The Balance of Fame and Fortune in the World of Art

The pursuit of the Artistic Life is truly a noble aspiration, and though it may at this stage seem like a gamble, if it is viewed and handled with a commitment to personal excellence and thinking within lines as much as without, you can find yourself with a winning hand.  Fame may never come.  Material wealth may never come. Joy will come!

Many upcoming Artists dream of the fame and fortune that will accompany his work. In the same respect, many Artists seek to shun fame and fortune to encapsulate themselves in the mythology of the starving artist. Neither of these extremes are healthy bets on which to gamble one’s future, but cultivating the presence of mind to appreciate the balance between the two is where the successful Artist will find his payoff.

The successful Artist should at least have a modicum of desire for fame and fortune. More will be covered on this in the section entitled ‘Ambition’, but for now, suffice it to say that if the Artist has no fame, there is little reason for anyone to purchase his art. And if he has no fortune, there is no way he can buy more materials with which to continue the flow of passion and create his next masterpiece.

Tags: artist, Arts, Starving artist, Visual arts