Feeling broken in half

[Legrosclown]

I know this is kind of a weird first two questions that I'm posting but I need to ask since I've had this feeling for a while now. I'm probably not the only one who felt this but I need some advice.

First off, I have alot of friends who aren't artist at all. They just don't understand how it's like to do what we do. I tend to get looked down on because of stupid stereotypes of the lazy comptemporary artist who doesn't do much of his life. They keep thinking ''You're an artist, you've got plenty of time on your hands to do this stuff!'' OR (which is the worst) ''You're an artist! Drawing doesn't take that much time!'' GGGGRRRRRR!!!! I tried to explain to them that it's take alot of hard work and dedication to do good art but they just don't get it! Every time that I face these people and they ask me what I've been doing lately and that my answer is '' I've been working and drawing alot lately...'', they have this look on their face saying ''Wow, you are such a lazy bum.'' which makes me feel kind of worthless. I know that I shouldn't let that get to me but it just makes me feel sorry for myself.

Have any of you ever felt like this? What did you do in these situations? How do you deal with these people?

Secondly, with almost the same people, when they ask me to hang out with them and I can't because I have to work on my projects, it's always the same reaction I get.

On one side, I want to draw draw draw to reach my goals. I love drawing, it's my passion! I want to do this for a living! But sometimes, when I'm behind my drawing board and I look outside thinking ''I miss my friends, going out to have fun, meet girls and discover new things...'', I tend to feel lonely.

On the other side, I go out with my friends, have alot of fun but then in the middle of a night out, I'm thinking to myself ''Man, I have to get back to my drawing board because at this rate, I'll never get better at it...'' which makes me feel stressed about not reaching my goals.

Have this ever happenned to any of you? How should I deal with that?

Thanks for the help! (And sorry to be a bit depressing!)

[Black Spot]

Find some artist friends. Then you can hang out and think the same stuff.

If they think art is so easy ask them to draw you something like the Mona Lisa.

[Maledict]

I know this is kind of a weird first two questions that I'm posting but I need to ask since I've had this feeling for a while now. I'm probably not the only one who felt this but I need some advice.

First off, I have alot of friends who aren't artist at all. They just don't understand how it's like to do what we do. I tend to get looked down on because of stupid stereotypes of the lazy comptemporary artist who doesn't do much of his life. They keep thinking ''You're an artist, you've got plenty of time on your hands to do this stuff!'' OR (which is the worst) ''You're an artist! Drawing doesn't take that much time!'' GGGGRRRRRR!!!! I tried to explain to them that it's take alot of hard work and dedication to do good art but they just don't get it! Every time that I face these people and they ask me what I've been doing lately and that my answer is '' I've been working and drawing alot lately...'', they have this look on their face saying ''Wow, you are such a lazy bum.'' which makes me feel kind of worthless. I know that I shouldn't let that get to me but it just makes me feel sorry for myself.

Have any of you ever felt like this? What did you do in these situations? How do you deal with these people?

Secondly, with almost the same people, when they ask me to hang out with them and I can't because I have to work on my projects, it's always the same reaction I get.

On one side, I want to draw draw draw to reach my goals. I love drawing, it's my passion! I want to do this for a living! But sometimes, when I'm behind my drawing board and I look outside thinking ''I miss my friends, going out to have fun, meet girls and discover new things...'', I tend to feel lonely.

On the other side, I go out with my friends, have alot of fun but then in the middle of a night out, I'm thinking to myself ''Man, I have to get back to my drawing board because at this rate, I'll never get better at it...'' which makes me feel stressed about not reaching my goals.

Have this ever happenned to any of you? How should I deal with that?

Thanks for the help! (And sorry to be a bit depressing!)

Don't worry, everyone in their lives experiences this at some point. Some moreso than others. The principle underlying it is the same: misunderstanding and lack of empathy (Which, to me, is the most important and defining attribute a human being could have. That's what differentiates us from sociopaths).

As for how I "deal" with them, I either make a concerted attempt to have them understand me; educate them, or if those avenues are exhausted, and they are still as stubborn and ignorant as a donkey, I just leave.

Being the all-or-nothing sort that I am, I've lost a a number of "friends", with them doing the cutting off. One of the reasons I simply left the ca.org skype chat. As amusing as it was, trying to inform people that trying to understand the darker aspects of human nature, doesn't necessarily make you one of the monsters that you're fighting against, even long after gazing into the abyss for an eternity.

