Ask Ali: Discipline
I thought long and hard about what to call the blog this week and I’m still not sure if I have hit upon the right title.
I’ve had a week filled with HUGE deadlines that have not exactly been things that I rush to do but in my job I have to be all titles including technician, editor, marketer, advertiser, designer as well as artist, educator and author. I am a very organised person and I pride myself on always delivering what I say, when I say it, which means that I mostly put myself under pressure but I can always be relied on to produce the work that is required. This dedication to my work often comes at a cost but it has also opened doors that would otherwise remain closed or tricky to open.
Lots of people compliment me on my organisational skills but I put it down to something a little more steely than that - discipline. I have to be disciplined to do all the jobs that I hate and gain satisfaction from completing them, often when I long to be painting or out with my camera or, if I need to research, when all I actually feel like doing is curling up on the sofa with a gin and tonic and a movie, then I have to have a stiff word with myself and get things done.
I put my willingness to be disciplined down to my theatre training, I am never in competition with anyone, just myself to do the best job I can and strive to do better in the future. Do you think it’s a recurring theme in the arts? Must we always push to discover new things AND deliver fresh thoughts and ideas? When I talk to classes or groups I talk about ‘the magic art stick’ and that very few people are struck with it, you probably know one of those people who has a gift that just seems to emanate from within and comes easily to them. They are a rare breed as most of us have to buckle down, fail and fail again to succeed in our chosen career.
Thinking aloud now, do you think that this discipline is the difference between artists who create for fun and professionals for whom it is their livelihood? I think a lot about this term ‘professional’ and what it actually means as I have met all variations of the word artist - amateurs (I hate that word) who have chosen art as their hobby or escapism, many of whom could paint me under the table on a regular basis through to ‘professional’, some of whom don’t seem to be at all concerned about their craft making any money or who make lots of money and couldn’t give two hoots about the quality of their output. Technically the term professional is ambiguous and I don’t recommend that you google it as you will fall down a rabbit hole of jargon and misdirection but there was one reference on LinkedIn that I found very interesting:
‘A professional Artist is driven by passion, determination and set targeted goals that have been designed to develop the business over a period of time with careful planning’
Link HERE written by Louise Bayliss
If you read the article then I’m not sure that I agree with all the statements about the difference but here I think they have hit the nail on the head, the DETERMINATION to develop and with that determination will come the need to be disciplined to deliver.
What do you think? Is being a professional artist just about creating an income from your work? If it is then I know of many retired individuals who sell paintings very successfully, would you call them professionals? I sometimes get the opportunity to mentor emerging artists who are desperate to call themselves professional so is it simply a self-professed title? I’m not sure…
Well I’m off to advertise this blog post via the website I built myself, through my various social media channels with a lovely graphic to entice people to read it and none of those skills see me painting a picture, but I have to say that I do love talking to you all and getting to say my thoughts out loud.
Let me know yours, Ali