1. When did you consider yourself a professional artist, and when were you able to dedicate yourself full-time to that pursuit?
The idea of a professional artist is something I thought a lot about when I was an undergrad. It seemed so nebulous and I remember having conversations about the definition of "professional" as perhaps the ability to make a certain yearly income. I could never decide if that was a reasonable way to begin an understanding of this or not. Later, when I was in graduate school, the idea seemed less important for several reasons. I think mostly because graduate school was so competitive I felt like I had achieved something by just getting in. Graduate school was such a small shark tank that being a professional artist out in the world was somehow momentarily irrelevant. Toward the end of my graduate experience, I made a painting titled Cow #23, this was the first painting that I really felt had a professional quality. It was a serious painting that was skillfully made, conceptually interesting and had a significant presence. I wouldn't say that I felt like a professional artist at that moment exactly but there was a level of achievement that I had not previously understood. It was a significant moment because of the relationship the painting had to my own standards and not an arbitrary idea I had been carrying around about when someone would grant me professional status.
Finally at my MFA thesis show, my painting mentor, Frank Herman said to me something like: "You are now competition." Which was his way of saying we are colleagues and it was clearly meant to mark a major transition. In some ways he had granted me professional status.
As far as dedicating myself full time to the pursuit of being a professional artist, it's a bit complicated and depends on how the question is meant. In 2004 I graduated with my MFA and started showing quite regularly. About 6 years ago, I was doing reasonably well in a few commercial galleries. I was teaching part time as well and after a particularly great year of selling paintings, I decided it was time to take the studio artist plunge. I quit teaching and for two years I painted full time. The interesting thing for me was that after two years I realized that I have a very specific amount of time each day that I am productive in the studio. After that I putz around without direction, go to lunch and generally wonder about. I'm more productive and satisfied when I work in conjunction with regular creative conversation and exchange. Teaching works well in this regard. So in some ways the answer is either 2004 when I started showing regularly, or 2007 when I decided to paint full time, or it's not likely I ever will as I'm quite happy to keep up my current pace.
Don't forget to check out Peggy's response to this question for a different perspective. Next week we will be answering questions related to our studios complete with studio images. Lastly, if you are interested in these questions check out "Inside the Painters Studio" by Joe Figg where we found our inspiration for this project.
As far as dedicating myself full time to the pursuit of being a professional artist, it's a bit complicated and depends on how the question is meant. In 2004 I graduated with my MFA and started showing quite regularly. About 6 years ago, I was doing reasonably well in a few commercial galleries. I was teaching part time as well and after a particularly great year of selling paintings, I decided it was time to take the studio artist plunge. I quit teaching and for two years I painted full time. The interesting thing for me was that after two years I realized that I have a very specific amount of time each day that I am productive in the studio. After that I putz around without direction, go to lunch and generally wonder about. I'm more productive and satisfied when I work in conjunction with regular creative conversation and exchange. Teaching works well in this regard. So in some ways the answer is either 2004 when I started showing regularly, or 2007 when I decided to paint full time, or it's not likely I ever will as I'm quite happy to keep up my current pace.
Don't forget to check out Peggy's response to this question for a different perspective. Next week we will be answering questions related to our studios complete with studio images. Lastly, if you are interested in these questions check out "Inside the Painters Studio" by Joe Figg where we found our inspiration for this project.