The biggest lie for artistse

The biggest lie is: "Art is what you do when everything else is done." Talent is not the biggest predictor of whether you will keep doing artwork. Persistence is. I saw many talented students when I was working on my BFA 20 years ago at the University of Texas. I suspect many, if not most, are no longer doing artwork. People much more talented than I was. With no one saying, "Group critique next Tuesday -- have your painting ready," or "You need to have 20 drawings by mid-term," most don't go on.

I can tell any art student right now how to predict if they'll be doing artwork even one year after graduation. "Do you do any artwork over the Christmas break? What about in the summer?" In other words, do you do artwork when no one is telling you to? Sure, you're tired at Christmas break. You're going to be a lot more tired living a real, true adult life. And, if that summer job keeps you from doing art all summer, what happens when you graduate? When you work 40 hours a week -- waiting tables, selling insurance, working in an office -- and no one cares if you do any art -- and you're married and have two kids -- or you're divorced and have two kids: it's hard to keep going. It is. I know.

The first year with the first baby, hardly any artwork happened. Then, it picked up. I used my Mother's Day Out time to do artwork. And, he napped two hours in the afternoon. But, the first year with the second baby and all the way to that one starting kindergarten, hardly any artwork happened. My second was a little bundle of energy. He walked when he was 8 months old. He would run out the door naked whenever possible. He escaped from the church nursery 4 times. He escaped from Mother's Day Out once. He didn't nap. The night before he started kindergarten, I cried. Tears of relief. Within a week, I started painting landscapes. Actually, skyscapes, with only the top of the trees showing. I finally had space.