feed his mind always with new knowledge. At the
same time he has to feed his stomach also.
If he has a family , their needs will also have to be taken care of. For all this money is needed. Here many of the artists face the worst situation. Especially if you are a true learner your sufferings will be much more.
This world is full of hypocrites. So many sweet words. Beautiful lies which will give you pleasure. They say art is great. It’s God’s gift. They express that they feel sad for not having this great talent. Words…words…all are words.
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| Sky Light Artist:Magunta Dayakar |
That words won’t help you to come out of starving. This starving will make you sad. Pathetic. You feel confused. You don’t know what to do. The reality will hit you like a tornado. You began to lose the courage. After all, you are human. What you will do then? It’s too late. You will become helpless. You could not leave your art. Can any sane person desert his family, because he is not able to feed them properly? He will fight till the last drop of blood remains in him. Art is also like that to him.
Sometimes he may go away from art. But not permanently. Just drifting.
Why? He will question himself. Because nobody is there to answer him. Nobody has time to think about this.
Art is not their priority. Everybody have their own problems. Why they should think about you? It is your problem. You have to think yourself. That is the truth. Truth never changes.
You have to know one bitter truth. You have to ask one question genuinely for yourself.
Why people have to pay money for your work? You started to learn art because, you enjoyed it. That time you did not think about the money.
Once you learned art more or less, you began to realize to live as an artist you also need money. There’s the problem. Nobody assured you that they will buy your work if you learned art. If they find time they will enjoy it, that also as long as they don’t need to pay any thing for that. There may be few who will pay for your work if they like it. But how do you know those true art lovers? How do they know you? One in a million chance. Then you have to go to art galleries. There again you have to face bitter experiences. Very few art galleries show concern for artist’s welfare. Most will ignore you or exploit you.
I don’t want to create fear in you about art with my experiences or my understanding. What you are practising is not a commercial commodity to make people pay money for your work. It’s entertainment for the mind for people, which they are reluctant to pay for. They will pay for physical entertainment. Yours is not physical. Know this reality. Learning art, becoming an artist is enlightenment for your mind.
Why should they pay for your enlightenment? Think of it. This world is not that much idealistic. If you are an idealist then that it will be your problem.
By learning this truth you may survive, if not physically … at least mentally. We are having our momentary weaknesses even though we are detached with many materialistic things. This is the life we have to live. Struggle and pain is inevitable especially if you want to live the way you want.
Accept the mistakes. Acceptance makes you strong. Everybody has to die one day or other. Death should not bother you. Life is precious like art. Life is full of struggle and pain for any creative mind. Life and art are same. They are abstract. You never know them fully. That’s what I understood in the last chapter of my life.
Becoming a great artist does not necessarily mean great technical skills. Reasonable understanding about the basic principles of art is sufficient. All you need is truthful imagination. What is this Truthful Imagination?
Imagination inspired by reality, follows reality and captures reality. you call it truthful imagination. When imagination goes beyond reality you call it fantasy.
Paintings based on truthful imagination whether sell or not, they will be great paintings. Selling of paintings is not the criteria to judge the quality of paintings. Many great artists didn’t sell their paintings in their life time. A mediocre painter could sell his paintings with good marketing skills.
So be a warrior, be an artist, don’t bother about end results. Do what is needed. With a lot of struggle and pain Vincent Vangogh did it. Why not you?