HOW to BECOME a PROFESSIONAL ARTIST in the SECOND HALF of YOUR LIFE?

10 years ago I jumped off a cliff. It turned out not as bad as it could have been. So, now I celebrate this so-called anniversary. For starters, I'll try to do something good - share experiences with all for whom it may be useful or interesting. With the gratitude to those who believed in me.

But, let's agree on some terms first.

"A professional artist." It's a human, who is creating and selling pieces of art on a full time basis. Yes, that's right. Creates every day and tries to sell it every day. That means combining two jobs: as a creator and as his sales agent. Ideally, the ratio should be increased in favor of the first one.

"The second half of life." There is no exact age, but the signs are as follows: you got disappointed with your first profession (not interesting, not promising, small payment, got fed up with it, life in vain and so on); self-esteem drops, but you are willing to fight; your soul is still alive, it's bored, and wants changes and something "strange". In general, if it happens, you will know it for sure. Looks like a mid-life crisis? Well, yeah. This is it, so, let's just leave the relationship problems aside and focus on our personal fulfillment.

But how to manage to send everything away? Any unexpected "scrape" can help. My "last drop" fell exactly ten years ago, it fell together with thousands of other drops into the basement and flooded all my student drawings and paintings that I was carrying with me, without even unpacking, for many years. Few days I spent rummaging in my moldy painted past, but then I threw it away and went to the store to get new paints and canvases.

So, you came out of the closet and declared your new professional orientation. Be prepared that in the eyes of anybody around, you have turned from a normal person into a neurotic freak. When asked: "Who is it?" - they will answer whispering: "This is my friend. She thinks she's an artist."

Your friends, who are not artists, will look at you with an obvious interest as if they watch a dancing bear or a drunken amoeba; they will even smile and nod, saying, "I would also like to draw like this, but I have to earn money. I have made a commitment to my family." They honestly expect that you will start regreting your choice and become ashamed. They genuinely can't imagine a different response. Do not give up. For your consent to "death under the fence," you are entitled at least to go high, even when falling into the abyss.

By the way, some of them will actually start painting. Once you sell first few pieces, you will see it for yourself. Especially if you don't go into details, but smile and live easy, or at least pretend to do so. So, they will start painting a bit. Most likely, they won't tell you anything, you will learn it from social media — you will suddenly start seeing images of their relatives and friends deprived of life by brush strokes, set and skewed dingy vases with flowers, blunt-nosed asymmetric sitters with the limbs of different people. They will even join the courses made by other artists, but not you. And, while wincing, remember - it's your fault, it's you who made them try to be artists, as it is you who convinced them with your own example that painting is easy, that it's enough just to want to change a dull life to the bohemian one, that it is enough just to pick up the drawing tools. Do not get angry at them, they just want to dip a toe in the water before rushing into the river. There's nothing wrong with that. And yes, these friends will be waiting for love and acceptance. And yes, exactly from you, as you're colleagues for now and they also have a mid-life crisis.

Most of familiar and half-familiar artists won't be happy with a new guild fellow. They won't love you - don't even expect it. For now they won't even like you, and some will even hate you. A few - even hate actively and spread their hatred around. The main complaint will revolve around an undefined argument: "What a bitch." In the very beginning, they will hate you for the low price ("so other artists cannot sell anything"). Then, when you raise them, these same people will hate you for the high prices as well ("he/she is completely insolent and the stupid ones buy from the upstart"). At first you will be hated for not asking for any advice, or help with exhibitions, sales and public relations. Then these same people will hate you for you not offering them any help with the same things, even if you are always ready to help or consult when asked. Accept the inevitable. Be comforted by the fact that you have not yet acquired the desired fame, but in somebody's eyes had already risen to the Sinister Symbol of Imperfection of This Mean World, populated by fools, who are buying the wrong paintings by the wrong artists. Feel yourself as a Symbol — isn't it cool? In the same time, with unfamiliar artists everything will be much better - they will judge you by tour work, not the biography, and over time you will gain a lot of new friends and colleagues around the world. And only then, some of your independently minded artist friends will start judging you for your pieces of art.

Now, let's talk about one very important event in your new artistic life. The borderline that will split this life in two. This is the first work sold to a stranger. You will never be the same again after it. Here begins your career path. Follow it further or stop now. And by the way, you can even celebrate this date each year, as it is truly a celebration.

But those are the small details. The most disgusting thing is that you will have to lie. Once on the road, paved with yellow bricks of creative madness, you have doomed yourself to solitude and lying to others about how easy, fun and free it is to walk on this path. How the sky is cloudless, how sun is shining how high are stars, how muse fill you up with colorful ideas, how happy are villagers to see you, how you're given wine and fed with bread and meat - and all this only because you are a great Mozartian tramp and they love artists as creative as you. Well, sometimes you can complain a bit about the mosquito, but not more. You will be unpleasantly surprised how merciless humanity is with the losers. Never admit that something goes wrong.

