Aspiring artists - Reality Shock 101
So you want to be an artist, do you? Have your pictures hung in galleries, design the logos for the vinyl packaging of all the biggest bands?
Here’s some tips on what NOT to do. So now your fresh out of grad school or making a career change you want to know how. If you just barge straight into the art world you may hit a brick wall if your going the wrong way. So when entering any field a clear sense of direction is key to finding your way and getting on the first rung of the ladder which means finding a paycheck, like it or not.
You may want to do art for arts sake as many artists do. However this is not going to pay the bills. Don’t think you will make it right away, put money down on materials, start borrowing renting gallery space, and dreaming of the millions rolling in.
So lets start with a reality shock number one.
MOST ARTISTS HAVE A “REAL” JOB. Is it an exiting real job? Is it as a graphic designer, a painters assistant, a gallery owner, a fashion designer. Read this carefully now. Usually none of the above! Here my dear fellow aspiring artists are some of the most common aspiring artist jobs I believe (thery’re about the same as one’s you might have taken up whilst studying believing such wonderful vocations would be only temporary).
Supermarket restocker – overnight (so can work in the day and not get up in the morning)
Childcare assistant/babysitter (jobs ones don’t want to do for low pay and include screaming babies but hours to suit).
Callcentre Operator/Telemarketer- Also high turnaround job. Easy to get easy to burn out, even if you do get to sit down at a desk.