We recently connected with CL Martin and have shared our conversation below.

CL, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

The time I am happiest as an artist is during the actual process of creating a piece. Then I experience a down or a low after I finish; a small grief. It is difficult being a working artist. There are many aspects to the career and the life that I find mentally taxing, from constant rejection to networking to having to advocate for myself and project confidence. It is easy to get burnt out. Having to use social media to market my work can be challenging because of social media’s performative nature but it has proven to be necessary in getting my work out there. In my experience, most artists have regular jobs on top of being a working artist. It is rare that a working creative can support themselves on their work alone. I’ve had several side jobs but recently switched to a career in web design. I didn’t understand that “making it” in the “art world” is an often mythologized and romanticized idea until I lived it.

CL, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been a working for 20 years but all of that felt like a study preparing me for what I do now. I feel I have just now come into my own as an artist because of the perspective I’ve gained through living life. I am more comfortable with myself now than I have ever been. I’m a queer figurative artist using traditional media like charcoal, graphite and acrylic to experiment with enigmatic characters with their own unique identity and presence. Drawing has been my coping mechanism since childhood and has become an integral part of my identity: an escape and comfort. It’s the only space where I can “say” anything. Although I reject “femininity” as a patriarchal artifact along with the male gaze – art history, pop culture, gender performance, history and design projected through the human female experience is the foundation of my work.
I mostly focus on just doing work because the process of making it is the most important part and I become wholly and emotionally invested in creating the piece. When a piece is finished, I practice emotionally detaching from it and experience “grief”. This process has taught me to let things go in general which is therapeutic given the trauma I have experienced. Then I show the work in some art exhibitions because I want to share it. I have a solo show coming up at the end of September.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I don’t think there is such a thing as a non-creative. Creativity is creative thinking which is simply innovative problem solving or just another way of looking at things. It’s innate to human beings and they do it all the time. Art isn’t something so removed from the every day. There is no barrier of entry. It’s not about talent but practice. The more you do it, the better you get at it – “it” being creative thinking aka creativity.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part is the community of other artists. They are a varied bunch. They can be vastly different people with vastly different experiences than you, which I find fascinating because I like to study people. It’s a place to start, get support and give support in return. Being a working artist is all about connecting with other people. Being a studio artist, the act of creating is very solitary and intimate for me. I tend to isolate myself. It took me a long time to be comfortable with being engaged in a community but the more I do it, the easier it gets.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://clmartinart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cl.martin.art/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artbyclmartin

Image Credits
CL Martin