Sunday, June 27, 2010
Not this again
I've been cleaning school classrooms for two years, not enough hours to really make the money to progress in life, and I really couldnt bear a lot more hours than I currently do. I want to quickly think of something to get out into something else and I've held on to Sean saying "you dont have to be a wage Slave". I really could easily end up doing this for years until I'm 30, but I dont want it to come to that.
The trouble is apart from art, I have no skills whatsoever. I'm often tempted to think of using my drawing skill for what other people want to see, but I'm sure I would only end up being unhappy with compromise, I'd rather be at bottom of the ladder blue collar jobs all my life knowing I have full artistic freedom when I get home.
I thought of other artistic things I could do, thinking of unrealistic jobs I'd love to be a porn photographer, but I can only see struggle there because I would want to build elaborate sets for the models to pose on and inject more art into the work than would be viable for a successful photographer in a business that would pressure you to churn out mediocrity. I'd love to do sculptures or stain glass windows, but they might also not like my approach and those materials are very expensive if you are not successful at it.
So have any of you guys got any idea what an artistic person could do without actually having to do art for people or having academic skills with art? I've been thinking for years and nothing has popped into my head. I really just want something to pay me and not be too demanding, so I can focus my life on coming home and doing my own artwork with no outside pressures.
I'd really like to be just a guy who shifts boxes in a stockroom, but those jobs are surprisingly hard to come by. The other hard thing to think of is finding a proffession that will still be alive for the forseeable future, most of the retail jobs I might have done years ago no longer exist. I know I was asking similar things 3 years ago but I'm really stumped now, and to be honest, I dont expect anything.
It's a pain in the ass to not want to draw for other people, sell my art or get in any situation where I have to compromise my art, not to go near supermarkets, most retail or anything that could injure my hands, anything demanding of your hometime, anything that wants you to drive or travel around various places, wear a suit and tie or have academic skills.
Is it too much to ask to just to want to shift boxes?
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6 comments:
I can remember thinking things almost identical to this, except i didn't even have a fucking job at the time! Each person has a different destiny & a different way of getting there Robert, & god knows that SOMEONE will be offended by whatever thoughts i have on the subject of success, but i would approach this like art, picture what you want things to look like & then build things up until the picture comes into existence. Don't expect it to be easy, don't expect to get out of this squeaky clean, life is a dirty affair, you come screaming out of your mom's pussy covered in smegma, juices & blood. Why should living be any different?
Even if you drew the way you thought people want you to, you cannot be sure that you’re going to sell art. You can try. I think someday I’ll try to sell my life drawings on ebay.
The best advice I can give you Robert is to set up an online portfolio with your best work, contact info, and send it to places in a position to potentially give you an opportunity. Book publishers, bands, magazines, etc.
I suggest making pages on facebook, flickr, deviantart, the more online outlets for your work, the larger the pool of people will see it. I'd be happy to do a post on Monster Brains if you'd like.
I think you have a unique style that distinguishes you from the average illustrator and you would more likely have clients coming to you wanting your own vision of something.
I'd suggest focusing on making a killer portfolio of 12 - 15 some artworks that emphasize the style and sort of imagery you'd like to pursue.
Yes, there is no reason why I should have no struggles, but I'm always kept hoping because there really are people who put up with very little shit for a living.
I've always thought the idea of doing the art for bands was a dream, but the band would often have different ideas about what they wanted, and I can see a lot of jobs ending up with everyone unsatisfied. But I think I could do awesome dreampop, prog and black metal covers. I think I would just have to be very strict about the terms in which I worked with others.
It is evident that there are people out there making money with art. I think a lot of them have created a kind of iconography around their own name through where they live, who they know and how many buildings they tag before they print that first t-shirt that they suddenly find themselves with art openings abroad, magazine cover contracts, nike shoe one-offs, kidrobot tie-ins, etc. I think the art world is changing.
Sometimes when I ask myself what people want, I can list about 1,000 things before I get to "comics" or "art prints". They want iphone apps, lawn mowers, disposable picnicware, mp3 players, fried chicken, table lamps, coca-cola and on and one. All things that artists don't provide.
Personally I decided a couple years ago that I was never going to make a living off art (a pretty defeatist and bad attitude for sure), but I find it easier (sometimes) to go to work, suck it up and then come home and attack or caress a piece of paper in any way I want, knowing that I don't have to draw batman, or illustrate how to microwave prepared food for the side of a grocery package. Working full-time is hard. That's why I know I won't do it my whole life. no way. I'm constantly thinking of things to get off that spiral. There are ways out there to make money and work when you want to or only when you need to and never in between. getting the funds, the skills or backing to do them is the hard part... like owning a rental property ... or setting up a service website that people pay to use... etc. There are ways. Then once you are making money off them (even just enough to scrape by) you hunker down and draw the shit out of your free time.
I think. i hope this is true. Because it's what I'm aiming for.
There's hope, guys. I'm juggling three art jobs right now that pay 1,500 dollars, 1,000 dollars and 800 dollars. Not amillion bucks but it's something.
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