on encouragement…
This is the third post in my artist development series…
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One of the most important things I was given early in my artistic endeavors was a new definition of the word professional. Before I had even met her in person, my friend Liz talked to me on the phone about shooting photos for my church in California. She was asking me about how long I had been a photographer and what kind of shooting I had experience with. She asked if I was a “professional” photographer. I quickly stated, “Oh, no! I don’t get paid for my work.” She corrected me right away. “Getting paid has nothing to do with it!” Being a professional photographer has to do with the way you prepare for and go about getting your shots, she told me. Being a professional artist means that you don’t do your work half-hearted, rather you invest yourself completely in the task at hand.
Liz was just one of many friends and mentors who profoundly shaped my definition and understanding of success as an artist. More importantly, because many of these friends and mentors were full time artists themselves, their encouragement carried that much more weight. Their encouragement, criticism and love pushed me to constantly improve and gave me the right to call myself a photographer and an artist even though I was working a job in hotel management at the time. Artists need champions who will encourage them personally, spiritually and artistically along their way.
