Art Isn't Easy

Most people think being an artist is easy—you just swing a paintbrush or pencil around and make beautiful art. It's not. It really isn't.

A lot of people think of individuals with art degrees as having taken the easy way out, having no idea what they want to do in life. What they do not see is the art student having to apply themselves to a whole slew of core classes as well at art classes that don't necessarily apply to their specialized skill in art. Mine happened to be sculpting. I'm not good with 3D mediums. There is also the problem of art burnout...when they spend so much time drawing in class they don't want to come home and draw for themselves.

What goes along with art burnout is the dreaded so-called "artist's block." It does not come from a lack of ideas, rather, something is blocking the connection between the mind and the hand, so a beautiful drawing you had envisioned in your mind's eye isn't turning out quite right. So you keep working on it and tweaking it, often making it to the point where you just toss the drawing because the overworking of it ruined the piece. The feeling of having wasted time is a serious downer because we artists are as big on time management as people who work in other fields.

Then there comes a time when the well trained artist puts themselves out on the open market for freelancing. This can often be difficult because friends and family will often ask, and sometimes badger the artist for free art. Often, some professional companies do it as well, saying that they offer exposure in the exchange of goods. That does not always mean that the artist gets the exposure, leaving that sort of exchange rather one-sided. Let me reiterate what I said earlier: Artists are big on time management. They are also big on being responsible, productive individuals. They prefer to be paid for their time and effort, just like with any other job in their field.

Another thing is that some individuals, like those that work demanding, physically grueling jobs, for example, seem to think artists are lazy and worthless. Most people do not realize that everything you use or wear on a daily basis first flowed from the pen or pencil or brush of an artist as a design. Everything from houses to clothes to appliances, cars... Everything starts as an idea or concept sketch and gets made into a blueprint or pattern or 3D model to pitch to companies. Art is important. Art is vital.

Art isn't easy. It requires dedication, discipline, but also passion. It takes a lot of courage to pursue a career doing something that one loves to do even if it is difficult and often frustrating.