Low Hanging Fruit : Self Sabotage and the Making of a Professional Artist
A friend said something interesting to me recently.
He said the dream of being an artist that he grew up thinking would be such a difficult task was really “low hanging fruit.” All he had to do was reach out and - take it.
“Making it” in terms of engaging in money making projects, making the right connections, making the time to create, even achieving a fair amount of success, all that was easy he said, and can happen in a relatively short amount of time.
The real obstacles on the way to his success have taken place in his own head. As it is with most artists, the real war is fought on the inside.
Even after enjoying the praise of admirers, when he sits back down at the drawing table, out come the demons. Jeering, taunting, cajoling him to put down his pencil and say “Fuck it, this is shit. No one will like this.” And often, that’s what he’s done.
When he’s been able to push through the demons, do the work, and share it, he’s enjoyed decent success. And is enjoying more and more every time he pushes through and produces something.
I found myself wondering if doing the work every day would be an effective way of combating these demons. I have them too. We all do. I notice they get quieter the more I create. Not the more people tell me they like reading my work. When I do the work. That’s when the demons shut up.
Of course, affirmation helps, but affirmation for doing the work doesn’t have the same affect as doing the work. When I have created is when I respect myself for honoring my craft instead of ignoring it. I find that there’s very little room for self-loathing when I’m consistently doing the work.
It seems to me that the artist who does her craft every day is a happy artist.
The artist who does her craft every day and gets paid for it, that’s the professional artist.
And that’s what we’re after.
If you’re intrigued by the idea of a professional artist being one who plays for cash, I highly recommend Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art.
