:) Art is definitely my primary avocation. My life is organized around it, but the past six months represent the first time in five years I haven’t earned my living at it and that only because I decided to shift from fine art to illustration and that because I simply enjoy it more.

David one time made a comment about not letting one’s job interfere with one’s career. I can see you know the meaning of that.

Cheers

Usually my wife gets impatient waiting for
me after watching multiple runs of Law and Order and then yells out to me and thats when I head up to sleep…

We all have our ways - but it was good to read and know that there are other people out there whose primary vocation is not art, but still pursue it like an avocation and diligently return to it frequently…

Of course. It always goes well, even when it doesn’t. Showing up is 90% of the battle. Okay, maybe 80%.

I’m heading back over there. See you all later.

I laughed when I read your comment #1 above because I was writing something similar at the same time. Did it go well in your studio?

Bob,

You are trying the painting a day approach, I see looking at your blog. I did not realize that in my previous comment on your post, sorry! It seems to be going very well for you. Do you intend to do this for a year?

Maybe you could combine your activities to get more time for your art. You could cook for rich Greeks, and make them fight you with wooden swords before they’re allowed to eat.

Keep drawing :)

A lot… mmm, no, really, all of my lack of time is due to how much I’ve taken on lately.

First, I took another job. My investments have not been paying much lately. I lost a bunch of money recently. It was looking like I’d have to dip into the principle to keep going, and I just couldn’t have that. The two lines of work that have always paid well for me besides art have been system administration and educational administration — and those were overseas jobs with the DoD. These were artistically stultifying however. The pay was good, but my soul was raped. So that was out. Art teaching only works at private schools since my credentials are in mathematics, but I know from experience that teaching art all day is the worst thing for my art ever. I no more feel like drawing or painting at the end of the day than a mechanic feels like working on his car at the end of a day. Claude Monet had his gardening. I have my cooking — a better trade in the mountains because it’s hard to garden when the ground is covered with snow for four to six months.

So I got a job at a resort. I own the menu, and I have wealthy people from all over the world to schmooze every night (always good for sales). Except I don’t really schmooze. I genuinely like professional, successful people. (OK, I schmooze.)

So that’s eight to nine hours a day.

Two years ago, I was twenty pounds overweight. I had to workout four hours a day to get rid of the weight. I hated carrying the extra weight so much that at one point I decided I’d rather be dead than be fat. So I started working with wooden swords and staves, simulating combat exercises until the fat was gone and new skills had formed, and factually, it just took that much time to do it. Well, I’m on a regimen again but at a higher intensity level using aerobic machines and various weight devices, so it’s only taking two hours a day, six days a week, but I’m determined to get the rip back in the abs, restore the super hero shoulders, back, and chest, and further lean and harden the legs. I love the way people’s mouths drop open when I tell ‘em I’m forty eight. We are all allowed our little vanities.

I’ve always only done art about four or five hours a day anyway, my whole life. It’s always been a performance style that leaves me somewhat drained, rather like sex. Never could do it more than eight hours a day without drugs — and the gods know where THAT road leads.

And all that accounts for fourteen or fifteen hours of most days. One has to add an hour or so for hygiene and keeping one’s spaces in order. I sleep only six hours a day, usually, so that leaves me about two hours of free time every day and so all it takes is one little extra thing: laundry, a trip to town to shop, cleaning my car… and oh yeah, I forgot the language study. I’m doing this teach yourself modern Greek course. I do that during my workout rather than listen to music or watch television. This is followed by ancient Greek via books while I cool down before bed.

Hmmm… my math is off. How the hell am I doing all that? Well, I am.

And every day I’m logging in to check for moderated comments or comments that’ve gotten trapped as spam. I’ve been working on another, updated version of the site with all the changes recommended. That’s nearly done, but the problem is I have to allow for this extra time once I upload the new version because there are always bugs and sometimes serious complaints…

<pant, pant>

You see the problem.

But I do get some days off from work, and I don’t always travel. Fact is, I have another project though. I bought this old bad ass Chevy super fast police car named Jack that I’m hot rodding up. So there’s my weekend project for the next six months.

Time. Only for the brave.

But I am a wicked fast reader. I DO watch things here. Like Leslie said, if I only have time for a brief thought or quote, that’s OK. I love you all.

PS: It took an hour to write the above, and it happened during my art time.