I Am An Artist

“I can’t call myself an artist.”

She said it with a kind of shy defiance, as if the word belonged to other people. Bigger people.

“That word feels too big-headed and too grand. What gives me the right to call myself an artist? That’s for other people to decide.”

Yet this same artist was producing beautiful work and already had an impressive CV. She wanted to share her work with a larger audience and command higher prices, but she’d gotten stuck.

Too many artists stop here. Afraid to claim the title. Afraid to be seen. They wait for the world to tell them it’s okay, to give them permission to take their place. Then, they resent it when the world fails to respond.

“But that’s not how the world works,” I gently reminded her. “You must show the world who you are. Only then will it respond.”

Here’s what I know after decades in the art world, after selling over $10 million in artwork to major institutions including MoMA, the Met, and Yale University Art Gallery:

Your creative work has value. Your vision has value. Your artistic voice has value.

The question isn’t whether you’re “allowed” to call yourself an artist. The question is: are you ready to own it?

Because the world doesn’t need more people waiting for permission. It needs artists who step fully into their identity and do the work to support it.

I am an artist.

Four simple words. A declaration. A commitment. An identity you choose to inhabit fully, without apology or qualification.

This is where everything begins.
This is where the real power starts to gather.
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This is from my forthcoming book, The Artist’s Flight Manual – and the foundation of what we explore in The Working Artist Academy.

Enrollment open now. Spaces limited.

https://learning.theworkingartist.com/twa-academy-page/

Crista

December 3, 2025