On the flip side, I also confirmed - if not gained - the people who're truly Friends to me, that I can rely on, and them me. Since everything you do says something about you, and attracts the same people who have the same principles and values, mine being: Bonafideness, generosity, kindness, warmth, compassion, and the ethos of, "Credit where credit is due; and criticism where criticism is due", and the part I lose friends over is the last one. Since lessons learned in blood are oft less forgotten, I take it to the extreme, and the results are sometimes scary. Contrapassicly, the opposite is also true.

So what can you do? Unfortunately, we can't help you there, except perhaps offer advice on the principles of things, which you can choose to accept or reject. You're going to have to be the one who does it, in the end. You'll fall, and you'll get back up, and you'll learn, and we'll be here to help.

[vineris]

Have any of you ever felt like this? What did you do in these situations? How do you deal with these people?

If my friends are just being clueless then I turn it into a joke. I'll either claim that my life as an unemployed bum is super-awesome and they should get in on this scam or I joke that they just surf for porn all day so they can't really criticize me.

If they're being mean then they're not really my friends and I limit my time with them.

On one side, I want to draw draw draw to reach my goals. I love drawing, it's my passion! I want to do this for a living! But sometimes, when I'm behind my drawing board and I look outside thinking ''I miss my friends, going out to have fun, meet girls and discover new things...'', I tend to feel lonely.

On the other side, I go out with my friends, have alot of fun but then in the middle of a night out, I'm thinking to myself ''Man, I have to get back to my drawing board because at this rate, I'll never get better at it...'' which makes me feel stressed about not reaching my goals.

Have this ever happenned to any of you? How should I deal with that?

You should set aside a night when you always go out with your friends, and then when you go out don't worry about the work you are missing. Inspiration comes from living life. If you always put life aside in order to improve, then when your skills are finally good enough you will find that you have nothing to say with them. This is especially true if you intend to do comics or some other form of visual storytelling. Without experiences of your own, you'll just copy what other artists have done and everything you do will be cliche and derivative.

Going out is training for the creative half of your mind.

[Star Eater]

My only artist friends are on these forums. I don't count the art supply store staff
even though they love me and my loyalty card.

You are gonna have to sacrifice some social time if you want to get serious. Turning
down parties and such for a deadline is common place. If they cant accept that, you
don't need them anyway.

[Lady Catalina]

Well, I know how it sort of feels what you're going through. What I think is those friends of yours may or may not think that way about you. If they do, they are not your friends. Your value and worthiness should not be wrapped up in people's approval of your life path. I would make a few exceptions in cases of trying to find work or being self-employed, but that's another topic. The point is life is too short to tuck your tail between your legs about what you're doing. *must take this advice*

[Rist]

I'm in a different situation. I feel like I'm losing interest in a lot of my friends because they aren't into art. I would love to have real life friends who liked art and did art. I think we just have to accept what our lives throws our way.

[JDSart]

I don't think the issue is with other people but with your own insecurities. Pretty much every post in this vein is. Just be comfortable with yourself, deal with wathever anxiety you have and maybe try to not separate people who don't do exactly the same as you like that because your not an alien after all.

[DefiledVisions]

I know this is kind of a weird first two questions that I'm posting but I need to ask since I've had this feeling for a while now. I'm probably not the only one who felt this but I need some advice.

First off, I have alot of friends who aren't artist at all. They just don't understand how it's like to do what we do. I tend to get looked down on because of stupid stereotypes of the lazy comptemporary artist who doesn't do much of his life. They keep thinking ''You're an artist, you've got plenty of time on your hands to do this stuff!'' OR (which is the worst) ''You're an artist! Drawing doesn't take that much time!'' GGGGRRRRRR!!!! I tried to explain to them that it's take alot of hard work and dedication to do good art but they just don't get it! Every time that I face these people and they ask me what I've been doing lately and that my answer is '' I've been working and drawing alot lately...'', they have this look on their face saying ''Wow, you are such a lazy bum.'' which makes me feel kind of worthless. I know that I shouldn't let that get to me but it just makes me feel sorry for myself.

Have any of you ever felt like this? What did you do in these situations? How do you deal with these people?

Secondly, with almost the same people, when they ask me to hang out with them and I can't because I have to work on my projects, it's always the same reaction I get.

