It is so hard to be an artist and unless you're an artist, you have no idea how tough it is to be one. Whether you do music, visual art, dance, or any other kind, we all share the similar traits and issues while being an artist. Here's a few things that many us have in common and want the world to understand.
1. Everything we do sucks!
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I am not a perfectionist at all. In fact I settle for most things in life. But when it comes to my art. Nothing is ever good enough. Even if I know what I've created is good, it's never good enough and it never will be. It's the most frustrating thing in the world to have the constant need to want to create something everyday and I hate most, if not all, of the things that I create.
2.We know we're amazing
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Now this might seem a little conflicting with what I just said. But just know that it's the truth. While I'm the type of artist who thinks that everything I make is garbage, I know when I'm better than other people. #Sorrynotsorry and that's the truth. The main reason why we think that our stuff isn't so great is because we have high standards and expectations of ourselves. But as opposed to other people, I'm the sh*t.
3. It is so expensive to be an artist!
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I went to the art store the other day, but the cheapest art supplies I could find and walked out having paid $53 dollars. FOR CHEAP ART SUPPLIES that don't even get the job done right. It's so expensive to be an artist. Art supplies are expensive. Instruments, voice lessons, studio time are all expensive. Cameras are expensive. It's absolutely insane. This is why I stole all of my art supplies in high school.
4. If you mention that you're an artist, everybody wants you to show them something.
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"Oh you can draw? Can you draw me something?"
"Oh you can sing? Can you sing me something?"
"Oh you play the guitar? Can you play me something?"
No I can't. I'm sorry people, I know we're fascinating people, but leave us alone. Artist don't just show they're creativity just because you want us to. If I want to show you my work, I'll pull out my sketch book, but I'm not going to draw you. For my friends who sing, they don't like it much when you gush over them and beg them to sing a song to you. Especially if they just met you. Sorry people, but stop asking.
5. We're all really, really weird. A better word is eccentric...
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Maybe not as a weird as this gif. But eccentricity flows through the body of every artist. Everybody has their quirks on how the work. I had a friend that liked to learn her lines while speaking in a British accent. I like to paint with my shoes off, that in includes painting in class with no shoes one. Sometimes I talk to myself as if I'm the characters that I'm writing for a film; it helps me craft out the dialogue. Some people dress differently in weird styles, talk funny, walk funny, all part of the artistic way of the soul. You gotta love it.
6. We are sensitive & emotional human beings!
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We have to be. The only way to create genuine art is to feel the world around us. I get so caught up in the world around me that I sometimes feel overwhelmed and the only way to express that is to draw something or write it down. There's no way a person can be an artist if they aren't emoting their thoughts, ideas, and feelings through their artwork.
These are just a few things that I identify with and some other artists that I've met. What's great about artists is that we're one of the best things to walk the earth and people love and hate us at the same time. We seen as people who waste their lives chasing impossible dreams instead of having a job. But we're also loved for the things we create because people indulge in poetry, watching films, and listening to music all of the time, but we're the ones wasting our time...Where would the world be without us?
