What does it mean to be an artist? Who really knows for sure. I was having a conversation with my sister recently about creating and she had an interesting comment that got me to thinking. When we were children we both created works of art as most children do, but as we grew older I continued painting and drawing and she put it aside to raise her family. I said that I could never have done that, and she retorted that if it definded you be an artist, well then it was to expected. I went home and thought about that statement, and have come to the conclusion that I am not really all about the art, but it is clearly something that I truely want to do. Perhaps that is the case with all artists. I am not going to say that I feel the need to represent the oppression of the masses by the elite, or any of that tripe that is used to often to explain why we create. I don't really know why, but I have always wanted to paint and draw and make things, and no matter how busy I have become I have always had the time to create.
Trying to be an artist has turned out to be not at all what I thought it would be. I was so naive as to believe when I was an adolescent that all I had to do was paint wonderful pictures and the masses would flock to my door demanding one of their very own. What a let down that turned out to be. Not only were my paintings no where near as good as I had thought, but selling the things is hard damned work. In fact it is more work than making the paintings. So one does what one needs to to survive, and you work in another field to pay the bills and paint in your spare time, and gradually master your craft because you want to do better, and time passes, and a few works sell, and more time passes. Then one day you realize that maybe all the worring about if you might succeed is wasted time, because you have not really definded what success is and when you think about it your already there. Sales are okay, people like what you have done, your real job is not too horrible, and you have enough money that you can do whatever kind of art you want. And that is something. If I wanted to change direction and do metal sculpture I can. I have the freedom to do what I want as an artist, and that may well be for the best.
