There’s always that dreaded question that comes up every time you go out into the world especially when you are meeting people for the first time. “So, what do you do for a living?” For some reason when you are a creative person of any type when this question comes up we often have no idea how to answer it. I use to tell people I was a painter and they thought I painted houses. Then after you explain people are hoping you do portraits, or landscapes. Abstract artists like me are often made to feel like you are not a real artist. My personal favorite is when people say, “So what is your real job?” Well, this is my real job. It has gotten better but, why be ashamed of who we are. I have met other artists and I hear them telling people what else they do for a living even though their passion is art related. Once you are comfortable with who you are and create an identity for yourself it certainly does help. Because I do many different things when people ask I can now proudly say, “I am a professional artist.” It’s so much easier than explaining the creative things that I do and it encompasses everything I do. The great thing about being an artist is you don’t have to be one thing but, creating an identity can be a singular thing or a kaleidoscope of things. It’s all up to you. When you walk into a room can you explain who you are and what you do in one sentence? This was my struggle to the point I would ramble on and people just tuned me out. You have to be honest with yourself, really honest. Then once you have it, selling yourself becomes much easier and the goal is to be able to sell yourself in 2-3 sentences. The key is to say it with confidence. The challenge of being an artist especially a self-representing artist is you are a business and for success you need to treat yourself that way. Be your expressive self. Be an artrepreneur.
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