Embracing the Artist Life: What its Really Like to Be an Artist

This week was mostly an admin and marketing week. I got a lot done on my to do list so all is good. VistaPrint.com is having a big sale until February 11 (next Tuesday) with free shipping so I decided to work on my exhibit post cards this week. I'm going to be mailing them out later this month. If you are in the southern California area and want one leave me your address here. I'm glad I got this done early. Now I'll be able to focus on drawing for the next 5-6 weeks! 

Front of Postcard

Back of postcard. I'll be mailing these in sealed envelopes, like a formal invitation

A few days ago I went to an informational meeting for a Request for Proposals for a Mural design sponsored by the city of Ontario. It was a very interesting to say the least. The city is constructing a new town square park in the historic downtown district where they plan to have an amphitheater, clock tower, playground and farmer's market. We got to do a site visit (in the rain which was actually fun) and its so exciting to see how the construction is coming along. What a great way to spend the day. 

I've decided to fully embrace the unique experiences that come with being an artist. I've always struggled with how to identify myself, as an artist, an illustrator, a graphic designer, etc. and I always felt like an imposter because I don't align my goals with the ones of others in that area. Most of my friends and peers have clear goals, like "I want to exhibit my work at X gallery" or "I want to work as an in-house designer at X company" but I don't. 

A few weeks ago I found an old assignment Cynde Miller (one of my professors at Chaffey) gave us. She called it the "Dream Response Essay." Basically you wrote an essay that envisioned your career, artistic and personal goals. I wrote that I wanted to have a college degree, a fun, creative, fulfilling day job that would allow me enough time for my personal art making, I wanted to start a graphics company and I wanted to travel. To my surprise, 5 years later I have accomplished most of those! It's interesting to see the power of visualizing goals and being flexible. I won't worry too much about the specifics of what I'll be doing in the next 5 years as long as I'm still doing something creative, entrepreneurial and I enjoy it.

So here's what it looks like to live like an artist:

You make your own home decor for fun out of things you find around the house and leftover supplies

You have romantic art dates that include wine and candles with your best friends

Your studio is filled with tons of stuff you that you can't ever get rid of

Your workstation has to be color coordinated and filled with more stuff!

Thank you for reading this silly blog post. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!