In general, get used to the idea that on this colorful way you won't have a shoulder to cry on when things get tough. No, not even your mother. Mom should be proud of you, and be assured that you feel excellent, you are talented and you deserve it all. How else, if you're the best by default? That is compassion, and I don't even want to know how will you achieve it, what price will you be charged. Ideally, all your relatives should be proud of you -your father, husband, children. They also need some mercy. Нow bad you feel, what a terrible crisis you have, how incompetent and hungry you are, how you want to hang yourself – all of that you may only tell to your pack of antidepressants. I'm not sure if you can talk about this to psychiatrist - he could be the husband of your buyer or your fan on Facebook.

Over the time, your loneliness in a new life will be moderated by a support team. There will be people on whom you can, if not rely, then at least coincide with, those with whom you will check the strength and intensity of sending visual messages. Those, of course, are not the same people who will wave with a handkerchief from the curb, wishing you bon voyage. Those are different. This is your new family, this is your target-group, they just don't know about it yet. They will become this group as you travel to a new artistic life. It is for them, now, that you feel, think, draw and paint. Those are the best of a mankind, because only they understand you. They have an emotional connection with your artwork; write you about them; acquire them if the circumstances allow it or share them in blogs with some part of humanity unknown to you. Congratulations, you met each other! Hooray. I really hope that you will like your target-group. It is great to be proud of the quality of your support-team. And, actually, the quality of this group depends entirely on you. Strangers in general are honest - if they are interested in the level of the proposed dialogue, they are with you. If not, you are alone. This group is your mirror. Watch it and learn more about yourself.

And now about the gallery owners. Here all is bad. You are a horse in an overcoat, and not a young one. If translated into the language of business — there's no point to invest you, as the end of your career is already seen, and you don't have a stock of paintings. Really, how long will you paint? While a career is a puzzle, which takes a lot of time. So it does not make sense, just leave and have a good luck. By the way, speaking of paintings stock - they are right. And you need to create new paintings more actively than a set artist of your age. At the same time, be prepared for the fact that your colleagues won't like you for this productivity.

Glory to the Internet. Really - Glory to the Great Internet! You have a chance to be who you want only due to the fact that it appeared, and the whole world has become a village. I think that the survival of a non-system artist is associated with internet the same as diabetic survival is associated with the invention of insulin. Well, with the adjustment for me being pathetic and the fact that I myself exist in the virtual space with much more comfort than in the real one. In general, you have the opportunity to give a damn about art parties, groups and galleries, as at any time you can go to the Civilization Ocean and throw your message in the waves. And it certainly will be seen by more people on different continents than a picture hanging on a wall in a local "house of culture". Online there're people with independent minds, who are not afraid to be guided by the beautiful words "I like" and "I am interested". Decent works will be seen by some of them, trust me.

By the way, you have no time to learn how to draw the sea like Aivazovsky, neighbor Lisa like Da Vinci, or the forest like Shishkin did. And there is no time to convince the world that your abstract composition is for some reason better and more valuable than the abstract compositions by famous artists, children and chimpanzees. In general, forget the word "like." You have yourself, with your own thoughts, which appeared in the first half of your hard and ambiguous life, that differs so much from the life of those who since their youth were drawing and hanging out, hanging out and drawing. You have these own thoughts and emotions, right? Actually, it is the most important thing you have. So, listen to them and resonate with them. Build up the artistic language in which you are able to adequately convey these thoughts and emotions to the audience. There's only one requirement to it - it has to be recognized.

Recognized! This is the keyword. The audience should recognize you and stay with you when it's interesting for them. Well, the concept of "interesting" is vague, but if you throw in the global ocean of art another vase of flowers, maybe it's better to throw yourself together with it from some cliff because your further artistic life will be sad and poor. But you're an interesting person by default, right? So your adult intelligence and the basics you learned in art schools/private lessons/courses are enough to develop your adequate artistic language. What? You didn't learn anything? Even in an art school? Oops ... Why did you decide to become an artist then? Oh ... well, then you really need some courses. Notice I did not say "take courses," I said, "you need them." Which means sit in front of a computer and learn until the moment you start producing original artistic language adequate to your ideas. When will it happen? Tomorrow. In a year. Never. Try to figure it out yourself. And please, please, do not spread the products of your learning online. Firstly, it's ridiculous. Secondly, the Internet is never forgetting space, and when you become a confident, original and distinctive talent, it will remind you about these shameful evidence of your untroubled narcissism and spoil the sale of paintings to worthy people for decent prices. Do not spoil the fairy tale!

Even after the development of your own artistic language learning should be still continued. But you have to do it parallel with the work. And it is not necessary for the rest of humanity, who is thinking of your life as a dance in the garden under the stars, to know that you are spending nights in front of the monitor, studying the palette knife painting technique.

