PART TWO - SO YOU WANT TO BE AN ARTIST, EH!

An Artist's Lament

There comes the time when one must accept that, 

there’s nothing more to leave behind. 

You’ve written everything that you know,

you’ve captured images from where you’ve tread, 

and now,

there seems no more to leave behind. 

Truth be known, 

something that you’ve been aware,

no one really cares. So,

time to accept that you’ve done your best, 

time to let go the pen and brush, 

time to have a well earned rest.

In answer to a question about what happens to artists when they grow old I wrote that we simply slip-slide away. And here we are, I’ve all but slip-slid away. I went on to write that “Soon, no doubt, I’ll simply fade away. If I’m lucky (of course I won’t know) the memory of what I accomplished will continue on for awhile with the help of Google, and my books.  In time, however, my paintings and drawings will join with the art of countless other artists, and end up recycled, or buried in some landfill.” 

However, before I completely slip-slide away, and as I get further down that trail, I must advise that there’s a whole lot of angst to deal with while slipping away. You see, having spent the better part of 35 years working at becoming an artist, it’s very difficult to let go….simply because you’ve been so involved with being an artist that you haven’t learned what to turn to when you’re not producing art. In fact you’ve been so busy trying to become an artist that you’ve neglected to make friends, and haven’t cultivated a hobby to take the place of time spent making art. It’s a real dilemma. What friends you may have had, such as close family friends are all dead, and in the process of working as an artist you simply had no time to make friends. What of other artists, you may ask. Well, truth be known artists don’t make friends with other artists. It’s all about competition. I’m sure that another artist reading this will concur that artists may exhibit together, but as for becoming”real” friends with another artist, it’s not happening. So, there’s know one left to call up and arrange to meet at so and so coffee shop for a chat. All that’s left is your wife, or your husband, your best friend, providing she/he didn’t tire of supporting your illusive quest. Your left with Me, Myself, and I to pass the time of day, which in time becomes somewhat tiring, so after awhile you find yourself exploring the possibility of a new project, all the while hoping that you might survive to see it through. You might even find yourself playing with a graphic art program on your computer producing small paintings to pass the sometimes long hours…waiting. So, my message to those of you who might be on a quest to become an artist, remember that one day you will get tired of pursuing the illusive dream and try, really try, to make friends to help you pass your time slip-sliding away.