On one side, I want to draw draw draw to reach my goals. I love drawing, it's my passion! I want to do this for a living! But sometimes, when I'm behind my drawing board and I look outside thinking ''I miss my friends, going out to have fun, meet girls and discover new things...'', I tend to feel lonely.

On the other side, I go out with my friends, have alot of fun but then in the middle of a night out, I'm thinking to myself ''Man, I have to get back to my drawing board because at this rate, I'll never get better at it...'' which makes me feel stressed about not reaching my goals.

Have this ever happenned to any of you? How should I deal with that?

Thanks for the help! (And sorry to be a bit depressing!)

I'll be blunt. You're insecure. You're more invested in what other people think about you and if they will accept you or not, than invested in yourself and that's what's dragging you down.

I saw a documentary the other day called 'At Night I Fly'. It's about inmates in the New Folsom prison, one of California's most maximum secured prisons, and their life. What's special about this documentary is that isn't the typical "this is how tough life is in prison". It's about an art project they have going on in the prison where the prisoners get to uncover and express themselves through poetry, music and other activities.

Out of the thousand guys in the prison, there's only a handful of them actually doing this. And that struck me so hard. It takes courage to stand up and express yourself, and commit to that regardless of what people think. People get killed for being themselves in prison. But that doesn't stop them. Most of the guys have life-sentences so they won't come out of prison ever. How do you find something to live for when you know you'll be in prison for the rest of your life and die there?

One man said that he found something to live for in himself. Because through that project he found his own voice for the first time. He got to express himself, the real self. He said that he'd seen some of the guys in the project read poetry out loud and he was so taken by it. They didn't care about what anyone else thought. They didn't care if they'd get threatened to death for sticking out. They didn't care if they went against the stream or disrupted the social structures of prison. They expressed themselves anyway. Because it was important to them. Because it mattered to them.

What I'm getting at is this. We take a huge risk committing to being ourselves. People might not like us. We might even be rejected. And most people make it about themselves when this happens: "Oh, this person rejected me. It must be because I am.." and then they internalize it and pain themselves. To most people, this is a risk not worth taking. So they stay quiet and still. They melt in and follow the stream.

We make ourselves vulnerable when we stand up and express to the world: 'This is me, take it or leave it. I do not worry if you'll accept me or not, and I do not care, because I am committed to myself and that is more important and no matter what you think, I know I can handle it.' There is tremendous power in being in your own core and expressing it.

Back to what you write. You can't control people and their opinions and thoughts about you, but you can control how you react to it and how you feel about yourself. This is not about what the people around you say about your choices, or them 'not getting it'. It has nothing to do with that. It's all about you. And the good thing is, you can do something about you.

It's actually good that you're feeling broken in half. This is life's way of waking you up and telling you it's time for you to start taking responsibility for yourself. Listen to it. Man up, maintain your boundaries. Commit to being you, always, no matter what. Never make excuses for doing what you want to do or for expressing your genuine self. If people don't like it, too bad. Ask yourself who you want to be and what you want to be doing and surround yourself with support that will help you in that direction. It's your responsibility. It's not about them 'not getting it', it's about you not getting you.

As for the conflict of interests. Again, you're not true to yourself. Something is lacking, and as long as it's not there, you won't find joy in your passion because it becomes a burden, and you won't find joy with friends because they can't fill the void you have created within yourself.

The truth would be to accept that yes, I have a passion and that is drawing. Yes, I do have goals, I want to grow as an artist and commit to that, and I am prepared to take complete responsibilityfor reaching those goals. If that means that I have to spend many hours for myself working on my craft, then yes, I am prepared to take responsibility and make some sacrifices. Why? Because it's important to me and because it matters to me. And I don't worry about others, because the more I accept myself, the more I can accept others, and that also means allowing them their opinions. I will, however, not let people step over my boundaries.

On the other hand though, you do not accept that there's more to life than your passion. As a perfectly imperfect human being you have other needs as well. You want to play, you want to enjoy yourself socially and 'live'. You need to feel intimate with others. Accept that. And for god's sake allow yourself the entirety of your life. What stops you from bringing a sketchbook to parties and drawing while spending time with friends? If anything, you'll be expressing a geunine part of yourself. You'll be interesting and unique, and you'll get ladies attention. Could it be more win? You also limit yourself by thinking that artistic growth only happens when you sit and draw. Take in the world around you. Look. Touch. Smell. Taste. Listen. What if every experience could help you grow as an artist? Do you believe it? Because it can.

