For most people, success is measured in terms of fortune and fame, but artists are a different breed. The artist’s measure of success is whether he reached his intended audience.

Art is the expression of thoughts or feelings designed to evoke some sort of response from its intended audience. Love, hate, disgust, peace–anything but indifference. Fame and fortune might come with success, but they are not the artist’s primary motivations. A simple smile or thank you is worth more than these things. No sane artist would accept fame or fortune on the condition that his works be hidden or destroyed without a trace. No real artist would accept material or social gain if it meant not practicing his craft. The artist’s craft is an extension of his soul, not just his profession.

Starving artists, take heart and forge on. Despite what society may say, you can nevertheless be successful!