And since I've mentioned the concept of "decent price", I feel obliged to talk more about it. First of all, do not treat your picture worse than the puppies — that means, do not hand them out for free. At least for the first few years. Do you want to bring a kitten you found in trash as a present? So, wait until your pictures become a pedigree greyhound puppy. Then give it as a present, if you really want. People will be at least grateful. Secondly, in my opinion, the price of a picture can be only one: the amount for which you are agree to separate with this picture. Do not hesitate to dump in the first phase, when the fact that at least somebody is willing to pay for your painting is treating you and do not be afraid to raise prices sharply when you're already over it. In the price increase for the pictures should be restricted only by one thing: an understanding that it is a one-way road. Lower prices will be the recognition of your destruction, as well as collector's mistake, when they bought your work at a higher price. However, from time to time you may give discounts individually to good people.

As we have already raised this dirty money topic, my other advice to you - when you start getting in your postbox invitations to participate in various exhibitions and sales activities, such as "only one day, on the way from Paris to London", take into consideration only those where the organizers want to receive a percentage of the sales and ruthlessly ignore the ones where you have to pay for participation (paying for a buffet does not count). You can never realize what the chances of selling your works are, and only will appreciate the beauty of the bluff. While the organizers themselves assess these chances and if they offer a fixed payment instead of percentage share, unfortunately, it speaks for itself. Your lone sail should be able to choose on the background of which steel ship should it shine. Well, you can make an exception for some "Venice Biennale". But not before you make sure that there are strangers who are interested in your work.

And now, about the intimate. Are you an introvert? If not, swipe. If yes, then welcome to the club. The bad news is that sometimes you have to crawl out into the light. Treat this as brushing your teeth, it is a necessary ritual. Tip one — make it fun, it's just a game. Cool clothes, theatrical image, whatever you want, you have carte blanche. Anyway, nothing depends on it. So, don't stay long, hurry up home to the easel to make up for the lost time.

Now about the bad side. You will be disappointed in the new bohemian environment. After realizing your involvement in Bohemia, you'll visit a vernissage. There you will desire communication and, beautifully twisting a glass, will joke once, without seeing any reaction. So you repeat the joke, this time with more details, trying to exclude the difficult words and figures of speech, and then wearily admit: "It was a joke." Then will experience shame and horror, and will crawl in the corner under the watchful eye of the new puzzled colleague to cover the wounds. Do not worry. This is a terrible fact - many artists are not overwise. Or, at least think with some other hemisphere. Probably, if you draw and paint, draw and paint since childhood, then there is something formed differently in the brain. Now you need to grow an imaginary button somewhere in the neck, which will be turned on every time the hair on the back of your neck begins to rise from anger and frustration when dealing with some artists. Let's call this button "AHM" (Art Humor Mode). It works. I hope you understand that I've used the word "Vernissage" just to visualize, because all this is waiting for you at art forums as well.

But there is good news too - with some artists the button may stay untouched, more often for some reason with illustrators and theater artists. Although the amount of our "own" is always too small. Basically, the button you need to grow is purely for reasons of socialization and humanism. In the professional sense, you do not need it at all. Because you have no time for unequal relationships with colleagues. They can initially only be unequal because you are a greenhorn; newcomer; upstart; squirt, getting in the way, rude, does not know how to draw a horse, and in general "how are you standing in front of an officer, a beast, devour with eyes!" Do you need it - to be a victim of bullying?

Self-confidence. Yes I know. I know all about it. But you will have to take it out of somewhere. Develop. Rehearse. Steal. Buy if it is not beneath your dignity. It must present. I pretend that I do not wonder where you took it from, and in return will not tell you from where it came to me.

There is some other good news. You will find candy for your persistence. It is most likely waiting for you, and I can even say exactly when you can take it off the shelf. At the very moment when your old friend will buy your work. This means that you have finally convinced them and they gave up and believed that you are the real thing. Unique. Talent. And the way to this is through the years and a lot of works sold to strangers, especially if they have the social presence. This recognition's miserability will not affect the value of your sense of ability and revenge. Wait. And yes, from this point you can already give away your works to your loved ones.

By the way, humanity as a whole will finally appear better than you use to think about it, before you reach the fifth-sixth-fourth-no matter which dozen. You have made a hard-hitting opinion about it, already reached the final total contempt and disappointment in others, and then - oops! - the brush in your hand has become a magic wand, it has become a candle, a flame of which will be displayed on screens. Travellers come to you from around the world, they share their positive side with you, and some even quite tangible money to let you to continue walking on your new colourful way. This sense of wonder. You will even become better yourself.

But if after all the effort you do not get to be a professional artist, do not despair - you can still be a writer :-)

(Translated from Russian, original article by Elisheva Nesis https://www.culbyt.com/article/textid:924/)