O hey there! I didn't see you there! How the hell did you get in here?

Well, some people have been sharing around a blog entry called "9 Warning Signs of an Amateur Artist". If you feel like reading it, just follow this link here. It is worth your time, whether you aspire to be a "professional artist" or not. I most certainly don't, and still, I completely agree with this little (actually quite big) article someone wrote.

If you ever decide to do art as a profession, then you might as well put your heart and soul into it. Without a single doubt, many people do live from this trade, and while some may think lowly of it, just the same as others might think it is an act of bravery, I think it should be regarded as any other profession. Some people aspire to be doctors and some others (like me) aspire to be engineers, so why should one not aspire to be an artist by trade?

Reading this article did left me wondering though. I've read it two days ago, and ever since I've evaluated what I want my art to be, what it has been so far, and what I wish it to become in the future.

I do not believe you can be a professional artist.

Sure, like I said, you can make a living out of art, in an objective manner. But following up on that article's guidelines, you aren't really doing any art, are you? It's more like a craft: You do it because you have to, and you improve it mechanically by trying and trying all over again. Just like any other job. You can be a professional painter, you can be a professional... drawer (okay, that didn't end up well, how about a professional sketcher?). And you can live out of crafting art pieces. You may be doing your trade and living out of making commissioned art, but it isn't art in the whole sense of the word.

I have this friend... He has somewhat of a grim job. He makes tombstones for a living. He has a marble workshop, where he cuts the slabs for the tombstones, then he engraves them with farewell messages and all sorts of adornments. He even makes this sort of hand crafted pottery for the graves, so people can put the flowers for their beloved late ones. This is his trade. This is what he is paid to do and what he forces himself to do, every day.
On the back of his workshop is where he spends some of his free time, carving beautiful nude statues using the same stone, the same tools and the same hands he does when he does his business. This is where the crafting stops and art begins, not ruled by reason and fueled by nothing but dreams and inspiration!

So you see, there's nothing professional about being an artist. You can't rule or objectify art, and if you could, then art would lose it's meaning. Art is without reason or purpose. Art is where you willingly put your heart and soul, and not your time and effort.

That being said, I trashed my pile of works in progress and grabbed a sketchbook. I'll just free myself of all constraints. I'm no professional.


(PS: If you made it here, I thank you for taking time to read this rambling! Please leave a comment, it will be highly appreciated )