post-art school... beginning Years

This series of blog posts addresses the questions my art patrons asked in a poll. One question is, "How did you get started as an artist?" Here is one piece in the series that fleshes out the early years as a young artist. Start reading here, then click below to continue to my Patreon page. Thanks for reading! - Deidre

There was the excitement of graduation from art college, but that soon wore off. Pretty quickly, I discovered that the world was not always so kind to artists. There is no clear or linear career path, so you have to figure it out for yourself.  It truly is "sink or swim."

I met other young artists and we would go gallery-hopping. The older, better, well-connected artists in major galleries were elusive and mysterious to me. How in the world did they get there?  

I felt so ill-prepared and totally out of place as a young person starting out. There was so much more to learn... way more than what they taught at art college in just four years. 

When it probably would have been way easier to follow another well-worn career path, I decided to "go all in" on following my dream to become an artist. Even when it was hard, and even when others just didn't get it.

In those times, I would think about those who believed in me, especially my family. This helped me believe in myself.

With that, I would just keep going, one foot in front of the other.  I began to develop more confidence as a young painter, one painting at a time. A lot of paintings got deleted, meaning, they ended up in the dumpster. That might sound harsh, but I believe it's better to start fresh sometimes. Some pieces turned out well enough to keep and to show.... (click here to read on)

Deidre