Thoughts on Doing What You Love

 or "Why I Am An Artist When I Could Have Made Way More Bank As A Lawyer"

 “It is very important that you only do what you love to do. You may be poor, you may go hungry, you may lose your car, you may have to move into a shabby place to live, but you will totally live.  And at the end of your days you will bless your life because you have done what you came here to do. Otherwise, you will live your life as a prostitute, you will do things only for a reason, to please other people, and you will never have lived.  And you will not have a pleasant death.” 

― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

 Being an artist is not easy, especially in a serious, political area like D.C.

Typical conversation with someone new:

Them: So, what do you do?
Me: I'm an artist.
Them: .... like an actor?
Me: No, an actual studio artist. I paint and stuff. 
Them:... but, what's your job?  

In those people's defense, I do have a day job (because girlfriend needs health insurance), but that's not my passion, my identity, my future.  It's not what makes me wake up excited in the morning to start a project or stay up waaaaay too late at night to finish sketches or spend an entire day locked in my room/studio experimenting with new mediums and techniques until my fiance comes home and wants to know what we're doing for dinner (um, food?). 

 My studio

Art makes me happy... but more than that, it's simply how I express myself and find meaning in the world. There's something in me that NEEDS to create, that only feels fulfilled when I'm sketching or painting or sewing or MAKING something. 

If it were about money or fame, I would have gone into another career, something that doesn't have a prerequesite of being DEAD before your work is worth money. 


Actual email conversation I had with my dad several months ago:

Dad 5/2/12

to Jennifer 

 Keep painting.   The Scream sold today for $120 million.

____________________________________________________________________

Jennifer 5/2/12

to Dad

Yeah that guy's been dead for 200 years. He's making $0 dollars. 

____________________________________________________________________

Dad 5/2/12

to Jennifer

Good point. 

____________________________________________________________________

I mean, really, everybody's gotta do something. You may as well do what brings you absolute joy. 

For some, that is being an attorney.
For some, that is being a parent.
For some, that is playing competitive sports.
For some, that is educating and shaping today's youth.
For some, that is healing the sick.
For some, that is saving the environment from preventable human destructions. 
For some, that is lobbying for policies to protect those who cannot protect themselves. 
For some, that is giving hope to those who feel lost and alone. 

For me, that is creating something new; capturing a truth; expressing my loves, fears, doubts, confusions.

For me, that is art. 

 
And, hopefully, if you are good at what you love, someone will pay you to do it (assuming it's, ya know, legal and somehow contributes to society).

The ultimate dream, no?
 
Image of The Scream by Edvard Munch from here  
All other images by me