Artist Lifestyle 101

Ever wonder what goes on in an artist's life? Being an artist seems like such a romantic occupation, if not a little irresponsible. It sounds like a lot of fun right? An artist gets to spend their days creating and doing what they love. Whenever you think of an artist, it's hard not to imagine a huge studio and fancy gallery shows. But the truth is, a lot of work goes into being an artist. It's not all fun and creativity. See the thing is, an artist has to pretty much be an entrepreneur. I can say that from experience, it isn't easy to start up at all. But the key to success is doing and accomplishing goals, and that means a lot of structure and discipline.

Here's a little glimpse into my life as an artist for you. I may not be the perfect picture of a full time artist, as I still need a job, but here goes.

First off, I'm an artist, so it's pretty important to create art. Don't roll your eyes yet. See the difficult thing is, making time for it. Due to all the other things that I need to accomplish in the day, it can be really difficult to make time for art. I have a family that will always require my time and it is good for me to not always be holed up in my little studio all day long by myself. However, that also means that I have my daily household tasks like making meals and making sure the house runs smoothly. Then, if I ever dream of selling my artwork, I must also make sure to do my online marketing. For me, this could take up all my time. Then there's social media to attend to as well. I'm guessing that for the average youth, this should be the easiest part. Only I won't lie, I'm not the best at this either. So you're probably getting the gist that being an artist is a lot of work. It is, but when you love something and are passionate about it, work doesn't stop you, right? So in order to make this all work here's what I need to do.

First, be diligent with following a schedule. Not an easy task for me, but eh, I'm still learning. So my rough schedule is to wake up before the rest of the house does and getting in some morning time to paint. This means waking up at five am. Okay, so for a lot of people that is a normal time to wake up and get your day started. I'm not complaining, but I will say that it actually is pretty hard for me to not come up with good excuses why I shouldn't get up when my alarm goes off.

I have to go off to work at eleven thirty am. Not a bad time as I'm usually able to get the kids breakfast made and finished. Also allowing a pretty nice time to have some coffee. Seriously, where would artists be without coffee! Anyways, I'm getting off topic. So I work only for a couple hours at the local cafe in town. I'm usually off at two.

When I get home it's time to hit the computer. A lot of gruelling online work goes into art and honestly I'm not the most excited about it. I'm an artist, not an advertiser. But hey, what one will do for something they love, right? Anyhow, that is also my time to blog and do social media stuff. Instagram here I come!

At around four I must get upstairs and make supper. I love cooking, so I usually find this time rather relaxing and stress relieving. Well, that is if I'm able to come up with a good idea about what to make. Supper is usually over at six thirty pm. This really should leave me with a lot of time to just paint or finish what I was doing on the computer. However, I must confess, it usually doesn't happen as this is the time that all the family is home. So generally, even though we see each other every day, I'll be upstairs visiting with my family. Besides, I work better in the mornings. Although if there is a paint brush in my hand, all time goes out the door.

So there you have it. One day in the life of one artist. Everything in this world takes work, time and effort. I think that we can all agree though, if you are following your dreams, it really can be a romantic occupation.

#artist #lifestyle #painting #dailytasks #worklife #lovinglife #livingyourdream #artwork