These images above are details from my 7th drawing which is now complete. With this drawing, there were many times were I felt that I had lost momentum, although, after much agony, it came together in the end.
Of late, I have not had very much time for my drawings. My day job has been very demanding and in the evenings and on weekends, most of my creative time has been devoted to researching grant deadlines and learning about the gallery system in this city. Much like any other business, being an artist requires hours of administrative duties including doing paperwork, writing grants, submitting gallery packages, networking, etc. It certainly isn't all fun and games.
The hardest part of these past few weeks has been learning about the financial cost of being an exhibiting artist. After all the sweat and tears, commercial galleries take 50% of the sale price of your work and if you rent a space, it is a few thousand dollars for a three week show plus publicity costs. This is of course, above other costs associated with being an artist such as materials, reproduction, framing, archiving, delivery, insurance, etc. And if naively, I thought grants would cover these costs, I was wrong. So far I have applied for three grants and been turned down for three grants. I will be applying for my fourth this weekend. What is that truism we should all follow, "Never Give Up." Yeah, that's a hard one to swallow. Truth is though that rejection sucks, but from experience I know that everything I have ever valued in this world -- personal growth, love, education, self-acceptance, independence, fearlessness, lasting friendships, self-love -- has come as a result of struggle. Never Give Up. Got it.
