Comments on: Deep Thought Thursday: Advice to a young artist

By: Alisha

Alisha — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:07:41 +0000

* Don’t make excuses, just make art. * Don’t go to graduate school.

By: Mary Richmond

Mary Richmond — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:38:38 +0000

listen to everyone if you’re so inclined but take every bit of advice with a grain of salt to see if it applies to you. throw out everything that doesn’t gel with you. don’t bend yourself to anyone else’s rules or experience. follow no one. follow your own inner voice. for everything someone else tells you won’t work….someone else walks right in and does exactly that and gets the job done…. be brave.

By: Di

Di — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:21:52 +0000

Learn the business side of being an Artist ASAP! Take classes and read anything and everything that covers running a business. And never ever ever STOP making your Art!

By: Alyson B. Stanfield

Alyson B. Stanfield — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:01:22 +0000

Gosh, these are great. I am going to have to contact each and every one of you and put these into some sort of booklet.

By: Allison J Smith

Allison J Smith — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:39:17 +0000

Make your art EVERY day. Relax to get through the blocks.

By: David Stewart

David Stewart — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:09:58 +0000

You can do your art in your spare time, making a living doing something else, but if you wanna make a living as an artist, you have 2 choices: 1) work for somebody else, doing what THEY want you to do (commercial art), or 2) Go into business for yourself. Do your own art, but always remember that you are in business – learn what you have to learn to be successful AS A BUSINESS. Then you can support yourself doing what you love to do. Learn to love every aspect of your business, even if mastering it means hiring a professional to do it for you (accounting, etc.) Just remember that all the “hats” of a business have to be worn, or they will wear YOU! (meaning they will take your attention away from what you love)

By: Michael Orwick

Michael Orwick — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:24:16 +0000

“You have to know when to kill your babies.” I’m not sure if it is truly one of the best pieces of advice I ever got but it sure has stuck with me. It came form the sweetest lady that I ever had the chance to study with Elsa Warnick. She was as much like a mother as an illustration teacher, and what she meant by it was that it is often easier to start over then to try to continue to fix a bad painting. http://www.michaelorwick.com

By: Sherri Conley

Sherri Conley — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:07:52 +0000

This is a very timely question for me, as I just had an interview last night by a young art student. This was how I ended the interview: “Most of all, I get to do what I love to do! I think that’s so important! Do what you love, and everything else will fall into place. As they say, follow your bliss…”

By: Daniel Sroka

Daniel Sroka — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:40:06 +0000

I throw a variation in here: do not worry about making art everyday. Do not worry about always feeling passionate about your art-making. Just follow your own rhythms, and don’t worry about what level of output is “correct”.

By: Marcia Baldwin

Marcia Baldwin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:50:25 +0000

Art Every Day … with Passion