Personally, when I hear the term "Successful" what I picture in my mind is hard work payed of; not measured in pound coins but measured in relief, and being truly content in their accomplishments. Happiness is of course a measure of success but only to an extent. Now, I'm not going to be cliche and yell "Success is only about being happy" because lets face it; if you give me some nandos 1/2 chicken and a cool drink then believe me when I say I'll be happy for days.
What I'm trying to say is; an artist sees success in such a different manner compared to other professions. We feel success when we finally finish that project we've been planning for weeks, we feel success when our work gets exhibited in galleries, we feel success when we SEE other people around us feeling something from looking at our work; the most powerful emotion for myself as an artist is to hear people tell me how my work made them feel; how it made them cry, smile, and go back in time to a certain period of their lives and feel nostalgic. These are the things I see as success for an artist. Don't get me wrong, we also feel success when we make money from our pieces and when we get commissioned or finish contracts; of course. However, that feeling isn't coming from just the money, its coming from years of hard work and visualization, visuals that we have been able to portray well enough for that person to pay us.
Do you see what I mean? Success is relevant to what you have aimed yourself to achieve; and if we're talking about success in Art then it takes a lot more than painting one pretty portrait, or photoshooting one nice landscape, or maybe producing one hype beat; you know? Of course there are people out there that have had one hit wonders and made millions; BUT is that success? Are these people truly content in their lives? Do they have anything else to strive for? The answer is usually 'no'. I find myself saying this time and time again; money does not equate to success. Yes, it makes you feel good when you buy your favorite car or you go on that special holiday and by all means YOU ARE ENTITLED TO THIS, you've worked hard and you deserve it, man. Just don't stop there. Carry on going and keep lifting your spirits by exceeding the boundaries you set yourself.
We live in a world where money is seen as paramount; and you know what; it probably is. What can we do without it? Let's not live in a fairy tale world and say "But love is all you need!" because dude, it really isn't. You still need to find a source of income if you are stable to work and there are a lot of opportunities out there. Just don't forget your art; don't forget the one thing that frees you from this mental maze that we call 'Life'
It's been a pleasure.
Keep that vision clear.
Over and out!..okay, okay, maybe just bye. :)
