Three years ago, I decided to become a professional artist.  I decided to stop dreaming about it, and accomplish what I was put on this earth to do.  My purpose was always there, but I finally allowed myself to follow the path in front of me.

Today, my life is filled with beauty and happiness; and of course, hard work.  Choosing to follow one’s dreams takes commitment and a generous amount of elbow grease.  The joy of creating is suddenly juxtaposed with the administrative realities of being a small business owner.

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of a successful artist.  Creating and maintaining a website, for example, is not only time consuming, but also costly.  I’m not a very techy person, and I found myself learning about domains, algorithms, ecommerce, payment plans, mailing lists… and the list goes on!  I reluctantly dived into the waters of social media.  Far from being an expert in these matters, I have quickly adopted a daily routine, starting with painting (the part that brings me absolute joy), and moving on to other necessary ingredients… marketing oneself. 

The business of art can be very competitive and extremely subjective.  As an artist, I try to remind myself to enjoy the process and focus on the joy of creating.  When people express delight or interest in my work, my soul is filled with happiness and gratitude.  However, society is often extremely vocal in its likes and dislikes, and we, artistic types, are often prone to sensitivity.  Another important lesson, and this applies to all walks of life, is to learn to take things in stride.

In closing, I prefer to adopt a position of gratitude in my life and find that this serves me well.  In the creation of my art, I have found contentment and peace.