Sta.sh
--- Often I hear people stupidly espousing a creed you've probably all heard before. It goes something like, "you can't do it for the money"; they are, of course, referring to a career in art. It's a sibling of the talent myth and leads people to believe that unless you were born for it, you'll never succeed. It also seems to imply that it's alright to work a pedestrian job even if you hate it; really, if there's anything you shouldn't be doing for the money, it's putting up with terrible management at minimum wage just so that you can keep on being a Wal Mart greeter.
--- Don't get the wrong idea; I'm not saying that we should base our careers on a salary chart, but if anything, you should avoid deliberately pursuing a career in your passion. Again, I'd hate for you to walk away with the wrong impression, I love art; I do, but I've seen a lot of promising young artists go down in flames. The problem is, they had no idea what they were getting into was a business - somewhere along the line people seem to pick up the false notion that, as an artist you don't have to get a job.
--- Ask yourself two, simple questions, firstly: Would I like to do this every day, for eight or more hours a day, for the rest of my life. And secondly(if yes): Would that still be true if, every other day there were a back seat driver that I couldn't ignore, telling me how to do it.
--- If you answered "yes" to question one, but "no" to question two, then you're very passionate about your artwork; this should terrify you. It's a tough pill to swallow, but too much passion can actually work against you; if you can't make compromises then you're probably in for a very disheartening experience.
--- I was very careful to use the word "deliberately" earlier, when I was describing which careers you should pursue; some people get very lucky and stumble into nearly perfect situations. I wouldn't count on it. Find something that you love, but not too much - learn to do it well. Do it every day; do it for the money - because you can.
~ Wes
Although, I think it'll be a long way for me before I can start making any profit from this.
It might change the more well-known of an artist you become, but it's really important to remember that being a professional artist is a JOB, and as a job you have a boss who tells you what to do. And depending on your line of work in art, that boss might also have the additional job of wrangling several other artists, all with their own artistic vision, into one cohesive unit.
Really, kind of piggybacking off of this journal, I think there are two things really important for an artist who desires it professionally. One is artistic skill, and the other is being able to put your ego aside.
but i dunno if i'm an outlier. personally i like doing hard work, even if that coincides with my "passion". whenever i've had someone dictate to me what to do on a painting, i wasn't ever mad really. it was just kind of something i did since i basically have my entire life to do whatever i want lol.