So, You want to be an artist?
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Disclaimer: this is not my usual happy-go-lucky persona. This is the real deal, the artist unmasked. It may not be what you want to hear, so consider yourself warned…
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What do you see when you look at my social media persona? If I’ve been doing my job right, hopefully it’s a happy, enthusiastic girl. One who works long days with a smile; someone who embraces ‘the glass is half full’ attitude. Don’t get me wrong, a big part of my personality is just that! But, I think I owe you the full picture of what it means to be a career-artist. I want to show you behind the curtain, the struggle and the hard times.
So, you want to be an artist?
If you like rejection, uncertainty, and feeling irrelevant... being an artist is the career path for you!
Like disappointment? Perfect!
Feel willing to put on a show and sell nothing? Used to being rejected and embarrassed? You’ll do great!
Ready to watch your friends compare new phones while you spend all your money on art supplies? You’re practically there!
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But the disheartening thing is, that’s the easy part. On top of all of the heartache, there’s the day-to-day grind. Working days on end, month after month, year after year. If you think your work will make a splash the year after you graduate from the academy, think again. A career in art is a marathon, not a sprint… and you don’t even know which direction the finish line is... or if it even exists.
In essence, an artist’s career is getting beaten up twenty times but standing up ready for the twenty-first. No matter how hard you work, there is no guarantee of ‘making it’. No prescribed corporate ladder to climb. It’s the uncertainty that is the hardest part.
Yet, you’ve got to prepare yourself to show up to the studio; spend countless hours by yourself, unsure of which direction to take. All to make art that, quite frankly, no one but you cares about. It’s vital you learn how to stay inspired and engaged.
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My happy-go-lucky Instagram personality (agnieszka_pilat) Because Serena Williams once said: I've had to learn to fight all my life - got to learn to keep smiling. If you smile things will work out.
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So, the obvious question is how?
Personally, I had to step out of myself and really make it all about the work. If you have a raging ego, you will become very unhappy very quickly. This is a life that requires so many personal sacrifices that you can survive only if you forget the ‘self’, and make your art the priority. If you allow it, your work can make you a better person; a smarter person. If you always put forward your best, I promise it will. You will start thinking big, and you will know anything is possible. For your art, not necessarily for you. It’s something you must make peace with, and with which I wish you all the best.
This is the reality behind the curtain, the artist’s true face when we drop the mask of social media.
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“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
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