Artist, student, barista- Balancing the journey into full-time art.

This week I discuss the daunting task of starting as an artist, and what helped me balance it all from the start.

Image by @tabithabrooke on Instagram

Painting, lectures, making lattes, doing your own marketing, sending endless e-mails hoping the next one will be your big break… it gets exhausting. Working towards a full-time art career means doing the work of an entire team- Every. Single. Day. With all this pressure and workload on one person, the real question is, can there be a balance on the journey to becoming a full-time artist?

I must say, the beginning of the journey was not the hardest, because I didn’t yet know what I was doing or what was in store for me. Mindlessly posting low-res pictures to Snapchat and Instagram, no thoughts on a website or portfolio, vague musings of starting a YouTube channel etc. What I like to call the “second beginning”… Now that was tough.

Armed with just enough knowledge to scratch the surface, but none to break it- learning the ins and outs of marketing, countless Googles on how to make a TikTok, SEO… (what on Earth is SEO???) And no one but the Internet to help me. On top of learning all these things (and applying them!) I still had school, friends, and work to worry about!

Image by @arttcaro on Instagram

I am an artist, a full-time student, and a barista. I’m still young, (I’ve only just hit 20!) but over the years I’ve found that there can be a balance- where you don’t lose out on your beauty sleep (rest is as productive as work), or your social life (this one is a bit trickier!).

Although there are a plethora of ways one may go about balancing elements of their journey, the key for me (personally) has been planning ahead by making use of digital calendars. They have been key in making sure I can create, upload content, remember birthdays, and make space for those very important brunch dates. They also allow me to keep direction with progressing in my career.

Having a day at the start of the month where I plan content uploads, set aside time for painting, and put down my shifts allows me to have time visually laid out for me to plan around events I cannot change (work for example). As for friends, a shared calendar goes a long way, it’s great for seeing where plans can fit into everyone’s schedules and where things can be moved around to enjoy some much-needed time together.

I am still at the beginning of my journey, but I’m much closer to where I want to be than I was years (or even months!) ago. Following my schedules and making time for rest has helped me avoid burn out and made sure I can measure my progress in a way that doesn’t cost me my sanity or energy. After all, what good is success if you can’t enjoy it?

Make sure to be present and open in your every-day. Just like with art, the journey and process are crucial to the final piece and destination.

Thank you for reading, I hope this piece helps you on your way!

-Happy creating