Image Aquired from MorgueFile.com

Co-Published: BeYourArt.com and The North Shoreian Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 6, Practicalities of the Surviving Artist, July/August 2009. Article written by Diane Leon.

I love reading about how people make choices, define what success is, and commit to something in life that is meaningful. Sometimes what you really want is not what will make the most money, but what fulfills you. What if you have always wanted to create art as a professional or teach art? Do you ignore those dreams in pursuit of monetary success? How many people can really devote all their time and energy to the creative process and actually pay the bills? Are they considered less successful?

Follow your dreams in a realistic way and you can balance life without feeling cheated. Achieving this requires an honest examination of your life, not the one you imagine you should live or what others expect from you. Too many artists become disillusioned with rejections, other people’s negative attitudes, and the feeling the world is passing them by. Success must come from within and be realized in your way of thinking. When you feel more confident in yourself, you create a positive energy and things begin to happen.

Lifestyles vary and all of us must find productive avenues to pay bills, create and live. You need to find harmony in your life. Find what YOU need. When it comes to earning a living, decide what will accommodate your financial needs. The choice to work part-time, full time or stay at home with children must also include the time needed to create. Decide what is really important and how best to get it accomplished.

My life as an artist and how I have defined my own success has meant maintaining a full time job to pay for a summer home abroad, art supplies and bills. Back in 1970 I bought a condominium in Spain on the Mediterranean while I worked as a secretary in the music industry. I knew I would always need sufficient income to maintain this as a summer retreat. To pay the bills, I work as an administrator at New York University and teach as an adjunct associate professor of arts. It is the perfect environment for me. My office is filled with artwork and the faculty has bought my work. The changes and transitions made were to accommodate what I love and need in my life. I found a way to continue to paint, exhibit, and teach. I love teaching because I see the positive affect I have in bringing out the best in my students. We all have talent; we just need to recognize how best to channel our creativity.

Create harmony in your life. Once you accept and define what your inner talent is, the rest will work out in a way that supports your art. Stay focused and keep doing what makes you happy. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to please everyone.

• Define your own success and create a life that is meaningful to you.
• Your creative dreams are important. Focus on your art and how you want to live:
• Success is taking the first step towards what you want.
• Success is sharing your enthusiasm.
• Success is seeing the positive change you have made in your life and how if affects others.

Don’t set unrealistic limits and pressure yourself. Do things at your own pace and you will enjoy what you do even more.

Try to give 100% everyday to making your life a good one. Start doing something today and let your creative passion reveal what is inside of you.

Diane Leon is an artist and adjunct associate professor of arts at New York University, SCPS adult degree division. She also writes for Art Calendar Magazine and has published personal essays. Contact DL4@nyu.edu To view artwork www.ManhattanArts.com click on artist profiles.

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