How Derailment Can Start at an early age.
That’s me at age seven, painting Plein Air with my classmates, second from left, while my father was a missionary in Malaysia.
Have you always wanted to draw or paint? Do you have a feeling, the interest, even a compelling desire to do art? Perhaps you did art when you were young, maybe even followed it through high school or college, but something got you off track or actually derailed your path.
I have been teaching derailed artists for the last 25 years. I became one myself, more than once, so I can totally relate. I think that’s why I enjoy teaching derailed or delayed artists. I have had to navigate this myself, so in many ways I’m sharing my own journey in the hopes that it will help yours.
Along the way, something often stops artists. It might happen during childhood; a well-meaning teacher may have criticized their work, maybe given them a bad grade. Perhaps no one ever took the time to encourage them; the creative side can be very fragile.
If a person continues on through school, once they hit high school are asked to get serious, then questioned about their plan.
“What are you going to do with this art thing? Are you planning to make a living? How are you going to do this? Everyone knows you can’t make a living? How will you support yourself?”
For the artist, this can be daunting and discouraging. Then they might meet with a school counselor trying to find a career to match their interest, taking the love of art and trying to place it within a profession. Oftentimes, students are directed towards graphic design or graphic art; it has the word art in it, so must be the same thing? They might suggest fields in the digital world of illustration or animation, which is an avenue that appears to be growing, but does it fit the kind of art you want to produce? Just because it involves the visual arts, one size doesn’t fit all. A search then begins to put this creative thing into a practical box.
If the student is still determined to pursue art, they might be steered towards a very expensive accredited school, resulting in a large student debt that is beyond the reach of the life of most artists. The creatives at this point start dropping off; they start looking for a new plan.
I have faced all these decisions myself and ended up enrolling in a wonderful art school, The School of The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, to only complete the first year. Guess what? Life showed up for me too, literally. I had married young, and traded in my dream of a future in the arts for a 7lb 14 oz bundle of joy. Although having children has been the best part of my life, as far as my art was concerned, it represented my longest derailment.
People begin raising children, seeking work or careers that are more secure or predictable, perhaps family obligations, caretaking. I could go through a list of so many things that will create a stall, but the years pass, and they are now down the road; suddenly, the derailed artist finds that they are finally open to getting back to it. Not only did the dream never go away; it turns out it was sitting on their shoulders the entire time.
Now the children are raised and gone, their career changes, or they retire; suddenly they have a window to assess the coming chapters of their life. How to get back, how to overcome the fears that follow us. What if their love for art has changed? What if they are not any good? What if it’s too late?
These thoughts are a compilation of many observations I’ve had over 25 years of teaching derailed or delayed artists. Even though I will include some technical lessons in art, the focus is not about how to do it with color theories, technique, or observations on composition, not the technical side of things, but the human side. The hopes, fears, and dreams in the hearts of those who carry the need to get back to it, and the beautiful paintings that will be created.
The derailed artist is someone who has the creative art spirit. They always knew it and felt it. Their hopes and dreams were to learn to paint and draw, maybe become an artist one day. But life showed up with complicated obligations, and perhaps the opportunity to pursue it got off track. After many years, the dream never went away. The what-if, if only, sits on their shoulders, haunting them to come back.
Expectation
Pastel . 9 x 12” . Pat Thompson