Some thoughts on being an
artist
Artists generally are just
born to produce art, it is in their DNA and they have to follow that calling.
Some artists start at a very early age, some discover their talent later on in
life. I started drawing as soon as I could hold a pencil, at about the age of two
and then everything became my sketchbook and I drew on anything and everything,
especially down the edges off all my school books! I was never bored and
everywhere I looked became my inspiration.
From school I went
straight to Art College at the age of fifteen and after this I started painting
professionally at the age of twenty, juggling bringing up a family with making
a career from my art.
In doing this it sometimes
has to be a compromise between painting what inspires you and painting what is
called for.
Most artists paint
subjects that inspire them, and this often means they paint these chosen
subject several times in different ways. Look at Monet for instance and you
will see his series of paintings such as the haystacks or water lilies. He was
obviously excited by his subjects and wanted to portray them in different
lights and ways.
However, a lot of artists
that hit upon something that is an instant success then have then got to go on
repeating this. When you are in the commercial world and having to produce art
to make a living, pay the mortgage etc., it is tempting and sometimes necessary
to go on producing popular pieces of artwork. Very few artists have the luxury
of just being able to paint what inspires them.
Artists run the gauntlet
of producing fine and innovative art against painting for a living and not
being on repeat to produce popular art that will sell easily. It is a juggling
act.
When painting purely for
commercial reasons and not inspiration, the excitement is not there and you can
turn yourself into a factory artist, which is certainly not good for artistic
talent.
I had a studio and sat
right opposite another gallery for many years which sold the work of so called
“famous artists” and on first glance some of these paintings were brilliant and
sold for quite large sums of money. The public bought them over and over again,
literally so. For the moment the customer had left, another practically
identical painting was put back in its place on the wall. The artists had become
factory artists in order to please the galleries and to make a decent living. I
think this must be quite soul destroying.
Getting the right balance
is hard. Luckily I love painting a wide variety of subjects and I am constantly
inspired to paint different things in several styles. I can also turn my
paintings into prints which are more affordable and stop the necessity of
having to repeat popular subjects.
But, painting in different
ways and many different subjects makes it hard to promote your artwork to other
galleries as they like to have artists that paint in a regular style, size and
subject.
It is certainly not easy
making a living as a working artist, and I am forever climbing a ladder where
the rungs keep breaking beneath my feet!
