This IS very silly, but I actually feel gloomy after browsing instagram.

[SillyButTrue]

And it is most definitely silly because I have a nice enough life, am not competitive in any way, and prefer reading poems to building property portfolios

I am not the target audience for the rich and famous, and barely know who any of them are.
But I am a watercolour painter who loves watercolour, I live in a semi rural part of the country and have a good life. It's modest but fulfilled, so I am not feeling depressed or lacking. I spend most of my time either reading, painting, have a small group of family and friends, and enjoy my job. My home is small but sufficient. I never even thought of any of this prior to recently, when I joined instagram to share some of my art work.

The vast majority of popular accounts of artists similar to myself seem to have incredible, large, period properties with original features, vast studio spaces, outbuildings, orchards, spaces for rustic/vintage machinery such as printing presses, dye rooms, rooms just for plants, and so on and so on. It's lovely to look at, but what started to bother me was how this seems to ensure visibility, with the art work coming in second.

I get it, social media can be rather shallow, and we all know the 'illusion' of lovely lives, but these are not fictitious, they are, as photo evidence would attest, quite real.

And whilst I don't envy strangers on the internet, it did throw my own life into a somewhat 'meh' contrast, which I KNOW is utter tripe, but it still had an effect.
I work in a corner of the spare room, with a small amount of space for my materials, my paintings stored in a large plastic student's carry case.

I will admit that once I come away from instagram i pretty much forget it and carry on with life, but it does stick out when I am on there. I wonder who the heck these people are, with 24 - 7 hours free to create (very similar) paintings , with what appear to be 900K homes, and no husband in sight. Most are over 50, which explains the settled aspect of their lives, but it does seem to have a 'theme'.
And yes, they do seem to be mostly women, as the male artists I follow don't tend to post their private lives like that, they just post their work.

I don't know what I am asking exactly, other than does anyone else notice this stuff?...even if you are quite stoic, confident and financially stable, it really does seem like a whole new world out there!

(edited typo)

I find this with a different type of art/craft. The ones with the best sewing rooms, biggest wool stash and the nicest homes get more likes/visibility/followers. They know this.

They aren’t sharing their makes they are selling a lifestyle. It’s like a job to them.

I recognise the feelings that Instagram evokes but usually when I follow artists I feel envious of the art they produce and not the homes they are in.

It's not the art itself, which ranges from fantastic to average. I love looking at all levels of art.
But it seems that these 'lifestyle' elements ensure visibility and followers. I already knew social media worked that way, but did hope to see a decent amount of ordinary creators, too, which is a shame.

I doubt their instagram is enabling them to buy those homes and antique furniture. Most are haggling for people to join their art courses, or desperately trying to sell prints. I presume there is either a background of wealth prior to the art, or they have very lucrative spouses.

I think being an artist is so hard to make a good living from that many people can only do it if they have the security of a previously very highly paid career, a high earning partner or family money. I also know a few people like this who bought property in London fairly cheaply, made a lot of money selling it a couple of decades later then bought massive properties outside London and start creative hobby businesses for fun.

I understand how you feel OP but secretly would love to see these accounts you’re talking about 🙈

I have been making art since I was a teen, and always found space and time to create it. I have an ordinary job and am not well off in any way. I think what rises to the top on social media is deceptive. Most people who create in a spare room (and that's most of us) or in a corner of the home are just as productive, but we can't take impressive lifestyle photos.

This reminds me of a wonderful artist who slips my mind now, sadly. I found her work in a gallery in a national park. It was exquisite, and ranged over 3 decades.

I found out that she was a working class single mum who worked in a busy A&E in the North West. Most artists are not wealthy.

I prefer YouTube where there are just artists focusing on their painting. You never even see their house (or their face for that matter) as the camera is set up to film their art.

Just swap your social media and stay off Instagram.

You've just gone down a tunnel on Instagram. The people I follow live in ordinary houses, canal boats or vans. They lead happy little wild swimming, crafting, dog walking, bird watching, tea making lives and have ups and downs, good days and bad days like the rest of us.

You can find what you want on Instagram. You can also not go there if it gets you down.

Ordinary people who live in canal boats?

Will admit my parents had one for a time but they didn't live in it.

A family friend is a well known sculptor. His work is incredible. He's been on TV a lot. He lives a very normal life in a small cottage. For many years he was as poor as a church mouse.

I did an art MA when young, and most of the artists I knew then were urban.

if the internet is anything to go by, only people in rural areas or central London are able to make art. It's not at all true though. I think the urban are currently getting less exposure, or certainly not (as) trending online. I do think SM gives a very limited skewered perspective.

It is well known and researched that instagram causes mental illness (depression, anxiety, eating disorders). Come off it and your life will instantly improve.

I only post or go on it when I have a work completed, so at least one per fortnight. I shall take your advice though!

Youtube does seem more level, but there aren't as many to find sadly.

I watch a lot of art themed (for lack of a better phrase) posts on Instagram because I paint too (oils).
I see (probably because of my interests in oils of a certain type) lots of sexy young east European women (sometimes with no bras or tops in dungarees or the tiniest shorts etc) which I presume is aimed at men with a lot of money potentially buying their work (which ranges from shite to impressive but never phenomenal like artists who paint to paint (it seems to me).
I haven’t seen anything like what you mean OP (perhaps because I’d skip watercolours as it’s not something I can do) but I understand what you mean- thankfully as a 50 year old grouch who is just thankful if I get time to paint (with disabled DD) I don’t envy the tight-arsed, perky boobed young ladies but I would feel envious (I think) if I saw what you see.

