A friend made a comment to me, though somewhat in jest, that she thought I was too “organized” and “level-headed” to be an artist. I brushed off the remark; she has seen some of my paintings – and likes them – so I know it wasn’t a statement about the quality of my work. I also admit freely that my training, education, and focus on a professional career gives me a different skill set than some of my pure artist colleagues. But that doesn’t mean that full-time artists aren’t organized, capable, and productive human beings.

Why is it that people think that in order to be an artist, you have to be this crazy, lazy, ungrounded person that lives in a hazy do-what-you-will, when-you-want state?

Truth be told, most successful artists are not this way at all. [Side note: when I say ‘successful’ here, I mean artists that are making a living off of what they do, not just the most famous of artists.]

That same drive that motivates the lobbyist, the lawyer, and the CEO to be successful is the same drive and motivation for the artist. Artists that make a living off of their creative genius are highly organized, structured, and capable. Their skills range from marketing and networking to managing. And where their skill sets lack, they hire someone to complement those skills.

We all do this. We focus on what we are good at and make sure that those around us can fill in the areas we are missing. Making sure that the right people are doing the right job is a business basic, and artists are no different in using this basic principle. (For more information about having the right people in the right seat on the bus, read Jim Collin’s book Good to Great.)

Individual artists and creators in our one voi©e network were asked the question, “about how many hours a week do you spend creating or developing your work?” Over one third of them say they spend 35+ hours per week creating. For all these artists, those 35+ hours don’t necessarily include marketing, editing, public performances, or chasing down copyright infringers.

Of those who say that creating or developing their creative work is not their full-time job, over half of them say that (in addition to work) they spend between 5 and 24 hours per week on creating. That’s a lot of time considering how few hours exist after the work day, especially for those who are juggling a family, multiple jobs, or managing a household.

I read somewhat humorously Jim McDermott’s article on his recent experience in working with singer/songwriter Amanda Palmer. He carried into his experience with her this preconceived notion of who an artist is, who Amanda is, fed in part by some of his music colleagues.

When I enthusiastically mentioned to colleagues in the music business that I’d be interviewing Amanda on the night, some were surprisingly negative. “She’d be nowhere without Roadrunner Records”, “she’s the Queen of T.M.I” - stuff along those lines. One or two felt that the hype around her was unwarranted, relative to her commercial viability - “none of her ego-driven social networking bullshit sells records, the Emperor has no clothes.”

As his article goes on, he writes as if he’s unveiling some secrets about who she is: she’s not some over-hyped, fake woman, who has been strung along on the coat strings of her Indie label, but she’s actually a serious, hard-working, fan-connecting individual who happens to express herself in a very particular way.

As he talks about his interview with Amanda, her concert, and the long lines of signature-hording fans, he concludes:

This is an artist with a hugely loyal fanbase, who works her ass off, who personally uses all the modern tools available to grow and retain her audience, who puts on an incredibly musical show with no autotune, lip synching or any other bullshit crutches. Someone who has time for every fan, who helps develop worthy upcoming artists, who has visibility on the upswing, who is tremendously clever…

I find interesting that someone who has worked with and represented many artists over the years would have to be reminded of this over and over again. Artists, like everyone, come in all shapes and sizes. Some don’t work hard, but most do. Some aren’t authentic, but most really care about being so.

When the very act of creating requires one to dig to the deepest part of her being and pull something out that’s worthy of expression, it’s pretty difficult to be successful if what she keeps putting out there is not authentic, or a lie.

Perhaps part of the reason why people continually think that artists are crazy, lazy, or hazy is because they are actually too authentic. They force one to take a good look at himself or his world and raise questions which are easier to regularly ignore.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 4:21 pm by Lucinda M. Dugger and is filed under creators, culture, market forces. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.