The Secret Life of the Artist

It has been over a month since I posted so I thought I would include a picture of some of the things I've been doing lately, art related and not. The landscape is a 15" X 30" oil of hay bales in a field in Cody, Wyoming at sunrise. I spent a long time on it mostly trying not to be too tight. The second image has nothing to do with painting. I sometimes repair old pocket watches to make money. I buy old broken watches in hopes of getting them running and selling them. I hoped to make a career of painting, so while I have painted, taught painting and worked an an illustrator and animator there are always other things that painters do that are totally unrelated to art. Two of my closest friends from art school have put in 15 to 30 years at jobs that have nothing to do with art. One works at a supermarket (something he has done since he was a teenager) in the frozen food and dairy section. He has tremendous talent and great idealism and is represented by a third rate gallery (the same one that I have some of my work in!!!). So he will probably put in another year or so and then perhaps be able to retire to what he loves doing, full time painting. I would venture to say that most of the people he works with know nothing about his talent as a painter. Another friend whose work I have always admired (he was a year ahead of me in art school and was an inspiration for me when I began) traveled to Europe, painted in France in the countryside and has done large beautiful landscapes -- and has been a delivery service truck driver for about 15 years. I went painting with him last summer and now that he's not regularly painting, he just feels resigned that his skills have eroded and is a truck driver more than a painter. I know there are many among you that have the same experience, yourself or friends. How many people work at their craft of art and never tell anyone they work with about it? My buddy was talking with a long time painter who said "Just because you do this on a part time basis, it doesn't make you any less an artist". It's an interesting subject.