Looking at this picture, you can see where I’m going with this.
The photo, circa spring of 1976, is me. After dropping out of a pre-med program in college and taking a semester off to live in Idaho and work as a housekeeper at the Sun Valley Lodge, I returned to campus, a la the lone gunslinger outlaw pictured above. Did you hear about that guy, the one who had been out on the prairie stamping cattle, eating beans and smoking peyote? Well, that wasn’t me, that was some of my other college acquaintances. Me, I never saw any cattle out west when I was there. I survived on a lot of PB&J sandwiches, not beans, and thought peyote was a topping for cheese tacos.
Now mind you, I wasn’t quite as mean as I look in the picture. I carried jokes, not guns, like this all-time favorite of mine:
Did you hear the story about the three-legged dog who walked into Dodge City? He stopped in the middle of the street, showed his holsters, and announced, “I’m looking for the man who shot my paw.” Moseying right along…
When I returned to campus, I realized I wasn’t in Kansas anymore, or Idaho. I was back in school, supposedly having sewed all my wild oats and ready to buckle down and get some work done in my newly acquired major. Truth is, I was lost. I had little art background, had only a small portfolio of doodles to show for myself. It was a wild ride, and my art arsenal was not strong. But it was enough to initiate the desire to apply to graduate school, and jump in lock, stock and barrel. There, after a couple more years of experimenting and searching, I headed out into the sunset, past the one-horse towns, just me and the wide-open prairie.
If you are young and beginning your career, and you know you want to be in the arts or be an artist, then I think I’ve had enough time in the saddle to make a couple of suggestions. Perhaps they’ll help you dodge an Idaho or two.
3 Pointers from a Former Art Outlaw:
- Develop a habit of working in the studio, making pieces to hone your craft. Put in the time, do the work. Don’t wait for inspiration. There is no substitute for good ol’ fashioned hard work.
- Decide who you want to be on your team. Art is a tough career, and you are going to need smart, sensible, kind people who believe in you and are in your corner. Find them.
- Don’t confuse achievement with enrichment. Many times, the things we must do as artists will not result in anything material, but we do them anyway to authenticate who we are as both contributing artists and humble human beings.
Giddyup and Happy Trails!