Thinking about pursuing your passion and how to be an artist? Here’s a place to start.
I’m not a musician, but I have a lot of musician friends. I like painting and photography, but I’m not an artist. But it’s the same as writing – we’re all dedicating ourselves to a creative endeavor.
Let me tell you…artists, especially musicians, are the hardest working people I’ve ever met. Many of them juggle multiple jobs in order to pay their bills and make time to create. But the one thing that they all have in common is their ability to brand themselves, network and persevere.
I wanted to write a post about how to be an artist, get into art and pursue your passion because of that – I’ve seen a lot of people do it, and they all had a lot of parallels in their methods. So here it goes!
Binge Watch, Read and Listen
If I were to start pursuing a new medium tomorrow, I’d start with experimenting with the type of artist I want to be. I’m angsty as all hell, so if I was a musician, a lot of my songs would probably be catchy Meghan Trainor or Sara Bareilles jigs about the guy who stood me up on my birthday, or the last product review I pitched and got rejected.
(It was SugarBear Hair. They told me I was good, but that they run a prestigious program for their hair care vitamins.)
But the same goes for any other kind of creative endeavor. As a writer, I do a ton of research on different writing styles. I don’t just read other people’s writing, read books, and binge on Bon Appetit articles. I watch funny TV shows and read online comics because they’re humorous, and that kind of calls to me. I recently restarted my Netflix DVD plan and put every travel movie that’s probably ever been made into it.
As Heather Havrilesky once told me, as a maker, “it’s your job” to listen to other types of that medium. It’s your job to know what else is out there. Find other people telling the story that you want to tell. Find other people living the life you want to live. Take notes. Ask questions.
Start With What You Have
I’ve watched and rewatched The One Hundred Foot Journey, Outsourced, Chocolat and Eat, Pray, Love to start my travel writing research. I’ve stalked anything Anthony Bourdain (internet stalking, not the actual kind) in pursuit of the answer to one question: how is this story being told and what about that story telling method makes it so special?
So, same question to my aspiring artist friends – what story, feeling do you want to express with your art? What people, experiences have left the biggest gaping holes in your soul? What makes you overwhelmed with happiness and joy?
Start creating based on that. It’s as good of a start as anything. And start with whatever you have, wherever you are.
If you’re scoffing at that last statement, actually think about the tools that are at your disposal. The internet is chock full of ways for you to create a song or edit an image. Most laptops come with some kind of standard movie making software.
Even if you just have a napkin, you can write a poem on it. Create something today. Keep creating. Teach yourself to dedicate time and energy to your passion.
Get Out of Your Head
Like any other creative endeavors, aspiring creators tend to get in their own head about their tone, voice, brand. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you have to make time to get out of your head and into the real world.
Once you have something to show, show it. Go to open mics, go to poetry slams, to writing workshops. If that doesn’t exist, create one, even if it consists of a few awkward friends. Send your pieces to other friends, artists or not. Get feedback. Be resilient. Optimize your stuff and improve over time. Don’t try to get it all right the first time. Focus on the journey, not the arrival.
Network. Network, please.
No one – no writer, no painter and certainly no musician is an island. Don’t think you’re the exception to that. Aside from being the most hardworking people I know, musicians are also the most connected people.
My friend Vanessa is EVERYWHERE in Wilmington – she’s constantly meeting people and name dropping herself, along with her other musician friends, wherever she goes. We went to DC together a year ago, and everyone we met left the conversation knowing Vanessa was a singer, and that I was a writer.
When I was at Temple University, my friend Andy was majoring in jazz. He was always doing shows. Ryan, the Los Angeles based musician I’ve referenced before, has connected with really influential people in the music and entertainment industry. It’s not luck. He’s been putting himself out there since we were in 7th Grade. I still have his first CD floating around somewhere in my parents house.
In the past year, I went on a date who just pursued music as a hobby. Even he was well connected. We walked into a show downtown, and he knew the entire band. He waited until after their set, helped them break down their equipment, and hung out for awhile after the show.
Make sounds, or writing, or works of art and put them out into the world. Meet other makers and find ways to support and work with them.
Let ideas pursue you.
A friend of mine once asked me how I think of blog post ideas. My response was that I don’t think of them, that they think of me. They think of me, drag me into their underworld, and drag me into empty pools of despair, ala Barb from Stranger Things.
This blog series idea chased me around all morning, until I agreed to sit down and give it attention.
But not every idea is worth chasing. I had an idea a few months ago to write and illustrate a Bloody Mary drink book. It wasn’t a bad idea, I just didn’t have time for it. I still might do it, but much more appealing ideas have come to me since then.
To recap: Just start. Start, start, start. If all of those trolls can rip off Drake songs and repost them on YouTube in higher pitches, you can certainly take a few minutes to draw a picture.
Am I missing something? Fire off in the comments!