Lastly, life is yours to live. Feeling broken is a part of that and it's your god-given right that no one can take away from you. It's important, because it tells you something about yourself and your needs. And you can handle it. As a person you're resourceful. No matter what life throws at you, you will find that you will learn something from it that will make you grow, and that you can take care of it.

I'm happy you've reached this point, because life is about to teach you something very valuable.

[-Tragedy-]

I'd take them to your studio and show them your working projects, and go "THERE... See that epic piece of art that is excreting nothing but epicness?!... That's taken 4 hours so far, now you try..."

They'll soon shut up.

Luckily one of my friends who I grew up with has somewhat the same passions, him more so games art, myself film art.
So I have always had someone.
My parents on the other hand still can't grasp that art/animation is an actual career and still think it's "silly"... -.-"

I think you should maybe do art lessons once a week or something?
You may have some around you, town hall or Not only will you be able to practice your art, but also potentially make new friends.

[Maledict]

I'll be blunt. You're insecure. You're more invested in what other people think about you and if they will accept you or not, than invested in yourself and that's what's dragging you down.

I saw a documentary the other day called 'At Night I Fly'. It's about inmates in the New Folsom prison, one of California's most maximum secured prisons, and their life. What's special about this documentary is that isn't the typical "this is how tough life is in prison". It's about an art project they have going on in the prison where the prisoners get to uncover and express themselves through poetry, music and other activities.

Out of the thousand guys in the prison, there's only a handful of them actually doing this. And that struck me so hard. It takes courage to stand up and express yourself, and commit to that regardless of what people think. People get killed for being themselves in prison. But that doesn't stop them. Most of the guys have life-sentences so they won't come out of prison ever. How do you find something to live for when you know you'll be in prison for the rest of your life and die there?

One man said that he found something to live for in himself. Because through that project he found his own voice for the first time. He got to express himself, the real self. He said that he'd seen some of the guys in the project read poetry out loud and he was so taken by it. They didn't care about what anyone else thought. They didn't care if they'd get threatened to death for sticking out. They didn't care if they went against the stream or disrupted the social structures of prison. They expressed themselves anyway. Because it was important to them. Because it mattered to them.

What I'm getting at is this. We take a huge risk committing to being ourselves. People might not like us. We might even be rejected. And most people make it about themselves when this happens: "Oh, this person rejected me. It must be because I am.." and then they internalize it and pain themselves. To most people, this is a risk not worth taking. So they stay quiet and still. They melt in and follow the stream.

We make ourselves vulnerable when we stand up and express to the world: 'This is me, take it or leave it. I do not worry if you'll accept me or not, and I do not care, because I am committed to myself and that is more important and no matter what you think, I know I can handle it.' There is tremendous power in being in your own core and expressing it.

Back to what you write. You can't control people and their opinions and thoughts about you, but you can control how you react to it and how you feel about yourself. This is not about what the people around you say about your choices, or them 'not getting it'. It has nothing to do with that. It's all about you. And the good thing is, you can do something about you.

It's actually good that you're feeling broken in half. This is life's way of waking you up and telling you it's time for you to start taking responsibility for yourself. Listen to it. Man up, maintain your boundaries. Commit to being you, always, no matter what. Never make excuses for doing what you want to do or for expressing your genuine self. If people don't like it, too bad. Ask yourself who you want to be and what you want to be doing and surround yourself with support that will help you in that direction. It's your responsibility. It's not about them 'not getting it', it's about you not getting you.

As for the conflict of interests. Again, you're not true to yourself. Something is lacking, and as long as it's not there, you won't find joy in your passion because it becomes a burden, and you won't find joy with friends because they can't fill the void you have created within yourself.

The truth would be to accept that yes, I have a passion and that is drawing. Yes, I do have goals, I want to grow as an artist and commit to that, and I am prepared to take complete responsibilityfor reaching those goals. If that means that I have to spend many hours for myself working on my craft, then yes, I am prepared to take responsibility and make some sacrifices. Why? Because it's important to me and because it matters to me. And I don't worry about others, because the more I accept myself, the more I can accept others, and that also means allowing them their opinions. I will, however, not let people step over my boundaries.

