Need some advice

I am an artist. The area of art I specialize in is rather small. I did something stupid a few years ago and I was blackballed from my niche. I tried breaking into other areas but my heart just wasn't into it as I really love the area I specialize in. About a year ago I decided to create a pen name for myself and I came back using this new name. Before I created this persona and I would attempt to sell my art as myself, I got terrible flames from other top artists. These people were telling customers that I was a terrible person and not to bu from me and my art was crap. The main internet avenues of selling my work was closed to me.as I was banned from the main sales lists.

So I came back as this new person and suddenly people are saying how great my work is and my prices have doubled and I sell everything as fast as I can produce it. I am happy about this but I am sad that I won't be able to do any face to face selling, no art shows, no teaching and that makes me sad. I feel like I am having an identity crisis. I wish I could just be myself again.

I tried to test the waters about joining the sales lists and getting back as myself but the door is still slammed in my face. I apologized for what I did even though what I did was not illegal or immoral. It just bruised a few egos I think Those who are the powers that be see me as competition of course and would gladly keep shunning me and spreading lies about me just to get rid of me. There are a few big shots that will speak to me but only in private. The last show I attended before I stopped going, they pretended not to know me.

Any advice or suggestions?

Sad Art

Another thing I thought about is these people haven't seen me in a couple of years so if I just lost a bunch of weight, nobody would even recognize me.

Thanks for taking the time to post.

I know this is a spinoff of the topic.

Quite many writers publish stuff in dubious magazines under a pseudonyme. Others do all their production under a false name. Why the visual art is different - we are supposed to sign thrutfully.

-lauri Who signs only with givenname

As outstanding as your new work is, how does it it differ so radically from your old work, that it is not immediately fingered as being yours; particularly, as the 'pre-episode' work was equally stellar? Changing ones' style is not as easy as changing ones' name. Style is its own prison.

Ethan Gross

I don't think that it does except that I get better as time goes by. I work hard and study hard so I have improved. I wouldn't call my work stellar. There are others who are much better than I am. If I thought I was stellar and the best, there would be no place to progress to.

I was worried about this at first, that someone would recognize my style. My natural style was similar to a couple of others.

Meat puppets rule!