(Print by The Spotted Fox)
When someone out there in the world asks me what I do for a living, I say I'm an artist. And then this is what usually happens next...Person: "Oh! So you paint?"
Me: "I love to paint, but no, I design accessories for a living."
Person: "Huh. But what do you do as your real job?"
Me: "I design and make accessories."
Person: "Full time?"
Me: "Yep. Full time. Actually, more than full time... it keeps me busy, lots of work to run a business, but I love it." (I'm like a broken record with that exact same response over and over and over again.)
Person: "Well, that's good. But do you sell paintings, too?"
Me: "Ah, no. I find I don't have the time to paint these days, so I focus on my main business instead."
Person: "Huh. Full time? Really?"
Me: "Yes, full time."
I share this for two reasons. One: People are conditioned to believe in the starving artist mentality...which happens and did happen to me, so I used to work a "real job" for years, but several years of doing that has allowed me to do this...which is to be an artist...an accessories designer, for lack of a snazzier title... a full time working artist/business woman. Two: I slacked on my painting for a long time. But I do love the feel of the materials. I use my fingers a lot and never use an easel. What I paint is usually well hidden and tucked away. I like small canvases on which to paint.... that's my thing. I've also been keeping a children's book I started in grad school inside a box. I go over this book a few times a year and edit it, try to restructure the artwork, and then I place it back in the box and feel sort of defeated. My goal this year is to complete that book, once and for all.
So. To do that, I'm making myself paint more, do other art besides my business. Now that my hobby turned into my business, as my husband says, "You need a new hobby." And here I am, ready to hop back onto painting. And so I'm following a course to keep me on track and I hope to share some of that progress with you in the coming months. But, honestly, I'm a little nervous. This is me being very unlike me and taking the time to risk.
Fingers crossed...
Definitely feel free to share what you want to be sure to make time for...