On the other hand though, you do not accept that there's more to life than your passion. As a perfectly imperfect human being you have other needs as well. You want to play, you want to enjoy yourself socially and 'live'. You need to feel intimate with others. Accept that. And for god's sake allow yourself the entirety of your life. What stops you from bringing a sketchbook to parties and drawing while spending time with friends? If anything, you'll be expressing a geunine part of yourself. You'll be interesting and unique, and you'll get ladies attention. Could it be more win? You also limit yourself by thinking that artistic growth only happens when you sit and draw. Take in the world around you. Look. Touch. Smell. Taste. Listen. What if every experience could help you grow as an artist? Do you believe it? Because it can.

Lastly, life is yours to live. Feeling broken is a part of that and it's your god-given right that no one can take away from you. It's important, because it tells you something about yourself and your needs. And you can handle it. As a person you're resourceful. No matter what life throws at you, you will find that you will learn something from it that will make you grow, and that you can take care of it.

I'm happy you've reached this point, because life is about to teach you something very valuable.

And the Conceptart.org 2012 award for most soul-searching and inspirational post goes to Defiled Visions.

[krysjez]

How do you deal with these people?

Remove yourself from them.
This isn't always workable, so I guess just know that the are people out there who appreciate what you do and how much effort it takes (i.e. us, among others).

On the other side, I go out with my friends, have alot of fun but then in the middle of a night out, I'm thinking to myself ''Man, I have to get back to my drawing board because at this rate, I'll never get better at it...'' which makes me feel stressed about not reaching my goals.

Enjoy going out and having fun! It's just one night out of many, and you can always do extra studies the next morning if you are so inclined.

[Ryuartyi]

Have any of you ever felt like this? What did you do in these situations? How do you deal with these people?

You can't let that affect you. You know what you have to do to make art and the time that it takes. If you have to, find some friends who are into art or at least understand the creative process. It would be a step up for your morale and overall well-being to do so.

Have this ever happenned to any of you? How should I deal with that?

I try to keep my socializing time to a minimum, but I suggest that you go out and see your friends and the world for at least a little while, even if it's once per week or a few times a month. New experiences or simply just a breather is very crucial to avoid burning out.

Trust me, I know how it is to try to balance this, and I'm still trying to get it all worked out. Just don't ask me how to find the energy to draw and paint after eleven hours of work. That I'm still trying to solve

[Shorinji_Knight]

I'll be blunt. You're insecure. You're more invested in what other people think about you and if they will accept you or not, than invested in yourself and that's what's dragging you down.

I saw a documentary the other day called 'At Night I Fly'. It's about inmates in the New Folsom prison, one of California's most maximum secured prisons, and their life. What's special about this documentary is that isn't the typical "this is how tough life is in prison". It's about an art project they have going on in the prison where the prisoners get to uncover and express themselves through poetry, music and other activities.

Out of the thousand guys in the prison, there's only a handful of them actually doing this. And that struck me so hard. It takes courage to stand up and express yourself, and commit to that regardless of what people think. People get killed for being themselves in prison. But that doesn't stop them. Most of the guys have life-sentences so they won't come out of prison ever. How do you find something to live for when you know you'll be in prison for the rest of your life and die there?

One man said that he found something to live for in himself. Because through that project he found his own voice for the first time. He got to express himself, the real self. He said that he'd seen some of the guys in the project read poetry out loud and he was so taken by it. They didn't care about what anyone else thought. They didn't care if they'd get threatened to death for sticking out. They didn't care if they went against the stream or disrupted the social structures of prison. They expressed themselves anyway. Because it was important to them. Because it mattered to them.

What I'm getting at is this. We take a huge risk committing to being ourselves. People might not like us. We might even be rejected. And most people make it about themselves when this happens: "Oh, this person rejected me. It must be because I am.." and then they internalize it and pain themselves. To most people, this is a risk not worth taking. So they stay quiet and still. They melt in and follow the stream.

We make ourselves vulnerable when we stand up and express to the world: 'This is me, take it or leave it. I do not worry if you'll accept me or not, and I do not care, because I am committed to myself and that is more important and no matter what you think, I know I can handle it.' There is tremendous power in being in your own core and expressing it.

Back to what you write. You can't control people and their opinions and thoughts about you, but you can control how you react to it and how you feel about yourself. This is not about what the people around you say about your choices, or them 'not getting it'. It has nothing to do with that. It's all about you. And the good thing is, you can do something about you.

