May 30, 2007

ARtist In$ecUrity


Artist Insecurity. Now there's a topic.

Mentally, financially, professionally, emotionally, insecure.

Insanely, Illogically Insecure. Irrationally insecure

Artists wonder if they turn down work... will they ever be offered work again?

This is just one of the irrational blind corners of the freelancer's mindset. Some of the other illogical blind corners are:

'Do I have any talent'?
'Is my style out of date?'
'Do I still know how to paint?'
'Should I try a totally different medium?'
'Should I get a new agent?'
'Should I have been an architect?'
and on and on and on to many other such delectables.

But then there's all those catch phrases to encompass the reasons we remain unbalanced. Find yourself by letting go. Follow Your Bliss. Dare to Dream. Life is Short, Art is Long.... oh, and my favorite... Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained. (that's good for investing too).

Freelancing... the very definition of insecure.

It sometimes seems that the only thing holding it all together is the Illusion. Of course it's an illusion! Art is nothing but illusions. And those are fueled by all the mysterious subterfuge of imagination and emotion.

And as we all know, Illusions are a rock solid foundation to build anyone's fortune upon.

4 comments:

Paula Pertile said...

Why is that little naked guy with the red apron and wings tying a string around the ladie's shoe?

You don't have to answer that.

But yes, insecurity. I don't think I'd know how to function without it.

John Nez said...

He's fitting her toe I suppose. Being 'nekked with wings' is just formal attire for Putti.

Yes, Insecurity combined with 'creative block' can be nearly fatal sometimes. Usually only temporary though. It's no mistake that we got this far I suppose.

June said...

Insecurity... what a subject! We could go on and on and never reach the root of it.
Had some of those feelings quite recently, so I went off to play freely with materials for a while to relax and didn't have a clue where to begin! Without a deadline and a brief I was floundering... I just can't win eh!

John Nez said...

It's a struggle. But hopefully one ends with at least a little satisfaction.

I guess that's why I like painting on canvas in an expressionist sort of way. It's like a record of the struggling... captured in paint.