If you wanted
Lately I’ve been getting so caught up in life (triathlon training, surfing, condo hunting, pau hana-ing :D) that I forget about this part of me that wants to take my art to the next level.
The nicest reminder came today when I was emailing with my mixed media mentor, Claudia Wallace, and she wrote, “Loved having you as a student, hope you got something out of it. You did so very well you could have a career in art if you wanted.”
What an immense compliment from an artist that I terribly admire! I recently bought the book Art Money Success by Maria Brophy, wife and business partner of surf artist Drew Brophy, which asked me what I could accomplish that would take my art business to the next level. I have two answers:
Get commissioned artwork requests for magazines like Honolulu Magazine, and one day.. the New Yorker and New York Times (reach for the stars!).
Get commissioned to design a tattoo, or have one of my existing illustrations be permanently tattooed on someone's body ^_^ I was biking on the South King Street cycle track one day and saw a super rad surf tattoo on a fellow bicyclist's leg. It was a design by the talented Iki Yasuo (@candart_iki). This would be like, the penultimate compliment.
But to get there, I need to draw more, paint more, and even write more about the process, what I'm learning, and where I am at this moment. Because I'll never be here again - art skills-wise, surf skills-wise. I'll keep growing and getting better, but only if I continue to work at it, work hard(er) at it. And if I want a career in art... well, I need to really ask myself, do I?