Contrary to what many may believe there is very little romance about being a struggling artist. I was in this situation for a couple of years but things took quite a turn back in 2016. My wife had just announced to me that I was going to be a dad, and it became very clear that prior to the birth of my daughter, I’d have to make it big or and get a ‘real job’. My wife and I spoke and agreed that I’d keep pushing for another 6 months. In my view however this was too risky and so I went and started putting applications in for jobs right away, from estate agents to restaurants.

I was starting to feel quite sad that I hadn’t been able to sell enough of my art to make a living, and I always just felt that I needed a break and everything would be alright. I never planned to make millions from art, just enough to provide for my family.

Enter Peter Max

After about a week of trying to get a job I had a notification on Facebook that one of my pieces had sold, a lovely little confidence booster and of course, a nice little earner. I then get this message which says that it was from one of the agents of Peter Max, who had purchased the sculpture and wanted to know if there were any more which I could show. I didn’t actually believe this to be honest, I thought perhaps someone had stole his identity or something like that. Nonetheless I decided to reply.

One Comment Changing It All

I never heard back from that person over the following weeks and of course just chalked it up to a ‘strange incident’. The next thing I know however I get this comment left on my Facebook page from a verified account of Peter Max. The comment was a glowing advertisement for my work, talking about how high quality the piece was and how I was a budding talent which had impressed him. This comment of course blew me away and I instantly replied telling him how grateful I was for this high praise. Following this I decided to go back to what my wife had said and really focus on 6 months of hard work on my art, this comment was the motivation I needed.

More Than Inspiration

I didn’t only get massively inspired by that comment which Peter left, I also saw an enormous boost in sales, by people who clearly thought ‘well if it’s good enough for Peter Max it’s good enough for me’. The following 6 months were amazing, I made more money than I had done previously and I was getting regular orders coming in for pieces which meant that I could provide for  my family. That one comment from Peter happened 4 years ago.. and I still haven’t had to go and get that ‘real’ job.

This is the power of a single inspirational comment.