My response to "haters"

Recently we've met a few people who have decided that body artists aren't "real" artists. I have friends who do Magic card and fantasy illustration for high end books and we have a lot of respect for what each other does. There are always those that, well...if it doesn't take months for the oils to dry it isn't "real".

And then there are those who say this isn't a "real" job. Actually, I found out one of my artists said to a client, "Oh, this is my fun job. My real job is...". I came down hard on her for that. One of my artists has a landlady who is miserable in her job and she keeps telling him this isn't real, and he needs to find a real job.

It's rare but it's been happening. I put a response to them on my (private) Facebook page and thought I would share it with all of you.

"Okay. *deep breath*
To those people who have said what my crew and myself do "is not REAL art". Take a piece of canvas, put it around a balloon so it has curve and give, set it on an agitator so that it moves. Now. Paint something beautiful, or scary, or interesting- make it look really good and recognizable. Oh, and do it fast. Like, really fast. Go ahead, try it. That big, lovely canvas painting that took you weeks? I do it on a body in hours. It looks just as good and I am just as proud of it as you are yours, only then I watch as it washes down the drain. Not an art? Go suck a 1k year old egg.

To those people who have said to us "that isn't a REAL job". Every time I pick up a phone I am doing customer service, booking, filling out forms and excel sheets. I do scheduling, accounting, HR, payroll. That's before we get to an event.
You know those people at the customer service desk who have to answer questions for their entire 8 hr shift, in air conditioning? We do this EXACT same job, to a line of people who are waiting for an hour or more- while we are decorating one person every 5 minutes at the same time. And we have to be funny and upbeat to entertain them to keep them from walking away. Oh did I mention we are doing this 10 hours or more a day, outside in the heat and humidity? Or rain and wind? We have hundreds of pounds of stuff to transport, set-up and take down. We are cashiers, customer service, service technicians, entertainers and problem solving multitaskers all in one. Not a job? Kiss a yak, will ya?

The way I see it, these people are simply jealous. Sure we work our butts off in crazy conditions but we get to go to work knowing that we get to do what we love, art, and NOTHING beats the look on someone's face when they love that art, or hug us for it. Well, almost nothing. "

Btw, I'm in an art show tonight so for those "not an art" people, they can doubly kiss my bum!

Over the years I have worked as a magician, mind reader, tarot reader, makeup artist, variety performer, own a publishing company and more... Basically, unless you punch a time clock, and are as miserable as most of the critics... they don't consider it a real job.

I'm ok with the fact that they are envious!

I have to say that no one ever said anything to be when I did circus and sideshow arts, or bellydance. I wonder if it's because I used swords, fire, laid on a bed of nails, danced in broken glass and danced with snakes?
Hmmmm...
Maybe.

Dear Lynnie:
I think the whole art world has to be more respectful, in general.
I do get a LOT of joy out of face painting.
I wonder if it is because of all the obstacles you mentioned above in order to be able to create a work of beauty, or, creepiness.
I was told quite a few times that I was not a "real" artist, because I was only copying what I saw. I do not know why another artist would choose to say that to my face. I would never say that to another artist, whatever the genre.
Out of all the mediums I have painted in...
Face Painting is my all time favorite.
It IS an art.
An ever-evolving art, that creates joy and happiness.

Here is one of my oil portraits that was painted from life,
and I worked really hard on. This is a piece that an abstract artist told me that I "wasn't a REAL artist because I was only copying what I saw". I wonder if others feel unhappy, so when they see another artist happy, they feel obligated to tear us down. Ignore the mean voices. (Even if they are in my own head, sometimes.)


Have a Happy Art Show tonight, Lynnie!
xoxox

I'd just tell people "I laugh all the way to the bank after a good festival, with my pile of REAL money."

I spent 8 years in art school and honestly, I consider many things to be art. I have a carpenter whose work on my house is an art. The electrician who wired my house is an artist at his work. Just about anything one does extremely well can be an art.

I'd take a fun job over a "real" job any day...

I do have a 9-5 job, so face painting is something I do to keep busy on weekends. I don't depend on it for income whatsoever, it's more of a creative release and helps me feel like I'm doing something productive. I get really bored on weekends when I'm not face painting.

With that said, I don't have any doubt in my mind that face and body art IS a real job and CAN be a career! Plus it's 1000x more fun and rewarding than most jobs out there.

