.. not that there is much actual monetary profit in being an artist anyway - at least for most of us. Honestly, who would choose a job where the most common description, used for well over a hundred years, to describe it is 'starving'? Or the track record of many artists making more money after they have died? Not the most attractive selling points for a career choice.
So what do I do it for? I have no choice, and there lies the rub. I have spent over 25 years in a well-paying profession which I enjoy but it does not give me the same satisfaction as creating something. Over the past years, I have rediscovered my 'bliss'; nothing gives me the same calmness or completeness as I achieve during or after I have actually created something. Every one has a piece of my soul embedded in it. My dear husband has commented many times, over the years, that I get grumpy when I have not 'made something for a while'.
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Here are some examples:
And at the end, each one is given freely to someone (I often don't know) to thank them for work done. Though I do take commissions, these work is a labour of love - worth it for the smile you see on the recipients face!
So, the answer to the question who would choose being an artist as a job? Me, because it is a passion and not just for profit.
(I won't be giving up my other part-time job in a hurry, but what a wonderful full-time job it would be.)
3-6 months? Wow! Mine usually take 3-6 days.
ReplyDeletewe get allotted 3-6 months to finish. I rarely get a full day (Scribes is 1/2 a day, once per month) to work on it. Once I design the layout, I take 1/2-1 day to ink design, similar times for calligraphy (which is not my favourite bit) and for the illumination/painting - depending on how long it takes for each layer to dry.
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