New Site, No Shop — Am I a Real Artist™?

So. You’ve found my new website. It’s shinier, simpler, easier to manage—and filled with more of my brain, neatly offloaded into little paragraphs.

Now, when I started working with another Real Artist to redesign and rebuild the whole thing for me (if you like what you see, click his name: Linus), I did what any sensible adult does in the middle of a website overhaul: I spiralled out of control about whether I’m a real artist or not. 

Not in the “do I create meaningful work?” kind of way. But in the “should I have an online store?” kind of way. You know, a proper online store, with Buy Now buttons and product variants and maybe a very Professional Shipping & Returns policy written in Helvetica.

Because somewhere along the line (thanks, capitalism!), I internalised the idea that selling your work is what makes you legitimate. No shop>no sales  = hobbyist. No checkout button = just a guy with a camera and some feelings.

And I wanted to feel professional. I wanted to be seen as professional. I wanted the validation of aesthetic legitimacy.

The realisation started with money and trying to be smarter about what I was spending. Cutting things I wasn’t really using, like that streaming service I only use for one program I almost never watch anyways. And the expensive Webflow subscription? Does it really need to cost that much? Do I need the ecommerce plan?

That’s when I had to stop and face some hard thoughts. Because the deeper I dug, the more obvious it became: the shop wasn’t about sales. It was about feeling professional. It made me feel like a Real Artist™. 

But what was it actually maintaining?

An illusion.

Most of my income comes from services—community projects, commissions, the kind of local and real-world stuff that doesn’t need a shipping calculator. When someone wants a print, they message me. When someone’s curious, they ask. It’s less automated, more human, and more honest to how I actually work.

So, when I can beat the little voice of capitalism back into its cage (it does not go without a fight!) What makes me feel like a real artist?

It's the impulse to make something out of noticing the everyday things around me. The ache to try and share the beauty I see with anyone who will look  – and hope they see it, feel it, too. 

So—welcome. Have a look around. Ask questions if you have any. And if you do want a print, reach out. But most of all, I just really hope you enjoy your little moment here. Thanks.