How a Casual Job Made Me a Better Artist. Or, Redefining Success.

Did you know that for a while, I was officially a full-time artist?

Did you also know that that doesn’t actually make me 'more of an artist'?

When I began this crazy adventure of becoming an Artist with a capital A, I convinced myself that I could only properly call myself an Artist once I’d worked my way out of my existing job and into doing art at least five days a week.

At the time, I was a freelance graphic designer and a mum to school-aged boys. (Only one of these jobs paid for itself, and the other isn’t something I can work my way out of.) 

Over the course of a few years, I painted more and more, and designed less and less - until eventually, I stopped accepting design work altogether and just concentrated on my art. 

This isn’t to say that I was making the same income from my art as I had been from design, but I needed the time to develop my art practice, so I took the financial hit and was grateful for the security our family receives from my husband’s work.

Making art and finding an audience who’ll share it and collectors who’ll buy it is a heck of a lot of work, so it was just as well I find it deeply satisfying and enriching to do. 

After a year or so, however, I found myself flagging a little. Reflecting on things, I realised that as much as I love being an artist, it does have some drawbacks that other, more regular jobs don’t. (Insert gasp of disbelief or smug head-nod here - depending on whether you are an artist or an accountant.)   

I concluded that what art can lack that other work gives is consistency and company. 

Finding Consistency

So much of the work I do is ‘income-in-waiting’. I need to paint a collection of work for an exhibition, but I can’t show or sell the paintings until the exhibition falls due. Even then, there's no guarantee that the work will sell at that time, in future, or at all.

It’s a bit like a farmer doing the work on a crop that won’t be harvested until the next season. In the meantime, there are bills to pay, and you hope that circumstances don’t derail all that you’re working toward. Of course, this is where other avenues of income like selling prints or teaching comes into things, but on the whole, it can be a bit feast or famine-like. 

 

PHOTO by MATTHEW HENRY

Having Company

As a freelance designer, I spent my kids’ school days alone, in front of a computer. As I gradually morphed into an Artist, my activities grew more varied, but I was still mostly by myself. This is actually necessary for concentration and flow, but after 20 years of working on my own I felt lonely and bored of staring at the same four walls.

So what’s a hermit mother who relates to a farmer, despite calling herself an artist, to do??

Well I can’t speak for that nut-job, but what I did, was to accept the kind offer of working a day a week as a graphic designer for my husband's architecture firm. 

(It's worth noting that while this all sounds very convenient, the kind of work I found didn't matter - I just needed something outside the house and with other people. My husband's suggestion simply saved me handing out resumes!)

 

PHOTO by MATTHEW HENRY

What are the benefits of being an artist with another job?

I now have both consistency and company in the form of predictable working rhythms, a regular income, and colleagues/work mates.  I am as happy as a farmer with reliable rainfall. 

A predictable working rhythm helps me to plan out all the tasks I need to do for my art, and the mid-week change of pace helps to keep studio life from feeling too same-ish - which leads to better focus and productivity overall.

A reliable pay packet means I can invest more in my art practice (read about renting studio spaces and the benefits of that here), without feeling the pressure of every task in the studio needing to ‘succeed’ or pay for itself in some way.

This also has a positive impact on how I paint. I’m more inclined to experiment and try new mediums and techniques - all of which help develop my skills and grow me as an artist. 

Having the company of other people in my ‘office job’ has all the benefits you’d expect: Improved mental health; Enjoyment and confidence gained from meeting new people, working as a team and learning new things.  Plus, there's just enough social interaction that my introvert self is not maxed-out, but instead feels energised to get back into the studio and make my art days count.

I actually can’t recommend it enough. I wish I’d done it sooner. Even if my art takes off and I’m more like a farmer herding cash-cows than planting hope-crops, I’ll be reluctant to give up that day job.

I’d go so far as to say that I feel more successful as an artist now that I’m employed casually elsewhere than I did slogging it out day after day on my own. My goals haven’t changed; I’ve simply adjusted my methods.

 

PHOTO by TOMAS HUSTOLES

So, if you are an aspiring artist, or perhaps an artist struggling to make ends meet: Let me encourage you not to rate your ‘success’ on how ‘full time’ your art practice is. Your art itself will speak to your skill and commitment to your craft. If you can dedicate 40 hours to it during the week, that’s a bonus - not a definition of success.

What do you think? Are you an artist with another job? Is that working for you - or are you looking to change things? Leave a comment and let me know your take on practicing Art with or without a side job - I'd welcome your thoughts.

Until next time -