Drawing From Life
An Artist's Journey
pencil drawing copyright 2014, Linda Dee Martin
Decision.
Little did I realize that, one month after quitting my day job, I'd be sitting here on a Sunday afternoon, writing about art. And its importance in my life. One day last June, at my new deskjob (the seventh such job in as many years), I made a mistake so dire that I couldn't even move or think. I was paralyzed, right there at my desk, while supervisors scrambled to correct my error, wringing their hands and muttering under their breath. I looked around at some of my co-workers, who either stared back at me in disbelief, or bowed their heads in embarrassment for me. I knew right then and there that I would never be back. That I would never work a deskjob again, if I could avoid it. I simply could no longer treat the thing I loved more than anything else in the world - art - as a hobby.
Draw or die.
That's how it feels. I no longer have a choice. Up to now I was the best administrative assistant (or secretary or clerk or whatever) any company could want. I designed spectacular spreadsheets, stellar statistical reports, and knew my bosses' schedules better than they did. But on that day in June, it was as if the hand of God himself took me by the shoulder, or maybe shook me by the shoulders, and woke me up. "Do it NOW." I turned in all my stuff, my badge and keys, and I left.
Dive right in.
Perhaps I should have given myself some time to recover. I don't know. I've been working since the age of twelve. I mentioned this to a friend once. "Where? In a sweatshop?" she asked. Since 1973, I've had a job. All I know is work. So when I quit my deskjob, I came home, picked up the phone, called a mega-art store, and signed up to become an art instructor. I still need money, and teaching art might be fun. And I've taken on a portrait. And I'm designing a parade float. Momentum is key.
Daily Routine.
I'm learning that in order to make money as an artist, I can no longer just rely on drawing. I have to stay up-to-date with everything that's happening in the art world. And that means technology. So I'm learning how to tweet, blog, pin, Skype, and all of these other things I must do to stay relevant. Funny, scheduling appointments, creating spreadsheets and making cold-calls came naturally- when I was doing it for someone else. Now I feel like a baby learning how to walk. I'm clumsy. And I force myself to get out of bed at 4am, just like I did when I was going to someone else's office. Except that now I stumble downstairs in the dark, so I don't wake up my partner, and I go into my basement studio and I draw.
If you're an artist, I encourage you to spend whatever time you can on your craft. Five minutes a day, or an hour a day. Just do it. It's your life.
ABOUT ME
\I am a portraitist, published
children's author & illustrator,
dog lover and sci-fi freak. You
can see my drawings at:
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