How I Moved from Hobbyist to Artist

Most artists start out doing what they love as a hobby. They do it for personal fulfillment to release their creative juices. Mainly displaying their pieces in their own homes or gifting them to family and friends, the need to create is just dying to get out. Gathering the least expensive tools to get the job done and just doing what comes to mind without any sort of discipline, the hobbyist finds themselves wanting to get the job done quicker and relish in their accomplishment. Many hobbyist like to recreate the art they like by using various aspects of their favorite artists, they mimic a piece they love or maybe enjoy doing fan art.

I've been a hobbyist for years and love every minute of it. I'm pretty sure if I cut myself, hot glue will flow from my veins. I still love to draw, color in coloring books, refurbish that ugly end table I find at the thrift store for $10. My biggest thrill was learning to turn a few hobbies into art. I wondered at the time if the thousands of dollars spent at photography school would be worth it in the end and I can say with absolute certainty, it was.

Photography school literally saved my life. I was going through a major depression at the time and thought there was no way out. I rarely left my house and found it hard to even get out of bed. My husband suggested I go take a look at the photography school which happened to be in the town I lived in. Neither of us could believe I actually got up, dressed and walked into a place with so many strangers. It was like a calling I could not explain.

Nine months of knowledge in a classroom and countless hours of remote photo shoots later, I graduated. I then continued my education with a crash course of Photoshop using the same techniques I learned in school. I stuck with the artistic side of photography that I learned, even though it was not the most profitable. I learned the hard way I was not a wedding photographer or event photographer. The stress of taking once in a lifetime photographs and failing, almost lead me down a path of no return. The plethora of information swimming in my mind started to take over the previous thoughts of failure, seclusion and negativity. I started only photographing subjects as models for my personal art, with the people I knew and trusted.

My love for entropy photography lead to many road trips around the state, photographing desolate streets and abandon buildings. My husband was the chauffeur, roadie and anything else I wanted him to be. He was happy to see the sparkle back in me. Although my art was dark and brooding, he understood my vision and we had so many laughs along the way. Before I knew it, my hobby had turned into a full blown vision of my own, with my own style and I was comfortable with calling myself an artist.

I have continued to use the same management plan with other mediums. I still have many hobbies, but my art feeds my soul while at the same time using the business practices I have learned over the years, ie time management, accounting, IT, sales etc. Although my health declined several years ago from chronic illness and pain, I find it much harder to keep the pace. I strive to offer my visionary pieces. My ultimate goal is to move from striving to thriving monetarily.