I found this article (and related book) that might help?

But I think there is another side to this. I am a practising artist too and have recently started being drawn towards certain Buddhist teachings, starting with mindfulness meditation etc. As I progress though, I am finding that there are conflicts with being an artist and pursuing such teachings. My problem though is not with being or thinking as an artist (I think of art as a type of philosophy, just as Buddhism is) but rather with being an artist as a 'career path' or 'social position'. I find that there is a certain element of narcissism that artists need to possess in order to succeed as an artist within society. It is not enough that an artist creates. An artist needs to sell, show, promote, market his/her work in order to find an audience and be able to sustain a career as an artist. It is a competitive industry after all. Doesn't this fly in the face of concepts such as detachment and selflessness?

Maybe this narcissistic element is something that is essential towards the start of a career and becomes redundant as time progresses and a career is established, but I am finding it hard of thinking of alternative mindsets at least within Western society. Any thoughts?

I found this article, Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists (and related book) that might help?

But I think there is another side to this. I am a practising artist too and have recently started being drawn towards certain Buddhist teachings, starting with mindfulness meditation etc. As I progress though, I am finding that there are conflicts with being an artist and pursuing such teachings. My problem though is not with being or thinking as an artist (I think of art as a type of philosophy, just as Buddhism is) but rather with being an artist as a 'career path' or 'social position'. I find that there is a certain element of narcissism that artists need to possess in order to succeed as an artist within society. It is not enough that an artist creates. An artist needs to sell, show, promote, market his/her work in order to find an audience and be able to sustain a career as an artist. It is a competitive industry after all. Doesn't this fly in the face of concepts such as detachment and selflessness?

Maybe this narcissistic element is something that is essential towards the start of a career and becomes redundant as time progresses and a career is established, but I am finding it hard of thinking of alternative mindsets at least within Western society. Any thoughts?