My Journey to Artist: Reality Bites

After many years of pushing my passion to the back shelf, I have finally given in to what I absolutely love to do: painting. 

It has been a long journey to get here.  

This drawing won me a trip to Ottawa for Canada Day in 1991.

When I was a kid, I loved to draw.  I entered every single art contest I could, and I won many prizes for my colourful depictions.  I would sit at the kitchen table for endless hours, drawing and colouring.  In eighth grade, I entered a contest and won a trip to Ottawa for Canada Day.  That was no small thing for a kid from small-town-Cape-Breton, who had never even been on a plane before.  That trip was my family’s first flight…our first time leaving Eastern Canada…and we were going because I drew a picture.

When I started high school, I knew without a doubt, that I was going to art school.  In school, there were no options to take art classes, nor were there any classes offered outside of school but I wasn’t going to let that deter me.  I was certain I could put together a sensational portfolio, as long as I spent lots of time drawing.  Intentionally, I tried to drop all the challenging science classes: Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Honours Math…so that I could focus my energy on art.  

That’s when I got my first dose of reality bites, particularly when it comes to the arts. 

On my first day of tenth grade, the well-intentioned vice-principal, who knew my family well, pulled me out of class and said, “No way! You are not dropping all those classes.  To do so, you will close too many doors.”  I have no doubt in my mind, that her intentions were well placed, because the question loomed: how was I going to get through post-secondary school, and pay my education bill with art?  

Making money as an artist was not going to be enough to foot the rent, the groceries, and most definitely not the heaping student loans I would accrue over my years of study. So instead of art, I studied Biology in university. It was not all for loss. I realized that I truly loved to learn, and I did indeed enjoy the sciences, but something was still missing. I wasn't ready to completely give up on my art ambitions. I hadn’t created anything for a few years, but I thought if I minored in Fine Arts, I could get back into it, and have the best of both worlds. So, I tried to fit the required studio times to minor in Fine Arts and “get back into it,” but studio times interfered with my labs, and my grand plan didn’t materialize into anything. 

Art was pushed to the side, again. 

I went on to study Physiotherapy, and at the end of my university career, I carried a lot of debt. Many people begin their careers after university, moving up the financial ladder owing nothing or very little, but then there are those of us who are tossed in the trenches with enormous bills to be paid to the banks. It was something that I hadn’t fully understood, but it was simple now, I owed a lot of money. I didn’t practice art of any kind for many, many years. Instead, my focus was on making ends meet from month-to-month. 

As a society, we think we encourage the arts, but in reality, to forge a successful path as an artist, or a writer, or a photographer…well, that is not an easy feat. Today’s artists either have financial backing to begin with or have worked incredibly hard to achieve a foothold in the competitive market.  Because of this disparity, many extremely talented individuals, who would love to devote themselves to their craft, are left behind.

I did not produce art of any kind for a long time. It wasn't until I met my future husband that I started to paint. There were art collectors in his family, and they had a few remarkable pieces. Seeing art on their walls, seeing that there were people out there who actually bought original art, well it rekindled a desire to create again. When I mentioned to my husband that I loved art, and that I really wanted to paint, he made sure I had everything I needed to do it.

Today, I recognize my great fortune: the ability to stand in front of blank canvasses, with unwavering support. It took me a long time to get here, but I’m so happy I found my way back.

#fuelmyfire