Priorities

After giving up, I just made marks 

WELCOME to my first blog. It’s the new thing to do I hear … This one is some stuff I had to get out of my head, it’s about priorities:

To make the big career change I’ve been dreaming about, it’s clear my priorities need to shift. I recognise it will take time to develop the skills I want as an artist, and mastering the techniques to paint the way I envision requires patience and practice.

Life is packed with admin these days, but I make it a point to dedicate a few hours each week to stay on top of it. Currently, I’m running my hairdressing business and working weddings as a hair and makeup artist. So, managing my cash flow is crucial—monitoring income from appointments and, thanks to the financial course I recently completed (more on that in another blog), figuring out exactly where I want my money to go.

I’m not a full-timer, and honestly, it’s a mystery how I manage as a single-income household with a child who regularly asks for art and craft supplies :D Somehow, I make it work. My job is seasonal, so I have weeks and months that are pretty good, and I make sure to squirrel away any excess into savings.

For 2024, my first priority was to educate myself financially. Done!

Next, my goal is to carve out more time for learning to be an artist, not just a creative. I’m creative every day, but the type of artist I aspire to be is both skilled and expressive. I went to TAFE for a diploma in Visual Art when I was 18, and while I’d love to study again, this isn’t the right time for that. Right now, I need to earn!

I’m working four days a week, and earlier this year I also taught makeup design as well. Now, I’ve set aside Mondays and Tuesdays as dedicated art days. Saturdays are workdays for me, while my daughter uses that time to unwind and work on her own creations after a busy school week.

My future self will thank me for all of this—the determination to start again, persist, and keep going without expecting instant gratification. I’m reminded of one of my favourite Gandhi quotes:

“Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.”

This is the kind of quote worthy of sticking on my wall I think, just to wash the day before away and not hold onto the past, I think it’s the wisest form of living.

Today, I ran into an artist friend who recommended I try gouache paint, so naturally, I went and bought some right away. It’s absolutely freezing where I live today, and since I just spent the whole weekend cleaning and rearranging my living room, I didn’t want to bring oil paints inside.

I’ve never used gauche or watercolour before so the final products were messy and muddy, and not sure why I thought I could just start on a painting but instead of getting frustrated, I decided to shift gears and focus on mark-making and creating “ugly art.” It reminds me of when I used to write songs after a long break—I never had writer's block because I didn’t put any pressure on myself, I would challenge myself to write a bad song, and it would at least get me somewhere in the end, I’m hoping I can bring that same mindset into my visual art.

Wish me luck!