I think there’s a way to not see particular kinds of Insta posts (I scroll past quickly so it learns not to show me them), or click the “I don’t want to see this” option.. but follow other people’s work that you do like.

Im sure much of it. Is them hanging out at a friend’s house or something - art is rarely a huge income source, as you will know! Don’t forget why you do what you do!!

I spent an hour tonight watching an Instagram account of different orchestras, soloists, choirs, producing classical music and opera. I was uplifted and moved.

It maybe healthier to unfollow people that pull you down.

I know someone personally who gave up her career to give very part-time classes (a couple a month) in a niche area of art and sell the occasional work. She lives in a huge beautiful home and works in a stunning converted outbuilding. She also attended exhibitions all over the world.
She sounds like the sort of person you're eyeing up with envy. The reality is her husband's business (he's a tradie and on paper very different to how bohemian, almost ethereal she seems on Ig) pays for it all (she told me).
He is happy that she is happy. She had a serious illness and when she was back to health he wanted her not to have the stresses her carreer came with. She is so lovely, I'm thrilled her second chance at life is so fulfilling to her, although she told me she couldn't afford to keep the lights on on what she now earns.

That reminds me of some stuff DH watches, older guys with pots of money trading cars and antiques, usually ex trades!

To the previous PP, it isn't envy, more so that it's a bit gloomy, because the ordinary artists aren't as visible. It's the eye catching images, which generally relate to affluence. We are drawn to take notice of beautiful things!

We should be able to discuss this without using words like envy, because it's just awareness, something we notice out there. It doesn't apply here. I do think it's depressing that this is what floats to the top, because it isn't very diverse, or realistic.

ive heard of but havent seen the booby women!

OP, I'm an artist and I make a good living at it but I don't have a big fancy house and while I do have a studio it's not as fancy as you see on Instagram, I don't come from generational wealth.

I think its important to realise that many, many artists are already rich even before they become artists. In my year on my MFA in London (at what is considered one of the best art schools in the world) my fellow MFA students were the ex-husband of a famous Oscar winning actress who had multi millions in their divorce, an ex-pop star, a girls whose mother was the editor of Vogue in her home country, a guy whose father was the head of the military in his country, in a country that essentially had a military dictatorship, there was also a London "it girl" and at the time was shacked with and bankrolled by an geriatric rock star from the 70's (she now has a banker husband). Many ex bankers and traders who has taken early retirement and had to fill their time somehow or often the wives of bankers and traders many others were just from very wealthy families from all over the world. On my friends MFA a few years earlier her classmate was the wife of a Hollywood movie star now Oscar winner and the same role call of international rich kids and bankers wives or retired bankers / traders.

The art world is a bit of a rich persons playground and a lot of the wealth you see isn't actually generated by their art at all but by rich parents, previous careers or partners. Instagram rewards eye catching posts and a beautiful home or studio space adds to all of that. I do know of one successful Instagram artist with a very beautiful page and home who's husband of many years sadly took his own life because he ended up in so much debt and financial trouble trying to maintain the illusion and apparently his wife didn't even know.

As always with online stuff, things aren't always what they seem.

Interestingly if you go on reddit, there are countless artist communities from all walks of life, all ages, and all economic backgrounds.
I don't think for one minue that art is only created by wealth, but instagram is different. Perhaps it is a variation of differing types of social media?

As someone who has always made art, I have only encountered very wealthy ones on SM.

Most of us, I'd suggest the majority, are just getting on with it.

Exactly the same feelings here which is why I stay away from instagram, it’s depressing.

Yes art is created by all sorts of people but even successful artists can have a patchy income so if your seeing signifiers of "Wealth" on Instagram there is a good chance it isn't from their work alone. Also as I found out living in London and engaging with the art scene over several years that scene where careers are made is very much a rich persons world, its almost impossible to even live there if your not from wealth and trying to work as an artist. I think instagram as a very aspirational image focused platform is always going to reward those with the most aspirational / glossy magazine lives and homes.

I actually did earn a full time living in the arts for many years, before changing to a new field. My interest had slackened and the market had changed. But it was more along the lines of design and commercial art, although still quite lucrative at the time.

I don't think traditional painters are having a good time trying to earn a living nowadays. I think many of them on SM are eager to get people onto 'courses' and workshops. I have no idea how they find the energy or time for that.

Perhaps SM just opens us up to too much information, in contras tto how we lived prior to the internet, where we only saw what slotted into our own lifestyles.
I suppose it was bound to overwhelm to some degree.

"Perhaps SM just opens us up to too much information"

@SillyButTrue I think this is spot on, its just too much for us to cope with really. Even on here, I pop on for a browse and its like I am suddenly concerned with other peoples worries, problems, opinions or random brain farts and it can be overwhelming. Meanwhile if I sit with a book for half an hour I usually feel relaxed and refreshed.

Ah yes! I take very long breaks from MN. It can be so fascinating, but scatters the brain around a bit too much.
A few months ago I grew tired of online discussions (I don't do social media but love niche forums). I noticed almost immediately how much 'noise' had left my head. I too got back into reading books, it certainly felt like releasing a pressure valve.

I think we are all, to an extent, attracted to discussions and scrolling through stuff. It's good to get a grip on that and learn to set some boundaries.