How to Know When You're an Artist (and the Law of Attraction)
When did I start calling myself an artist?
The answer is "long before the people around me or anyone out in the world".
I have not gone through a traditional art school education, nor have I started to practice art in my twenties. Art, as a professional practice, blessed my life after 40. It makes sense that when people study art or consciously pick this path at a much younger age, they are automatically becoming "artists". But it was different with me, and so many others I know as well. I mean, I was an IT Professional for two decades (with a computer science bachelor and MBA). So where and when did I become an artist, like "officially"…?
Let's talk about my viewpoint based on my personal experience (and this will likely relate more to those who chose (or are choosing) art later in life or after other professions).
Being an artist is not all about recognition and waiting for someone to tell you that you are an artist or that you are ready to be one (recognition can come later and is highly valuable when the time comes!). It is also not about painting full time. But it's a state of being, a mindset, in which there is a sense of strong inspiration found in unexpected places and an immense internal desire to create for life. Once you consciously feel this is a life-long journey in which you want to passionately master your craft, then you ARE an artist.
This calling comes long before others call you an artist, or even recognize you as a wanna-be-artist.
A short while after I started to paint as a hobby (and while I was still at a 9-5 corporate job), I realized how passionate I felt about making art and how I had the urge to create much more... So, I started to share more on Instagram and would be inspired by other artists, and very soon my outlook on life and myself had completely shifted…. I felt I was meant to do this (my art), like not later in life but NOW. It felt like falling in love… No matter what, regardless of how long it would take to establish myself, I knew at the point back then, that "I am an artist". I needed no further validation of my desire, of my passion, and my love to create. All I needed was to continue mastering my craft, paint a lot, share my work as often as I could, do it well, learn more, and start to look at it as a business (an art business) - so that I would do it not only with passion, but fully committed and professionally with a solid vision. Regardless of whether I also had a 9-5 job at that time.
I remember myself during those days, walking outside or in the hallways of the company building where I worked, saying this phrase over and over in my head "I am an artist" and feeling a sense of happiness and intense excitement rush through my body.
Because I was (an artist). That's how I felt. That's who I was in my heart each and every day, and every morning when I woke up.
I would even go further and tell myself regularly that "I am an artist with another day job". Instead of saying "I work 9-5 and I'm a part time artist". So, I reversed it in my mind. The artist side of me felt so right, it needed my full self recognition. And I knew that in a few years it would shift and being an artist would become my day job (I don't actually like to call my art practice a "job" today as it does not feel like that at all, but I'm using this word here to explain the state of transition I had in my mind back then).
What I am trying to highlight here is not the logistical path (or the HOW) to becoming an artist - that is a whole different topic altogether - but how important it is that we have the internal belief and recognition of our own WHAT and WHY first. The way in which we see ourselves matters a lot, and what we tell ourselves… as what we truly believe in and who we feel we are inside TODAY, we end up manifesting in our life.
So, if you are in doubt of the "how", don't worry about that yet, it will get sorted out later. But see how you FEEL first. If you passionately desire being an artist and you feel it is your dream, your destiny, and the idea of putting a lot of work into this dream feels like play, then go ahead, call yourself that TODAY, and everyday, over and over again, BE an artist inside first, THINK like an artist, and then work on it (with consistency and passion) and let life take you there….
Say "I am a _______" (fill it with what you desire), feel it, internalize it, think like it, and now start creating according to that.
Previous Comments & Answers on this post from my old WordPress site:
Rose Mallia
February 27, 2019 at 6:04 pm
Thank you for sharing your wonderful journey and transition from a structured career to a beautiful creative one. I am on a similar journey and relate to every word you’ve said. You have an amazing portfolio and have a lot to learn from you.Deniz Altug
March 11, 2019 at 8:37 pm
Hi Rose, thank you so much for your comments and kind feedback! I’m so glad that you are finding yourself on a similar journey and so happy that you could relate. Wishing you all the best and lots of joy in your journey! And thank you for being here