It's actually good that you're feeling broken in half. This is life's way of waking you up and telling you it's time for you to start taking responsibility for yourself. Listen to it. Man up, maintain your boundaries. Commit to being you, always, no matter what. Never make excuses for doing what you want to do or for expressing your genuine self. If people don't like it, too bad. Ask yourself who you want to be and what you want to be doing and surround yourself with support that will help you in that direction. It's your responsibility. It's not about them 'not getting it', it's about you not getting you.

As for the conflict of interests. Again, you're not true to yourself. Something is lacking, and as long as it's not there, you won't find joy in your passion because it becomes a burden, and you won't find joy with friends because they can't fill the void you have created within yourself.

The truth would be to accept that yes, I have a passion and that is drawing. Yes, I do have goals, I want to grow as an artist and commit to that, and I am prepared to take complete responsibilityfor reaching those goals. If that means that I have to spend many hours for myself working on my craft, then yes, I am prepared to take responsibility and make some sacrifices. Why? Because it's important to me and because it matters to me. And I don't worry about others, because the more I accept myself, the more I can accept others, and that also means allowing them their opinions. I will, however, not let people step over my boundaries.

On the other hand though, you do not accept that there's more to life than your passion. As a perfectly imperfect human being you have other needs as well. You want to play, you want to enjoy yourself socially and 'live'. You need to feel intimate with others. Accept that. And for god's sake allow yourself the entirety of your life. What stops you from bringing a sketchbook to parties and drawing while spending time with friends? If anything, you'll be expressing a geunine part of yourself. You'll be interesting and unique, and you'll get ladies attention. Could it be more win? You also limit yourself by thinking that artistic growth only happens when you sit and draw. Take in the world around you. Look. Touch. Smell. Taste. Listen. What if every experience could help you grow as an artist? Do you believe it? Because it can.

Lastly, life is yours to live. Feeling broken is a part of that and it's your god-given right that no one can take away from you. It's important, because it tells you something about yourself and your needs. And you can handle it. As a person you're resourceful. No matter what life throws at you, you will find that you will learn something from it that will make you grow, and that you can take care of it.

I'm happy you've reached this point, because life is about to teach you something very valuable.

^^^It's a bit of a wall of text, but he's right.^^^
Stop letting other people define you. There will always be someone to treats you this way. It is your choice as to how this effects you.

[Raoul Duke]

Most of my friends are cool with me doing art. They don't enjoy looking at art as intensely as us artists, but It's like having a serious musician for a friend. When the topic of music comes up they go on some tangent about musicianship that only a musician understands.

Personally I have a hard time making artist friends, because aside from art much of the time we have nothing in common. I tried it a few times and nobody likes to drink and one out of ten is going to fucking lecture me about my smoking. So when I want to talk about art CA is a great place. Last years MB workshop was an exception to the rule.

[egerie]

JDSart and DefiledVisions adressed the core of the problem. Once you fix that at the source, you can move forward.
For your friends, "things are what they appear to be". When you'll have turned that self-esteem around, communicate with them. Represent yourself as a serious artist hard working on sharpening his skills. Most importantly, educate them. "I've been practicing my atmospheric perspective as well as deep anatomy knowledge, etc."
Having a good work / life balance will make you a better artist. Nurture your inspiration by going out too. It's gonna be your fuel.

[SandyMan]

I had the same problem some time ago but resolved it. Its not that hard. First of all, dont pay attention to your friends. They are your friends, sure, but they don't understand what you are doing therefore their opinion is invalid.

Educate yourself in fields other than art; take interest in politics, religion, science, history, current events, etc. and take in some new culture. Do it for yourself. My best friend from high school lives in a popular fraternity here in Toronto, and ive met several UFT student through him......a lot of them being a bunch of lazy lards who have a couple of classes a week and do nothing other than party and work out. A bunch of pretty ignorant folks. Not all of them are like that, but distinguish yourself from those types of people and show that you are not lazy; it's really not too hard.

Also, learn how to take breaks from art. You cant just draw all day; your eyes will always be tired. If its sunny and nice out, go out for an hour or too and come back refreshed from it to do more work. Run a few miles every day, buy a few weights and train yourself at home. Training releases endorphines which in turn make you feel energized and happy, and also stimulate your sex drive which is always nice when you have a girlfriend.

