Hey Arno, how's the artist's eye?

The artist's eye is an innate thing. The problem I am having now is passion. Passion brings art to the top of your agenda. Passion allows you to work all things out so that you can do art. Also make the effort to display/promote/sell. It is a big thing to make the jump from art dabbler to artist in residence for profit.

There are all kinds of formulas out there and many artist are eager to share their experience as advice. Please share your experience, keep your advice. Why? There is no generic situation we art prone come out of or exist in, and there is no generic situation we are going to fit into. It might be different for an "art job" but crafty and fine art people usually don't have an art career tract in mind. An awful lot of us just art because we like it. We like to do art for a while without the "job" persona turning it into a dislike.

Commitment is another big hurdle. If you are like most, multi-talented and in the midst of immediate needs, it is often hard to focus on the thing you prefer when the things lower on your list are paying off and meeting your needs. Sometimes it's not about you but about your spouses view of the world. If I made big bucks from art, I'd be set with her. The more traditional jobs appear more a sure bet with her for now. I am inclined to agree, but also if you don't spend time to develop the preferred avenues, they remain on the back shelf and are destined to be regrets and I should'ves later. My wish is not to be supplied in living expenses yet unfulfilled as a person.

Opportunity is key to any interface with the world. There are opportunities you create for yourself and opportunities others present to you. There is always a cost. Time, expense, principles, inputs, outputs and consequences are all the currency of opportunity. The flip of opportunity is risk. You must risk some or all of yourself in hope of return or what's the point. Profit for you, for others, long turn, short turn, what ever is gained is because something was risked.

Do you have the passion?

Can you commit?

Will you choose and/or make opportunity?

Will you take the risk?

Are you prepared to deal with whatever the profit or return is?

The funny thing is that much of this assessment happens on the fly, while the play is in motion. As the things change, you make adjustments and move on. My hope is to stay in the game, go forward. It's about endurance and sustaining good play, not going down in a blaze of gory, I mean glory. Yet for others it might be different.

This is stuff I think about when I sit down, while in motion it's a little fuzzier cuz I gots others to care for. Endurance and learning to make art on the run.