Aside from the many amazing feats of my young impressionable years, I continued creating through High School, which eventually lead me to Art School. I never really was the best student. I apparently had gotten by up until that point on my wit, charm and dashing good looks... Okay, so maybe I just slipped through the cracks like so many underachievers do. My motivation was sidetracked by my curiosity and desire to find new and exciting things and, eventually, I settled for a job in sales, making myself damn near miserable for the next fifteen or so years. My creativity just wouldn't flow as long as I was working a "real job". There were brief times in my life where I would take time away from traditional employment. Somewhere after the de-stressing from the job and before fear of poverty set in I would be able to really create some great works. But, the breaks were never long enough to allow me to tap into a "flow"; That point where the creative juices just seem to pour out of you effortlessly. Inevitably, I would find myself back in a sales job planning my next escape, dreaming of painting once again.
On one cold January day soon after Christmas, for the first time in my life, I got fired. My boss's parting words were "...maybe you should go sell art...". I heard those words and really started to dream about it. Instead of job hunting I found myself sketching or painting. I would really just create and daydream for most of the day. The funny thing about dreaming is there really is no limit as to what someone, especially a creative type, can dream. In dreams you can really do or be anything or anyone...
I chose "Max Powers" and things just seemed to take off. The next thing I knew I was designing what was considered the flagship of the arts district. A gallery in South Florida which promoted the best of the emerging artists in that area. I would have openings and art events with huge crowds waiting to get in the door, spilling out onto the streets. This was a lot of work. Not that I have an aversion to work. I actually enjoy it. I like getting lost in it and completely losing track of time, suddenly realizing that It's eight o'clock at night and you've forgotten to eat lunch. (Okay... I rarely missed lunch... but you get my point.) I wasn't painting though. I was doing event planning, designing invitations, designing advertising, building and maintaining websites, curating shows, finding new artists, selling art. I was the flipping janitor for crying out loud. I was doing everything except for painting. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but I loved painting more. So, I left...
I had an incredible resume after all that. I decided to look for a happy medium. I went to work for a gallery.... on a ship. I got to travel the world, be surrounded by art, (and I mean ART... Amazing that should be in a museum... ART. Like ,"Oh my god there's a Rembrandt on my desk" ART! "Don't drop the Picasso" ART!)and it's a great job, but it's hard to fit canvasses, paint and an easel in your carry-on luggage. So now, I'm home. I'm between ships and I want to see if I can make it " Making a Living as an Artist." You can spend your time dreaming about doing something, or doing it. You can try and maybe fail, but at least you tried. If you just dream about it, you'll never know. Then again, if you try, I mean really try, You just might succeed!
I'll be back and I'll keep you updated as to how it goes. I'll share some insider tips on getting into a gallery, on showing your work, on pricing, on how to make the most money on your artwork. I'll share some ideas with you on marketing yourself and your work. I'll ask questions when I need to know how to do something and hopefully someone out there will answer...
So until next time...
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