The post that got 47 likes and the one that got 4k was not the one I thought

Posted a finished oil piece last week, proud of it, lighting was good, spent an hour on the caption. 47 likes. Barely a blip.

Three days later I threw up a half-finished charcoal study at 2am, no caption, just two words and a period, basically a scrap. 4,000 views and it's still getting saves. People are DMing me about it.

I don't know what to do with that. It's not even a good drawing, the hand is wrong, I was tired. But something in the mess of it hit people and the polished thing didn't. I've known this for years and I still chase the wrong thing every single time. The grid wants the raw and I keep giving it the framed.

Anyone else find the stuff you almost didn't post is always the stuff that lands?

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Dimitra Vasilakis·2h

This happens in my world constantly. I'll spend two weeks on a mosaic, careful cuts, perfect andamento, photograph it beautifully, and it gets a polite nod. Then I post a grainy photo of a palette I threw together mid-job, sagging and dusty, no caption, and people lose their minds over it.

I think there's something about the raw ones that lets people in. The finished piece is a closed door, it says "look at this, it's done, admire it." The scrap is an open window, people see the struggle and they see themselves in it, they start imagining the version they'd make. Also, the polished ones can make people feel like they're on the outside looking in.

I've stopped fighting it. I still make the careful work because that's for me, that's the craft. But I post the mess now too. Not chasing the algorithm with it, just accepting that different work calls to different people, and the raw stuff calls to more of them than I'd like.

The fact that you already knew it and still chased the polished thing every time, that's not a failure, that's just being human. We all keep buying the same ticket. It doesn't make the finished piece less good, it just means the room is bigger than you thought.

Niall Doherty·1h

The open window, yeah, that's the whole of it. I've had the same thing happen a dozen times now and it still catches me off guard every single time. I'll spend a week carving some hare, get the blacks perfect, pull an edition I'm genuinely proud of, photograph it with the light doing its job. Nothin'. Then I post a photo of my carving bench with the tools scattered and a half-finished proof I'd rejected sitting on it, and that's the one that goes.

There's something in it, what you said about the closed door. The finished piece is me saying "here, I decided everything for you." The scrap is me saying "here, what do you see?" and people love being asked. They love having a hand in it without being asked at all.

The mad part is I still don't post the raw stuff on purpose. It just slips out when I'm too tired to be precious about it. Maybe that's the trick and I'll never learn it on purpose, which is a bit of a kick in the hole but sure, there you go.

Sol ReyesOP·1h

the carving bench thing got me. you didn't even POST the work, you posted the aftermath and that's the one that lands. that says so much and I keep tripping over it.

and yeah, the closed door. I think the finished piece is me holding my breath. the scrap is me breathing. people feel the difference before they even know what they're looking at. the raw one isn't better, it's just ALIVE.

do you ever catch yourself trying to fake the raw? like deliberately leaving it messy so it feels honest, and then you know you're doing it and it's the fakest thing you've ever made 😭

Sol ReyesOP·2h

the open window vs closed door thing, you nailed that. that's exactly it. I've been staring at my own grid all week trying to figure out why the scrap beat the piece and you just said it in one line.

and yeah, the palette thing is SO real 😭 the mess is the invitation. nobody wants to walk into a finished room, they want to see the paint still wet and know they could've made it too. it's not even about humility it's about recognition. the raw one says "you could be here" and the polished one says "you're not on my level."

the hand IS wrong on that drawing and I'm honestly scared to fix it now because I think that's partly why people connected. which is a weird thing to be scared of. but here we are.

Niall Doherty·2h

Ah here, I know this one in my bones. I spent a year carving the same hare over and over, pulling what I thought were my best editions, crisp clean cuts, perfect black, photographed lovely. A hundred something likes, maybe. Then one night I proofed a block I'd roughed out in a hurry, bit of the lino gouged where I slipped, ink not rolled even, and I stuck it up without a caption, half-asleep, sure I'd take it down in the morning. That thing's still my most-saved print four years on. People have bought it. People have told me they got it tattooed, which is mad.

The polished bit is us showing off the skill, showing we're good. The raw bit is us showing the struggle, and that's the part people actually recognise. Nobody sees themselves in a perfect hare, but everybody's had a hand that came out wrong and a 2am tiredness. The grid's not punishing you, it's telling you to trust the mess a bit more. Don't give up the good work, sure it's the craft that gets you there, but stop pretending the scrap doesn't count. It counts more.

Sol ReyesOP·2h

The tattoo thing is sending me, that's wild. Someone has your slipup permanently on their body. There's something so confusing about that, like the mistake becomes the thing people connect to and the thing you slaved over just sits there.

And yeah, the open window vs closed door is exactly it. The finished piece is me showing them what I made. The scrap is me showing them where I actually live. People don't want the tour, they want to stand in the messy room with you.

Four years though. I keep thinking it's a fluke and then it keeps happening. Maybe I should just stop polishing anything and see what falls out. Scared to, though. The raw stuff feels like walking around with no clothes on. But apparently that's what people are asking for.