Reach as an Artist

I started painting May last year. I decided to make a business in June, and established my LLC later in the year. Towards the end of 2025, I found my 'style', and slowly refined the studio to match my current vision.

My approach for reach has mainly been online. Originally, my strategy was to apply to as many online juried exhibitions and competitions, but at some point, realized that this wasn't the approach I wanted to take because 'my people' wouldn't be at those competitions and probably wouldn't be following online galleries. March 2026 is when I started being more active on social media by posting a lot more consistently on Instagram, but I felt like it wasn't enough. I decided to start a TikTok account and felt that I was getting a lot more reach there, but the growth has been slow.

I've since opened accounts on other sites, and have generally been more consistent across platforms, but I'm just wondering when I'll 'make it.' At the same time, I wonder if it's my ADHD causing me to be impatient with growth, because when I think about it, I've really only been active on social media for almost 3 months. It's only been 3 months! I started off with 60-something followers on Instagram, and am now at 97 (I swear it was 98 this morning). I know someday, I'll look back on these days when it was quieter.

"It's not if, it's when."

—Natalie Barbu