The Plus Side of Part Time with John Salminen
When you think of an artist, you might imagine someone spending all day in her studio painting.
And while being a full-time artist is absolutely a way to be an artist, it’s not the only way.
In fact, you might be surprised that many of your favorite artists credit part time to being a key to their later success.
Ep.38 guest John Salminen is one such artist. Here’s why his part-time approach to painting was fundamental to him being the artist he is today.
For Salminen (and several guests on the show have echoed this), part-time meant something very important: He didn’t have to make money from his art.
That was critical for two reasons.
First, it meant he didn’t have to spend time marketing his art. For many professional artists, the marketing part takes half if not more of their time.
For Salminen, he could spend all the time he did have for art… FOR ART. That meant in the time he did have, he could see solid skill improvement.
Second, by not having to make money from his art, he didn’t have to worry about whether or not anyone LIKED his art. He could focus on developing his own personal tastes and styles separate from the opinions of others.
That meant that he could figure out what he liked quicker and develop a style unique to him faster.
Put it to Practice
While being a full time artist can appear at first glance, the most ideal route if you love painting, there are downsides. Mainly that you have to spend time on the business side and thinking about what others want. And if you are earlier in your skill development, that’s going to delay the progress you see on the easel.
So if you find yourself waiting to start painting until you are able to commit full time, don’t wait. Start now.
You’ll be surprised at how much skill you can develop in just 20 minutes of focused attention each day. And you’ll be so glad you have those if and when you are able to open up more of your schedule for your art.
(Ps- If you want help making every second of your art time count, come join me in the Art Habit Membership. It’s the Membership built for busy artists who want to make the most of the time they DO have. Doors only open a few times a year. Get notified by adding your name here.)