For the socializing part; find a local art student community that does life drawing together with a model. You'll find some mad hotties and these events, I GUARANTEE THIS. I went to a couple life drawing sessions around TO and ive already met a bunch of friendly people, both men and women from these events. I won't deny that the art student's life is very buisy and frustrating at times, but you have to learn how to make the best out of your schedule andCARPE FUCKING DIEM.

[browntear]

I pretty much agree with everything that's being said, just wanted to add my own two personal cents. I have friends that understand that art takes time and hard work and ones that don't (even after trying to explain). For the ones that don't, when I tell them I can't hang out tonight because I'm drawing, I just accept that they don't get it. I'm sure there are millions of things I won't understand in my life, so I just accept that this is one of those things that they won't understand, and I move on. The times I do hang out with friends AND kinda feel guilty about not drawing, I just make sure I'm in observation mode. I notice my friend's faces, gestures, the environment I'm in, buildings, strangers we see, fashion, etc. And I bring a camera to capture anything I might want to use/draw/reference later.

[Legrosclown]

Wow!

Thank you very much everyone! I didn't expect this much responses but thank you very much for your help!

I have to clarify a few things: I DO have artist friends! And they DO help me, motivate me and let me enjoy my art. It's just that there was a students strike at my school that lasted for 7 months which in turn made that I barely even seen my artists friends. And now that school restarted, we have to catch up the for the time we lost within 6 weeks. I in turn decided not to return to school now and just way until the semester I was in starts so I can start all over again. Which again, makes me not see them often. So, I'm almost by my self in my art right now and the only friends that I see the most these days are NON-artist friends. I gave myself projects to do so I still get my art going.

I guess that's why I posted this here and I have to admit that I do have self-esteem issues that came up when I started seeing my non-artist friends more often. I have to say, some of them, I don't really consider them as friends, just aquiances I see often. During those months, I had to finaly face personnal issues that I've been ignoring for too long so I went to therapy. I guess I also wanted the opinion of people that are more like me.

The other day, I went to school to visit my artist friends and they were very happy to see me again and showed them what I've been working on lately which made me feel good. I should go see them more often!

Anyway, thanks for the help! I start posting my stuff here soon!

[LMAshton]

First off, I have alot of friends who aren't artist at all. They just don't understand how it's like to do what we do. I tend to get looked down on because of stupid stereotypes of the lazy comptemporary artist who doesn't do much of his life. They keep thinking ''You're an artist, you've got plenty of time on your hands to do this stuff!'' OR (which is the worst) ''You're an artist! Drawing doesn't take that much time!'' GGGGRRRRRR!!!! I tried to explain to them that it's take alot of hard work and dedication to do good art but they just don't get it! Every time that I face these people and they ask me what I've been doing lately and that my answer is '' I've been working and drawing alot lately...'', they have this look on their face saying ''Wow, you are such a lazy bum.'' which makes me feel kind of worthless. I know that I shouldn't let that get to me but it just makes me feel sorry for myself.

This isn't an artist thing. It happens to anyone who works from home, works non-traditional hours, or that sort of thing. I got it as a self-employed accountant working from home. My husband gets it as a self-employed programmer. And I've heard this same thing from pretty much anyone (writers, photographers, graphic artists, programmers, computer technicians, stay-at-home moms...) and everyone who's self-employed and works from home or otherwise doesn't do traditional work from an office with traditional hours. People tend to not understand those who work in non-traditional ways.

[Izi]

I have completely overhauled my "friends" several times over the past few years....and my enemies. It's part of creating a good battleplan. You just cast what's not working aside and move on to the next agenda. Now it doesn't mean you have to be rude or anything....but people really do drift apart, and if you are not willing to allow that to happen you can damage yourself and others as well.

[Dr Charbonneau]

Black spot gave you the best advice. "Birds of a feather flock together."

As for understanding? Absolutely. I have learned over the years to explain to the ones who want to judge the finished painting by the thumbnail sketch how Leonardo DaVinci would have handled it.

Leo would have politely walked them over to his ornithopter prototype and let them take it for a glide and a flap. When they ask him how to come back, he's slap his head and yell after them that they have to wait for the Wright Brothers to invent wing warping.

Remember the cynical, sardonic mind is a formidable flame broiler. The rest are uncooked hamburger.

Dr. C.

[Maledict]

Birds of a feather flock together."

"So do pigs and swine. Rats and mice have their chance, as well as I have mine."

[Dr Charbonneau]

Maybe poets too?
Tons of writing,
So inviting,
Waiting in the loo.