Blog: You Can Sometimes Be An Artist And Sometimes Not

Folks often ask me how long it takes for me to create a work of art.  I tell them, “All my life.”

You can never “sometimes” be an artist and “sometimes not.”  I know because I’ve tried. Being an artist is really hard for many reasons. Compare it to becoming a teacher, a medical physician or a lawyer where you learn the rules, learn the methods, learn the techniques and then, you’re good to go.  There is an additional step that an artist needs to take to be creative, to explore, and discover. Being an artist is more like becoming a scientist. You learn a method and then you explore. There is no set outcome.

Once you recognize that being an artist is your calling, you can either follow that calling or not.  But, there is no half way in between. And, it’s hard because the struggle is huge. The struggle with yourself, the struggle with the work wanting to “become,” and the struggle to allow things to be.  

Once I recognized this and accepted it, which didn’t happen when I was just beginning and young, I realized being an artist made me different. Why?  We are all different but, allowing that difference to shine is the hard part. As an artist you will never have value because you are popular. You will have value because you are allowing your uniqueness and you’re one-of-a-kindness. You will have value because you are different and you will be honored for that.