Each day I get up in the morning and go to my customer service job (one hour commute each way). This is where I make my money to pay bills. Its for 8.5 hours a day. I try and make sure that I am able to work somewhere that I can forget about it about 15 seconds after I punch out. This is what Einstein said to do. It works. I am able to paint freely without financial concerns that creep into my art commercially. My philosophy is to paint like the painting on the easel will be your only expression about who you are and what you are about. Its then that you are forced to be more profound.
Art for art’s sake, I do not believe it. I feel art is is about sharing life with another, much like a message in a bottle from a deserted island. Art is an act born out of a need to connect. When it is honest, humble, kind and down to earth, it connects with a multitude. Too many artists today feel entitled (and you know who you are) .
Do I want to be free to paint without a full time job? Of course I do. If that happens I will be very happy. Does being a fulltime artist mean I am a successful artist? Not at all. It will make being a successful artist, much more difficult because success is a test. Success is a test to see that being truthful and humble while struggling financially is easy but while financially and critically applauded is most difficult.
Thanks for letting me ramble on. Having a body of work up on the walls for all to see is like being a naked for all to see.
Take Care and Keep Creating,
Tim