This year, my 21st birthday landed on a spectacular date: 09.09.09. Not usually the one to make too much of a fuss about my day, I thought that the special arrangement of numbers warranted some kind of celebration. When I got home, I found a very special e-mail in my inbox. Apparently on my 17th birthday, I decided to send a time-capsule e-mail to myself on my 21st birthday. Here’s what I wrote:
Happy 21st birthday from your 17-year-old self. I suppose you’re very different from me, all grown up and running headfirst into life. How is Aaron? Are you married yet, or still thinking about it? How is your art coming along? Are you still schooling for it or have you finished yet? Are you still working at Kaman’s and have you found any other ways to pay for college? If you haven’t started thinking about your career, this is a reminder to do so.
Take care of yourself.
Marietta
Some questions were easy answers, but other questions made me stop and think.
How’s your art coming along? If you haven’t started thinking about your career, this is a reminder to do so.
So tonight, amidst studying for my first series of exams, I decided to stop for a moment and think on those lines. At 21, where should I be in my career? Should I be into it? Am I into it? Is my work at the level it should be? More or less, where am I going and how am I going to get there?
I can’t say that I regret all too much. I’m a caricaturist and independent artist. I have a good list of clients and spend the majority of my free time working on commissions. At Park, I’m in the honors program and working hard on my research to illustrate a children’s book. My website isn’t that shabby and my portfolio is at least average. I can’t complain. At the same time, though, I can’t be completely satisfied with my history or I won’t press on for better things.
One of the things I would like to change before I turn 22 is developing a more cohesive body of work. When I look at professional artists and their art, I know exactly what I would get from them if I were to commission them. They have a distinct style, a palette that they typically incorporate and a similar subject.
Comparing that with my portfolio leaves me a little unnerved. While it’s good to be well rounded, I don’t seem to have a focus. Figure drawing, portraits, character design, pets, still lifes, caricatures. The list goes on and on. A jack of all trades, master of none, I would like to have a more cohesive line of work.
So I sat down and made a list of projects I feel I need to work on. I need to finish Behind the Mask and get those portraits out and I’d like to complete the still lifes for my apartment. Getting my webcomic up, continuing to develop A World Once Was and illustrating that children’s book will give me better knowledge of character design and story boarding. And going to Chicago will give me a broader range on caricaturing along with being able to live with some amazing artists.
But even then, where is my focus? What do I want to be? Do I want to be a character designer or a still life artist or a portrait artist? Do I need to focus to achieve professional level? And even if I choose a focus or continue with my broad range, what do I want to do with my skills? Will I forever be freelancing, working with Kaman’s or will I find another company that will want to hire me. And if I do want to find another company, what do I need to do to get there? What kind of portfolio do I need to have? Does it need to be cohesive?
So I suppose I’ll be spending this year trying to figure out what style I want to focus on. It doesn’t mean that I won’t work in other styles, but I need to find my niche, my trademark. What is it that I do?
Any feedback would be appreciated. I leave you with my most recent piece. Enjoy.
Don’t worry about being cohesive. That was pushed on me so much in college, and getting out here made me realize that as long as you can deliver what a client wants, you can get work. The fact that you are a jack of all trades makes you more marketable, in my opinion. You’re a great artist.