He Fancies Himself Some Kind of Hemmingway
“He's NO Hemmingway!”
This was a reported exchange between my wife and a friend a couple of days ago. I thought it was funny to hear her describe it at the time. And not a little ego-boosting to hear that these two people were discussing my work. That's not something I experience often. The conversation about my writing and art.
I mean to say, I HOPE it happens. I'm just not usually party to it.
What IS common is for people to express polite interest when they see I carry a sketchbook (#63 as of writing), to to 'ooooohhhhh' politely when they hear that I am an artist/writer. I even hear the polite compliments when friends come to my home and experience the eclectic decor or original artwork, mostly mine.
I don't think I have it in me to become that personality you need to be a professional artist. That wild out-there rawness that makes you undeniably interesting and others want to open their wallets and hearts to own a piece of you.
There is plenty of 'oh, can you paint my dog/child/car/gerbel?'. Usually though people are too shocked at how much a commission costs. There isn't a lot of joy in work-for-hire anyway. I should know. I've made my living as a commercial artist for almost 30 years now.
Making art is like making love: doing it feels great and passion should be the motivator; money never can be.
Put love and the truth into every stroke of your pen and every tap on your keyboard
Here's a LINK to a flip-through of #61 if you are so interested
Discuss...
write dammit
#essay #confession
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