The Solitary Life Of An Artist

 

Life as an Artist is and has been the dream for me. It has been my focus for many years and it has all consumed my life from an early age. The very idea that I would draw every single day excited me and it still does, although there are days when that excitement turns into worry, especially when you don't know if certain pieces of art will sell or you'll make enough to continue with the art that you want to.

I have always seen my Artists Journey in my head as a solitary way of life, that no one else will or should understand, my partner and my now two older Children have no idea really of the stuff I have in my head to draw and the path that I see myself constantly trying to follow and veering off that path frequently.

You wake up every morning not in the same creative energy as other days, for whatever reason, a commission that left doubt in your mind as to your artistic abilities or a trouble with certain techniques you haven't quite got the handle on or even other daily struggles, such as simply paying bills on time and having enough money to eat, all very valid worries for lots of people in this day and age now.

There's the constant thoughts of wanting to create a piece of artwork or an illustration you've wanted to draw for quite some time, months or years in fact and around all of your daily chores you are secretly wanting to get back to the drawing board and get them artworks on to paper or canvas to see if they work out.

Artists are often seen as creative geniuses who are able to express themselves in ways that others cannot. They are known for their ability to create beautiful works of art that are admired by many. However, the reality is that artists can often feel isolated and alone during their creative lives.

One reason why artists can feel isolated is that the creative process can be a solitary one. Creating art requires a lot of concentration and focus, and many artists prefer to work alone in order to fully immerse themselves in their work. This can be a double-edged sword, however, as spending long periods of time alone can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Another reason why artists can feel isolated is that their work is often misunderstood by others. While art can be a universal language, not everyone will appreciate or understand what an artist is trying to convey through their work. This can be frustrating and can lead to a sense of disconnection from the rest of the world.

In addition, artists often face rejection and criticism throughout their careers. Whether it's a rejection letter from a gallery or a negative review of their work, these experiences can be incredibly discouraging and can make an artist feel like they are on their own in their creative pursuits.

Finally, the lifestyle of an artist can also contribute to feelings of isolation. Many artists work odd hours, often late into the night, which can make it difficult to maintain relationships with family and friends. They may also have to travel frequently for shows or residencies, which can further disrupt their social lives.

In conclusion, while artists may be admired for their creative talents, the reality is that they can often feel isolated and alone during their creative lives. The solitary nature of the creative process, the potential for misunderstanding and rejection, and the demands of the artist lifestyle can all contribute to these feelings. Despite these challenges, however, many artists continue to create and to share their work with the world.

5 Habits Of Successful Artists

Thinking about habits of successful artists

Becoming successful as an Artist can be one huge journey in itself, but there are key qualities that every Artist no matter where you come from that can set you apart from the person who calls themselves an Artist, but in reality they only draw whilst they are sat on the toilet, sort of a part time creationist.

Success is often associated with accumulating income, but that is only one important part of the journey.

You have to get yourself known, your art out there for it to be seen and have the right amount of luck and positioning of your work to get the right amount of visibility.



There are five main habits which can help you become a successful Artist. You can also watch my video I created here too - 5 Habits of Successful Artists

1. Be Consistent

If you are going to post something online whether it is your art or some tips that you'd like to share, then it's best to be consistent with that and do it more often. Work out a posting schedule, whether daily or weekly, you could provide value by not posting your art for sale all the time. Maybe show others the process of how you make your drawings, what pencils, pens you use.

I myself did a daily art vlog for a number of months non stop and it was enjoyable and fun for others to see and on the plus side, I learned a lot about my drawing along the way and how sitting down to draw and create new art can help you come up with new ideas.

A good example of being consistent is when you stick through every single drawing that you do, even if at the beginning it looks terrible.

2. Look for Opportunities to expose your art

Look for opportunities and don't wait for them to come to you, because you'll be in for a long wait. Post in Facebook groups and forums related to your area or subject of art and find any methods to sell, potential customers that can buy from you or even collaborate with others to make something.

Opportunities can happen anywhere, in any situation, so be open to them often. Selling your art requires effort in marketing and time to create more artwork.

3. Try new techniques

Always use new materials, experiment and have fun. Art is a journey and can be a very personal one. Look for ways to expand your artistic range and appeal to more buyers. Varying styles of art could open more doors for you if you offer abstract, realistic,manga or any other type of illustrated style.

New mediums and mixed media is always fun and using lots of materials to create something can be more fulfilling as an Artist.

4. Meet other Artists

Always a great idea to hang around like minded people and if it's creators that create similar work to you or not, then it's a good crowd of Artists that you can learn from quicker. Also this could open up more opportunities for you being in a solid network of creative individuals.

Be open to work in an art studio with other creatives as the right kind of setting can make a difference within your own art journey and theirs.

5. Do more of what Works for you!

Early on in your art career you will probably find out what you are best at drawing and that other people might like the stuff you do too. If there is a demand for certain types of artwork that you make, then do more of that, it makes sense to keep fulfilling that need.

