What is it like being an artist?

Emily Louise Heard – photo by Christian Stone

Hello to the new faces around here, and thank you for supporting my work! I’m Emily, and I’m an artist from south Wales  I thought I’d share a few thoughts on being an artist from my own experiences.

Pursuing the ‘path’ of being an artist, is a bit of a funny one. Over the years it has brought me joy, fear, pride, shame, certainty and more uncertainty than I thought possible all rolled into one weird little cocktail of determination. We are often discouraged to pursue careers in the arts, because of course nothing is certain, and financial stability does not go hand in hand with being an artist. I cannot guarantee that I will sell X amount in any given month.

Many people find this whole aspect of being an artist enough to run for the hills. Sure, it can be stressful, and I will admit that it is a bit of a roller coaster. Some months, your sales are up. Some months they are down. It is the nature of being an artist (and this is not unique to the creative field!) Is that enough to stop me from creating the work that I love and sharing it with others? Nope  If you are an artist, you cannot switch that part of your brain off, no matter what obstacles come your way.

It never ceases to amaze me how art can have such an uplifting impact on our emotional well-being and connect with us on all levels. Emotions are the spirit of life, and I am extremely passionate about capturing them in my work. I would continue to paint regardless of whether I made any money from it or not, but I am INCREDIBLY grateful that so many of you have chosen to support me by adding my paintings to your home.

Painting is my way of celebrating my time on earth. We are on this lovely, weird little planet for such a fleeting time it would be senseless not to follow our hearts.

You can view my work here