How To Thrive As An Artist

The following article appeared in Manhattan Mercury
October 2, 2004

Manhattan Mercury

Daniel Hobson
Staff Writer

Living the Artist's Life dispels a few myths about artists and their work, while at the same time confirming others.

Kansas City author Paul Dorrell writes that artists don't necessary suffer more than regular folk; although sensitivities, self doubt, and years of rejection may get even the genius down once in a while. But it comes with the territory and Dorrell says the alternative is an unenlightened existence that isn't really an alternative for anyone who writes, paints, draws or is otherwise involved with creative pursuits.

Artists are driven, inspired, and selfish people who may or may not be neurotic nonconformists. But this, Dorrell says, is fact: not all of them live the bohemian life.

"This lifestyle is much overrated," he writes. "It doesn't tend to produce great art so much as it does the people who understand it, talk it, and live it--or try to (...) Life in the cafes, and along with the endless trail of gallery opening, can have its charm, but you'll likely find that the people who attend so many openings, and adorn so many cafes, create very little work of substance."

Drugs and booze don't help the creative mind much either. Dorrell writes about his own battles with alcohol, as well as the depression which has plagued him throughout his life. Dorrell spend many years struggling as a writer and an art dealer before reaching some level of success and financial stability. He has worked as an art consultant for the National D-Day Memorial and his monumental projects have included a presidential dedication and an installation in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

But years of struggle and strife came before. At one point, he was $100,000 in debt and his family life suffered and was on the verge of collapse.

Dorrell invites the would-be artists to listen to his success story and take heed of what he's learned. Written in a humorous style, Living the Artist's Life tackles such issues as employment (Yes, you'll need a day job); where to live (Europe is good, as is small-town America); and television (inspired artists don't sit in front of the tube--they meet people, read, volunteer their time, and even spend the evening working at their craft.)

Another issue that comes to light in Living the Artist's Life is the value of art in 21st century America. Dorrell writes of his financial troubles in running his first gallery in Kansas City, Mo., during the mid-1990s, and how he eventually came to loath the people who would walk through his gallery and not buy anything. To deal with the stress of a growing debt and the public's seeming disinterest in art, Dorrell kept a "large jug" of bourbon in his desk drawer.

Dorrell writes that he felt as if he couldn't break through the middle-class American attitude that values framed posters as art.

"It isn't that the average American doesn't enjoy real art," he writes, "they're just too busy, or self-absorbed, or indifferent to recognize it. If I can help them see it when they come in the gallery, frequently they'll become impassioned about it--assuming they're open enough to see things at all."

Dorrell also gets in to the mundane and business world of the artist, and he gives practical advice on writing cover letters, getting publicity, applying for grants, pricing artwork and preparing portfolios.

Living the Artist's Life is a valuable insight into the world of the artist and it lets the young, uninitiated artist know what's in store for them. Much of it isn't pretty, but the truly driven artist won't give up, Dorrell asserts.

"Whatever difficult things you experience, whatever the tragedy or sense of inadequacy or depression, try to remember that you are not alone. Most of us have been there, most of us will be there again. Harsh experiences on the road to self-awareness are common--far more than we usually care to admit, and in many instances necessary."

Dorrell concludes by addressing success and failure. Success has less to do with riches than it does with achievement, inner fulfillment and artistic mastery. Without struggle and failure, an artist doesn't grow.

"You may have to burn more midnight oil to stay with it, you may lose weight, you may lose sleep, you may lose a bit of your inner balance, but the struggle will bring out even more insight and, if things go well, better work."

The cost of being an artist includes loneliness, exaltation, despair, odd alliances and odder rivalries, Dorrell writes.

In the end, paying this cost will only strengthen the bond between artists and their work, and artists must remain dedicated to their craft.

"Self-discipline, as you surely know by now, is far more important than trying to glide along on whatever level of talent you were born with. Learn to rely on the former and to utilize the latter, but never assume that your talent alone will win you success."

LIVING THE ARTIST'S LIFE: A Guide to Growing, Persevering, and Succeeding in the Art World. By Paul Dorrell. Hillstead Publishing. 174 pps. $16.95, softcover

A Guide to Growing, Persevering, and Succeeding in the Art World