An artist is described as someone who creates works such as paintings or drawings recreationally. Would you call yourself an artist just because you doodled on a napkin? The question of how much art one must create to call themselves an artist is entirely subjective, but there is a simple answer, that the amount of art an artist creates is irrelevant as it is the quality of their work that matters.
Selling art does not make you an artist. It is the act of creating that makes an artist an artist just like baking makes a baker a baker. In art like anything else, we can apply the doctrine of quality of quantity. Take the famous painting of The Scream by Edvard Munch. Most likely, you cannot name another work by that artist because that is his most famous work. Few people could name more than 10 titles of Monet’s works, and Monet created more than 2,500, telling us that the sheer amount of art an artist creates does not matter. Artists are remembered for the most important and revered pieces they created. Collections and exhibitions are of course important, but The Scream is a piece that proves one piece of work can define an artist in the public eye.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
We cannot accept the same standard of an artist starting as an artist at the peak of their career because an artist must develop their style and hone their talents over time. Art is made to have an impact. All 2500 of Monet’s pieces could not influence you at all but it is the 1 painting that does that matters. Art is meant to challenge perceptions and encourage thought. My favourite artist is Jackson Pollock who created 363 paintings during his lifetime. Have I seen every single one of those paintings? No, but the pieces I adore such as Mural (1943) have resonated with me and that is what matters.
An artist could have one work that changes your perception of life, or they could have over 1,000 that alters nothing. There is no set-in-stone number for a volume of art that makes someone an artist, but the point is entirely irrelevant. It is not important the scope of work an artist creates, it is the meaning and innovation of the art that they have created that matters.
