A couple of years ago I attended a Comiccon to visit the artists gallery, mistakenly believing that would be one of the main attractions at such an event. Instead there were two rows of tables and booths shoved at the very back of the huge venue, sort of an after thought.
As I walked up and down the rows several times, I was greatly disappointed. Not that the art wasn’t good, some artists are awesome, but there was nothing truly unique.
One young woman however, at a tiny booth wedged between some heavy weights, had some truly beautiful cat drawings. Okay, I am partial to all things cat, but she captured the essence of a cat, its unique personality, not just the poses. This is a special talent, to be able to pull out character from a drawing, so it speaks to you. She displayed them rather apologetically, crowding them out with Zombies, several comic books she was developing. I bought one of her cat prints, and she insisted I take several Zombie prints free, to promote her comic book. I told her Zombies have zero appeal to me, but her cat illustrations are awesome. She was disappointed.
She was ignoring her real talent in hopes of making it big in the comics world. Agreed, there is huge money making potential in comics and graphic art novels. The competition is fierce but many are making it. However, her artistic ability was way elsewhere.
Now some artists want to make it big, in any way they can. This is okay. But some artists want to be other than they are. I read that Noble, who did the backgrounds for Wile E. Coyote and Marvin the Martian always wanted to be a fine artist, even though we are wowed by his futuristic landscapes.
I believe in being true to yourself, that the world ultimately recognizes authenticity. Does not mean it’ll like it, or reward you for it. Ones style however is unique.
I am guilty of wanting to be other than I am, and have, in my youth, and in age, naively gone off on wild tangents other than concentrating on my strengths. It is good to learn new things, but if it makes you frustrated with your style then something is wrong.
Is it better to be a starving authentic artist or a wealthy fake? Ha, ha.
It is way better to concentrate on developing your strengths than it is to try and fix weaknesses. This applies to all things in life, not just creative pursuits. We spend way too much time worrying about our faults, when we all have quite interesting abilities. And our own style.
In such a critical, fault finding world, I applaud those who wish to shine at what they do best. For true happiness is found there.