Art. The ultimate job, and at least for me, a dream come true. I happened to have fallen into my working artist's career, entering the field as a crafter and ending up with a line of licensed items created from my doodles. One thing for sure, it is all about timing.
My career began with an idea for a book. My mother told me I couldn't write a book because I wasn't an author. My chosen editor said otherwise. Not only did we do that one book, I recieved several offers for all types of combination projects (writing and designing) for several magazines and other publishers. I have ghost written the instructions for other artists as well as produced all of the work for my own books. Recently, I expanded into e-books for a bigger return on my time. This eventually led to my current gig as an internationaly syndicated media content writer. Craft projects of my choosng every week with snappy comments, fun ideas and as much or as little art as I wish.
Art work comes with trials and tribulations, as does any career. I was fortunate to have a support group of other designers and working artists to validate my artist at work issues. Formed from Yahoo Groups, both provided interesting though some what distorted views of the business of art. The key to this is weeding through the know it alls to find the valuable information.
Working alone is another big "working artist's" challenge. You don't have a sounding board for important decisions. There are no meetings, no bosses and no confirmation hearings. You are simultaneously your biggest fan and your greatest enemy. You are the expert and sometimes, you just want to be the artist. Many of my artistic friends do not possess the "business" gene in any format. I have been able to understand the needs of most clients, and so have been successful in commericializing my own art work.
One of the finest rewards for a working artist is freedom of expression. Even though I am asked to produce on demand, I am also often consulted as to what the demand will be. Color, shape and final form are all considerations in that decision. Whether my clients ask me to follow forecasts or trends, I can interpret them however I wish. Sometimes the results are fantastic and sometimes I second guess what I have done. These are pretty common reflections among all artists (and writers).
All things considered, I couldn't ask for a better way to earn money.