Honestly, most of what most of us paint in re to face art and some body art is not art as defined by the art world. When I am out slamming 3 or 5 minute faces it is not art. I am a formula painter who uses the same designs each season. Ok the swirls and curls may vary but it's formula for speed. And once in awhile I get to create art on someone's face. Now my friend Robbie Hay never paints the same thing twice, she has a true artists soul.

When I body paint in studio I am creating true art. But really if I am body painting a logo it's not art.

But if folks make those comments point out that not everything they do in their business as an artist is also art, sometimes we just have to man the store so to speak, and sometimes we are blessed to create art.

FessPenter, your oil painting is lovely-Wow! .....And you guys, don't take it to heart, its art and its fun and it brings so much joy to people. If you enjoy it, don't let anyone ruin it with stupid selfish comments- just keep on spreading the joy...

Those kind of people are exactly what you said " HATERS". I just paint for fun because I have no real artistic talent and if there's anything I envy of you all is the talent and the ability to make a living at doing what you enjoy. All of you who do so are truly bless.

One of my favorite lines is.... "Criticism is easier than Creativity."

I'm a professional and I'm making money in the art world. That's more to be said than many a starving artist. It's sooooo hard to break into the art world because it's so hard to create beautiful pieces that people will pay a lot money for and hang in their homes. And it seems like there is a lot of politics involved...who you know, where you are shown...not your talent. I know a fabulous painter that is as good as any Master and he struggles just to make a living.

But you know what...I can be a fabulous face painter and be called an artist a dozen times a weekend and I love it.

D.

Does anyone here really care what non face painters think about our job as long as they keep hiring us? I sure don't.

debranewmanart- I LOVE that like.... Criticism is easier than creativity! Stealing that.... adding to my Dean-isms.

The only thing about it that doesn't make it a "real" job is that it's hard (if not impossible) to pay the bills with only face painting. I would not be able to support myself or my family on what I make as a face painter. Thankfully, my husband makes enough to support our family and I can use the income as "extra." But of course I consider it not only a real job, but a very skilled job.

But Geez, most people are more impressed by what I do than a canvas painting because they realized I have to be FASTER and deal with wiggly kids. I haven't really run across that kind of "haters" around here. Lucky me I guess.

Bwa ha ha..."go suck a 1 year old egg" and "kiss a yak"...made me laugh out loud...gotta remember those lines! ;-) Love your post...couldn't agree more. People who say they "can't even draw a stick person" still have no clue what goes into anything artistic, no matter what the medium or "canvas." I still remember my mom who was doing a demo at our county fair, painting in acrylics on masonite. She does photorealistic AMAZING paintings (rolliebrandt.com), is published by Wild Wings, has calendars made every year of her art among other things... and as she was painting at the demo and looking at her reference photos (which she also shoots herself) some guy says, "Oooh, she uses a PICTURE!" Aha! As if he just discovered the "trick" to creating acrylic paintings that look like a photo. Sheesh...some people are totally clueless. I have many customers who ask me, "is this your JOB?" (um, yeah, I run my own business, hire out my own contractors, build and maintain my own website, create my own branding, invoices, contracts, booth design, etc etc...Don't get me started...)

And we all most add how jealous people are that everywhere we go and with every client, at every venue we always recive " wow!!, haaaa!!!, that is fantastic!!, I love it!!! you have a gift!!" all of them with a happy face every time we work, do everybody recive that at their jobs from each of their cutomers?, and actually when they say " I will like to be moster, do you need the pic to draw it- (me) no that is ok I will make you look like a real one-(client) ho!! I though you may need it, you are a real artist" so dont fell angry because of those few people we know that we are grate artist, our job is honest, we are grate people and grate workers, and always with an smile in our faces!!

leapinglizards wrote:Over the years I have worked as a magician, mind reader, tarot reader, makeup artist, variety performer, own a publishing company and more... Basically, unless you punch a time clock, and are as miserable as most of the critics... they don't consider it a real job.

I'm ok with the fact that they are envious!

So... You can never say to someone in agitation... "It's not like I'm a mind reader?!"
Sorry, couldn't resist...

When you work on canvas or most other art, you can walk away for days & then come back & finish. Not the case when painting a body. My canvas needs to eat, pee, stretch, is always breathing, has small fine hairs all over it, sweats, moves, sometimes tries to talk & text (hate this & discourage it as much as possible), has a personality you must learn to work with (can be temperamental:-), and so many more challenges you can't imagine.