A Rant about ‘Giving up the Dream’

Warning! Art (and motivation) rant ahead! If you don’t like such things, move along. You do not have to read. 

Originally this was posted in an art group in response to a sudden rash of young fresh out of collage grads freaking out about their art careers and older 30 or 40 somethings wondering if it was all worth it. 

I personally fall into the later category age wise but have been in the first category’s shoes.

So here is the rant:

I always hear two different things at two different ends of the response spectrum when people learn I draw and have a home business (still in its infancy really) centered around art. It’s always “Your to old for this. It’s a pipe dream. Just a hobby. You can’t be serious” or “My 14 or 17 year old draws better then you, why should I buy your crap?” at one end and “Oh my god! Your so good! I wish I could draw like that” or “I draw too but it’s not good and I am to shy to show it to anyone” on the other end. 

I admit the first end of the spectrum hurts. It hurts less now then it did in the past but it still can. But the other end hurts too because I know that feeling. I’ve been in their shoes and it hurts to pine for something you thought you could never obtain. And when I read so many of these posts and comments about ‘giving up the dream’, regardless of if they did in the end or not, it hurts like that second end of the spectrum. 

So my response to the first way more negative end is I work two to three jobs, including my art and home business. The art and home business may never amount to anything, it may be a glorified hobby, but I am sure as hell going to give it a good solid try to get it off the ground. And it may not be what I originally envisioned when I do. The home business has grown and changed so much all ready. It’s the journey not the destination that matters most as the destination can change, evolve, grow and move. 

In the mean time I got my other jobs to put food on the table. And guess what? Those other jobs help my art. I take things I learn or experience there and apply it to my art. You can find inspiration and learning tools in almost anything if you look hard enough. 

As for your child that draws better response, I say cool! I also say you should encourage them to explore their art and expand on it if they are that skilled. Have them try all sorts of mediums and disciplines so they are nice and diverse for when they do hit a slump in one part or another. They can fall back on other skills. 

Maybe they will be in my shoes trying to sell their work as well some day and I hope you have also prepared them well for the harsh realities of business. Because if your going to make money off of art, you have to look at it as a business, a job. 

You can have fun with your job, but a job is a different thing from a hobby. There is nothing wrong with either mind. Just one is going to be quiet harder, much more emotionally draining and there will be times they don’t feel like it or even out right hate it. 

I hope you prepared your artistic child to handle all that. 

Also I’ve broken my wrists three times. I physically can’t draw the super realistic uber pretty stuff. Thanks to pain, depression, work, a house fire and other not fun stuff that happened all at once, I took six years off from drawing and art in general. When I came back to it, I came back like a starving lioness on the hunt. 

It was two years of utter hell re-learning not only how to draw again but how to draw quickly and in a way that would not cause me pain. And I put myself through that hell willingly. This was nightly intense studying and practice with deadlines for two years straight. I do not recommend it for everyone at all. But I happen to be the type that learns best by trial by fire and it did what I wanted it to do. 

My work is simple. Looks cute even when the subject matter is grim-dark. And my art is over saturated (due to other injuries I am also now slightly color blind, I see more red then I should, and it effects my colors). But my art is light years better then it was before I dropped it for a time. 

Is my art as good as the artists I admire? Hell no. It’s a completely different style from theirs. You can’t even really compare the two. I no longer care if it looks like their work or is as good as their work. It’s mine. It’s the best I can do with my limitations at this moment and I am constantly trying out new ways to improve it and make it faster and easier for me to do. 

As for that sadder but not as negative end of the spectrum, wishing you could draw as good as another artist does or you do draw but are to shy, I bet your way way better then you think you are. And even if your not, I bet there are things you can do I or other artists can’t that are just as creative and talented as what we all do. 

I can’t write. Not well any way. I can’t do sculptures. I can’t program. I can’t sing or play an instrument. I can’t act. My gardening is meh. I can’t sew prettily, only enough for temporary repairs. I can’t animate. I can’t do good make up or hair. 

But maybe you can and I think that’s bloody amazing that you can. 

Everything is a form of art in its own way. So it is okay to want to be like someone else or do what some one else does but do it in your own way. The mind set and work ethic behind a great auto mechanic is not to different from that of a graphic designer sometimes.  

So the short of it is, take breaks, explore, try knew things and do not be afraid to let the dream change and evolve as you do. You don’t ever really give up ‘the dream’. It just changes. 

Burn out happens. Take care of yourself. Do what you got to do for you. Then dream again.