able-bodied, nuclear family, disfunctional family — you name it. Each angle is unique and will bring different perspectives to the table in your groups. 

Maybe you’ll find this all in one group but maybe you won’t. That’s okay.

I’m in multiple groups to satisfy all the angles I wish to see. You can also follow individual creatives on social media to bring them into your circle. Life and art is full of color and culture, why ignore that?

Specificity is important too.

A lot of artists know what their style or medium is. For instance, I LOVE children’s book illustration, surface design, and product design. I always use watercolor and digital paint together. So I seek out groups specifically surrounding these topics. An art community related to mixed media illustration is a haven for me. 

Getting specific in your favorite styles is important for niching down and getting deep into learning. 

I’m in communities with a lot of artists who use Photoshop to make their illustrations because I do too. They post a lot of advice and tutorials for Photoshop art that I find useful in my personal art practice. We talk about brushes, tools, updates, and troubleshooting within the software. 

It’s hard to get deep into one topic in a group of 10 million people making 10 million types of art. 

So while it’s inspiring to see things that are different, it’s educational to see things tailored to you. 

Make sure to find groups that fit your specific situation for better advice, quicker learning and more tailored critiques. 

NOT SURE WHERE TO START?

Subscribe to A Cup of Cloudy’s email list! Kind, motivated visual artists are welcome, but especially those who want to start selling their work in a way that feels good, focus on their art style, and want to become a full time artist. 

We discuss crafting your art style, overcoming artist challenges, marketing your work, personal branding and more. Get direct access to me and my teachings. It’s a chill atmosphere (don’t worry, no highbrow vibes) so you can be yourself and reply to any of my emails 🙂