The Lonely Artist

[newsclippings]

An artist can’t keep friends,
they simply can’t. I don't see the need for redundancy. While the first line is potent, I think it'd be nice to rework these two, because you're making all these declarations seemingly without merit.
An artist must be lonely,
and they cannot love.
No one will want to watch you die,
every day. Does the act of loving make you die, or being an artist? This is vague. Also you repeat "An artist..." and I'm not sure it's doing your poem justice. There are great ideas in here for what an artist is, but I think you are capable of finding the trigger and pulling it on your audience.

Being an artist requires suicide,
after each stroke of the paint brush.
And after each new pencil tip, canvas, or sculpture,
An artist must be reborn.
When each new project is over,
kill yourself again.
Perhaps suicide isn't the right word. You're going through a birth and rebirth here. I would consolidate all of these lines as well. I would also maybe assign a "he" or "she" to the artist. And lastly, you are switching off between third and second person.

An artist must let go,
of every identity they once had.
An artist must become something different,
so that they may create something new.
I feel like you're are saying the same thing in every verse, though this one is probably your strongest.

This poem is a little maddening. As an artist myself, I don't agree with everything said, but that's what poetry's about. The fact that you're giving a lecture in such declarative tones makes it hard to like, for me, personally. Overall, not bad for novice, and I ultimately enjoyed the read.