Art: Passion? Mission? Profession? Vocation?

I think I can only claim passion so far. I've sold some art but not enough to even claim a profit, and I'm not sure my art is quite good enough for that anyway. The world needs art, but does it need MY art, I can't honestly say it does. I'd be surprised if more than 1% of the world's population actually is hitting that "purpose" target and so find fulfillment in other things instead when off the clock, kind of like me with the art.

David, what is your profession/vocation when you're "on the clock"?

- artistic expression ? intelectual integrity ?

maybe...
-new interpretation , new visual series

......new interpretation of the logical series
...loneliness creation exile
love death

Need your criticism it excites me

Thank you for your attention ..

Makes one stop and contemplate.

My profession/vocation before becoming an artist was being a little boy. Since graduation from school I have done nothing but art. Art in two realms, one as graphic designer, and the other as fine artist, painting, photographing, and writing. I have been fortunate to be able to surround myself with art for more than forty years.

That is great, Kevin! Your lifelong exposure to and existence within art must make for a great life. =)

Interesting graph, Rahdne..
I think the "I'm loving it" is fairly common for a lot of artists, whether it is a hobby or a profession, so I'm eliminating that one.
"the world needs it" meh, it's too grand a scale for my very personal journey.... IMO.. .Idon't know what the world needs.
"I get paid for it" is a perk of" I am good at it"Notice I didn't say great. And because I am good at it, I have been able to meld my passion and profession....so there is where I see myself/career.

My wife has made all the difference, she has supported me in my art since high school. We are fortunate to have two boys (men) who are both excellent artists in their own right. Makes for great family get togethers. To be able to walk this artistic path with someone who likes your work and supports the idea that one needs to create makes a great deal of difference. I am truly not a suffering artist. We have a happy successful life.

All I have and am derives from my passion for life. No amount of things or money would make me spend my life doing something that required spending large amounts of time doing something I was not passionate about. I was a computer system analyst for 40 years but on my own terms. I always had/insisted upon flexible hours and except for maybe a total of 2 years or so had it. Of course I made the decision early on not to have children or be married so the only one affected by my style was me. Now that I am retired( I hate that word) I devote most of my time making mediocre art and satisfying my thirst for knowledge.

@Marlene, in all honesty, and for what it's worth, I would say you're great at it. You have an incredible eye for and make great use of color in your work, and that really moves people.

@Kevin, reading the line "To be able to walk this artistic path with someone who likes your work and supports the idea that one needs to create makes a great deal of difference." brought such a smile to my face. It sounds like a wonderfully supportive and enriching life. =)

Wow, It's tough to figure out where to put myself on that Venn Diagram!

I use(d) photography as a release and a technical challenge, then I expanded into photo editing through GIMP and into graphic art. I still haven't found a niche and I don't think I ever will. but that's OK with me. As long as i enjoy it I am happy. The fact that people purchase it too is even better :D

So, I guess It's a passion!

- Richard Reeve
ReevePhotos.com

Thank you, Rahdne, you are most kind ... Once I think I am great, my motivation might wane and the pressure will build!

Rahdne, I'm a mechanical designer by day, but that sounds cooler than it is. I've been doing the exact same thing for nearly 25 years except now it's much more difficult and complicated than it used to be and corporate fads and politics interfere with it much more. I'm really burnt out on it but I don't know what else to do, gotta pay the rent, and the art is far from even paying for itself.

@David Lane - "No amount of things or money would make me spend my life doing something that required spending large amounts of time doing something I was not passionate about."

I admire that in you. At age 38, I am coming to that place in life, and I find I am becoming increasingly protective of my personal time for creating art.

Anyone else wish to weigh in on how art fits into their lives: passion, mission, profession, or vocation? (I like learning about everyone's lives and art's place in it.)

I missed this thread first time around. I like that graphic. My passion/vocation was simmering on the back burner for decades as I attended to things like career in market research and parenting. Also took a detour when I got involved promoting/marketing another artists work in the form of a t-shirt business. All good since it was all a learning experience. Now I have more time to focus on my stuff and figured out that it can actually bring in money.

@Edward - I'd say that your journey unraveled in your favor because it seems that your black-and-white photography has been building over the years and is now stunning! Don't lose focus on that, whatever you do.

That diagram is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too simple.

First, it needs to be three-dimensional ... (at least) ... overlapping spheres, NOT flat circles.

Second, within those at-least-three-dimensional circles, there would be a hierarchal scale measuring progressive changes in density of the quality that each sphere represents.

Third, the spheres should be different diameters to indicate the size of the universe of importance of the particular quality represented.

Fourth, the background should be like a topographic map, with gradations of height to represent the changing terrain on which all those overlapping graded dimensions rest.

No, no, no, ... forget all that, ... I am wrong, ... it should be overlapping fractals on a fluid substrate mapped by quantum operators and superstring 26-dimensional equations.

We should all live our lives by diagrams in tune with the mathematical developments of the day, but they would be so complicated as to make life impossible, so I am afraid that I will have to ignore those diagrams for now.

@Robert - That's too bad, as I was looking forward to seeing your rendition of this in "overlapping fractals on a fluid substrate mapped by quantum operators and superstring 26-dimensional equations." ;-)

Thanks Rahdne Zola, nice of you to say. Unfortunately it doesn't sell as much as color. But who knows, I'll still figuring things out.

The diagram at the start could be simplified to a target, where the red square is the bull's eye. That's about the level of visual logic that I work on when it comes to mapping my real life by diagrammatic principles.

The reason I jest is because I know a guy who spends great mental energy creating beautiful flow charts and complex shapes to illustrate what he believes a person can interpret better than words alone. I told him once that "vision logic" (his choice of terminology) is NOT so logical. I believe that the eyes demand even more brevity than the mind.