Pursuing a creative or artistic career can certainly be fulfilling, but it’s far from certain. Over the years, we’ve heard about the struggles from thousands of artists and creatives – it’s incredibly challenging and it can be tempting to wonder – what if you hadn’t pursued this path. We asked artists and creatives from across the community if they’ve every had those doubts themselves.

Alyssa Walker

Being a full time musician definitely has its pros and cons. Nothing beats being able to do what you love for a living, and with gigging I get to pick my own hours and only work about 4-5 hours at a time. The adrenaline that comes from performing in front of a crowd is something I have become addicted to as I have continued to perform. However, I still have a lot of mixed feelings about continuing to do music full time. Read more>>

Lindsay White

The Gillian Welch lyric “We’re gonna do it anyway / Even if it doesn’t pay” comes to mind. Artists all have to art; it’s what we do regardless of whether or not we can figure out how to earn a living at it. Being in a creative “flow state” is probably the closest to happy most folks can be. For me, it’s the closest to God or “source” I ever feel. Unfortunately, though, modern society makes us humans pay an increasingly hefty price for our basic needs, Read more>>

Nihan Tasbasi

I think it is generally unhealthy to separate so-called ‘regular’ jobs from creative or artistic work. Artistic or creative labor is still labor that takes energy and time, and to be successful in such endeavors, one must have a ‘regular’ practice. It is the regularity of the regular job that is usually thought of as antithetical to creative work, but I think this view no longer makes sense in 2022. Read more>>

Taylor Victoria

Being a full time artist means having a life filled with joy, creativity, passion, and fulfillment. I often think of how my life would be different if I were working a “regular” job. When I was just starting out my pursuit to “make it” as a full time artist, I had a plethora of sleepless nights and tumbling waves of doubt. My financial situation became increasingly more stressful as there was more money going out than coming in. Read more>>

Bryan Maddock

Even as someone who has worked professionally as an architect in leading design practices around the world, I always wondered “could my time be used better than this?” As artists, I think there is still some mental pre-programming that our work is only as good as what we can charge for it, and this conceit got even stranger when you work a structured 60 hour work week for clients that don’t necessarily know what it takes to be ‘creative’ or to deliver the results they expect. Read more>>

Courtney Rose

I can honestly say that I am happier and happiest as an artist and creative. I have given thought to just having a regular 9-5 time and time again, as a musician. There are a plethora of hurdles in life, seen and unseen, both personal and professional especially in the creative world. With some of those obstacles, I did think that it was easier to just quit and work for someone else. The last time I had this thought was when my older brother passed away a few months ago. It was a struggle physically and spiritually. My heart was broken and I was lost. Read more>>

Luis Aleman

Being an artist is all I’ve ever known myself to be. Ever since I was young I had been certain I wanted to be an artist. I started drawing at a very young age like most children do, but at some point during middle school, I knew this was more than just a hobby. There isn’t a day I go by without doing something that involves the arts, whether its work on a massive painting project or doing a small sketch in my sketchbook. It’s done without thinking. Naturally, I must create something and if not, I feel empty, it’s a part of me. I have worked a regular job as a bank teller for a short time, and that phase in my life taught me that I was right. I knew that there was nothing else out there I would rather do than be an artist. Read more>>

Maureen McDole

Honestly, I can’t imagine a life in which I am not a creative. Even before I realized I was a poet, I was studying to be a potter. Before that I wanted to be a photographer. I used to express myself when I was a teenager through going dancing at clubs in the Tampa Bay area. I still love seeing lots of live music. All along, I have been a ferocious reader and consumer and advocate of art. Read more>>

Nicole Blanchard

It would be dishonest if I allowed myself to say “I’ve never wanted a regular job,” because that’s simply just not true (and I’m sure a lot of creatives feel that way). There’s this feeling of uncertainty that can follow you when your source of income isn’t always a fixed amount. One can imagine that to be rather stressful. Read more>>

Matt Ragland

Sometimes I wonder if life would be easier if I wanted or enjoyed a regular job. The problem is that nothing sounds more boring than a regular job. How simple life might be if I enjoyed a steady job with consistent hours and consistent income! But who wants to do something that they hate? If I force myself to do something that I don’t like for too long, my insides start to deteriorate. With one life to live, doing what you love is not negotiable. But then again so is eating food and paying rent, right? Read more>>

Robin Anezin

As I always say, happiness is an active and creative process, art is a part of it. So why do I create? Designing is not only the answer to be the aesthetic aspect of a project, but it is also a duality between freedom and focus, space and containment, usage and comfort. I create to communicate ideas, innovate concepts, developed projects to make them real through the design process with education and practice. I mainly do painting on canvas and papers. Still, I like to innovate by working in partnership with other creative teams. Therefore I can’t imagine my life without creative processes and artistic adventures. Read more>>

Kelly Robison

This is so great because I literally have this conversation with myself more times than I could tell you.. and it’s such a funny place to exist. For as long as I can remember I’ve known I wanted to create. I went through so many different mediums from a young age. I loved drawing, painting, dance, charcoals, writing, poetry, learning instruments, different forms of performance… the list goes on. I was always afraid to openly pursue these things and had a lot of learned external pressure of following a more ~conventional~ career. Read more>>

Riaga

My dreams make me happy, but chasing them makes me depressed. The term “happy” is a loaded question in a lot of ways, yet so accurate at the same time. At the core, I’m in so much joy that I couldn’t imagine doing anything else in my life. When I’m creating music by myself, I create such a great space for me emotionally. All my worries go away and I can live through life in blissful fashion. I get more of my work done, I can carry a conversation fruitfully, Read more>>