The SHOCKING Secret Origin of Starving Artists Anonymous (and the NEXT LEVEL of Your Art Business)

Starving Artists Anonymous Started Here!

Hey fam, I wanted to write you today and give you the secret origin of the creator support project Starving Artists Anonymous and the next level of its evolution. Starving Artists Anonymous has its roots in an online art contest I entered in 2013 called GOOD VS EVIL.  The prize of the contest was $50, and I REALLY NEEDED the money. Contestants could do anything we wanted in any medium, as long as it embodied that theme. I needed an idea that I thought was strong enough to win, but that I could execute in one sitting. I decided to do a drawing that embodied poverty as an evil that I as an artist was fighting to the death. My "working title" for the piece was Poverty is Evil. By the time the piece was done, I had changed the title to Manifesto, because I included some inspired angry text to quicken and control the message of the piece. Sometimes I refer to it as The Starving Artist Archetype is Dead (which is a mouthful). I eventually settled on Manifesto as the title. Manifesto by Samax Amen #2 Pencil on paper + Adobe Photoshop Font (Love You Like a Sister) by Kimberly Geswein. 11x11 print. $27 (includes domestic shipping)* Your purchase of this print comes with your FIRST MONTH MEMBERSHIP in the NEXT LEVEL Artists Club! Subscribe + Get the Print I won the $50. The piece also "went viral" on Facebook.  I posted it on my art blog, and that exploded too.  I decided then to write a book, and embarked on educating myself. It became my mission to serve other artists, helping them to improve their income as I was improving mine. It became obvious that to succeed I had to overcome the Starving Artist Mindset, which was pesky and harder to kill than I thought. In fact, the Mindset was so destructive, yet self-sustaining and seductive, that it felt like a harmful addiction that had to be addressed like one. Starving Artists Anonymous was thus born, based originally on three (now four) fundamental pillars (I'll get to them tomorrow). I bought the url StarvingArtistsAnonymous.com immediately.  In 2015, I started a new blog to share the information I was learning. I quit my job and became a full-time artist in 2017, powered by freelance cartooning, doing live art events, and selling originals and prints. I even wrote a book about freelancing.  Don't get me wrong.  My artist journey is a work in progress. But I feel very confident in my ability to help creators thrive. It's not because I'm some kind of genius. I have had the same struggles you have.  But I've done my research, and I'm always doing more to grow my art business.  I love to share what I learn with my friends and clients. If you join my new NEXT LEVEL Artists group this week, your first month of membership will come with an 11 x 11 copy of the print Manifesto. NEXT LEVEL Members can also download a copy of my book for free inside the Members-Only Facebook group.  And when my next book is done, they'll get that one free as well. NEXT LEVEL Artists Membership is usually $47/month, but this offer gets you in for just $27/month.  This offer is good until Saturday, November 2nd. Let me know if you have questions, fam. Talk to you tomorrow!  Peace, -Samax ("some AX") Amen StarvingArtistsAnonymous.com We're here to help! If you found this helpful, please share it!