There are probably other habits that you could have to make yourself successful as an Artist. Comment any other ideas you may have below.

Preparing For Hull Horror Fest October 2016

I'll be attending Hull Horror Fest in October and to prepare for this I am drawing some new horror artwork that will be available as art prints for the event. This will be my first time attending any such event and it'll be a mix of nervousness and cool all rolled into one as there will be other Artists there and so this blog post will document everything including the preparation for the Festival, right through to being at the Horror Fest.

Prep work

8th August 2016 - Work begins on 3 - 5 new artworks as shown in this video - Horror Art Prints For Hull Horror Fest and there are a Phantasm tall man illustration and a Demons drawing as well as a Ghoulies one that are looking good, the Omen one needs more work and I'll more than likely re-draw that one.

10th August 2016 - Sorting through older artworks that I didn't finish and there are loads of pieces I would like to complete, such as a basketcase one and a The Thing illustration which are A3 size illustrations I begun back in 2014 which remained unfinished.

This sketch is a random zombie design that I want to make stickers out of, will see what happens with this one

18th/19th August 2016 - Been working on some classic horror sticker ideas and from top to bottom there are Flyboy from Dawn of the Dead, Bub from Day of the Dead and the crushed jaw Colombian neck tie zombie also from Day of the Dead.

Also I am grey coloring some undertones on this Demons piece too before coloring. I just need to ink the top of the head as well as sketch the proper Demons logo, so that customers know that this will be a Demons horror movie homage artwork.

I've used some copic warm greys to grey tone them before coloring and I like the way they are turning out, so much so that I am investing in more copic marker refills as they last longer than the standard pen markers.

27th August 2016 - I've since finished those horror stickers but have more planned. Here are the finished stickers available from Zazzle and I'll be printing out some myself to sell at Hull Horror Fest.

Day Of The Dead Zombie Classic Round Sticker by waynetully
Make unique custom printed stickers online at Zazzle.

Dawn Of The Dead Flyboy Zombie Classic Round Sticker by waynetully
Browse other Dawn the dead Stickers

Day Of The Dead Bub Zombie Art Classic Round Sticker by waynetully
Design personalized stickers and labels at Zazzle

1st September 2016 - Working on some new horror sticker ideas and am pleased with some of the results. Chucky, Ghoulies and a Critters one...oh and a Killer Klown A4 sized piece of artwork that will be an art print.

 The Killer Klowns From Outer Space was a spectacularly fun horror film, although looking back the movie wasn't as frightening as I remember. Almost comedic in it's approach, but still a favourite movie of mine and so with that in mind I wanted to do another Killer Klown illustration that hopefully will look a bit more professional than I used to draw.

I'm using Copic Markers and Faber Castell Polychromos Pencils to add the colours, first grey toning and getting the tones right before adding proper colour to the piece.

4th September 2016 - I've decided to plunder some older artwork that would also be a good fit for Horror Fest including a Zombie Superman drawing that looks awesome, but really needed color adding to it. So I used some copic Ciao Markers with some much needed copic refills and some polychromos pencils for the brighter colours.

Also I've been working recently on a Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy Krueger illustration piece too, which was referenced from a photo, but I tried to go my own way with it and it'll have a unique background full of boiler room pipes.

I'll update this post frequently with new updates photos of artwork and other stuff as I continuously prepare for the horror fest.

Demon Head Painting Work In Progress

 Another painting work in progress, based on an idea I had to bring 3 Demon heads together as one giant flaming head of evil. I'll post more updates to this post as I go along with this painting in acrylic.

Painting A Hellhound Fox Work In Progress

 Here are the photos of my Acrylic painting project. I'll post updates to this post with new pics as I go along with this most artistic and free style of working.

Daily Sketching

Been a while since I tried to do any daily sketching and post the results here, so I thought I would do just that today. A few of these sketches are of projects I am currently working on and mean stuff only to me and the way that my art projects are going, they are going quite well. All things considered I should have done this art online thing years ago, but now I'm here. I shall just do whatever....

This first sketch was a very quick sketch from a planned graphic novel and it sums myself up pretty well as I used to be this Boy looking into the water and dreaming and thinking about the future. (And still am really!) This Boy quite literally has the weight of the World on his shoulders and I can't wait to start work on this graphic novel as it has been around 12 years now since I had the idea for this epic graphic novel series with a planned 8 or 10 volumes.

This next sketch was a random quick pencil sketch of the Clive Barker horror character Rawhead Rex. I wanted to try and add more teeth in there and try and make it seem different to that movie that Clive had no connection with whatsoever. I suppose a re-working of the creature design would be a good move as it sort of does appear quite average looking at this point, but I hope to develop my own personal take on this creature and draw him in future updates. The best part about Rawhead Rex from the short story in The Books of Blood was the vague description that Clive gave him which left open a massive amount of inspiration and mystery that could be conjured up for this nasty vicious  but ultimately awesome creature (There just has to be a remake movie of Rawhead Rex, if Clive ever gets the movies rights delivered back to him by some miracle, I hope he has some involvement with it.)