What is your day job?

Erika_wakirestudio

Is your art your sole source of income or even a part of it? And if you work at a different job for 40 hours a week (or more) when do you make time to paint? 

Kaustav

I am a research analyst and a manager in the same. Over 50 hours of work in a week. Paintings happen only after that, but the mental process is active 'only' all the time. A lot of things improved due to change in the thinking process, which supplanted absence of quality practice time.

dencal

Erika

A retired archaeologist in heritage conservation. I loved my job, but I love retirement much better.
My income is from investment and I do art most days as a casual hobby.

Denis

tassieguy

Retired lawyer. Like Denis, I'm enjoying retirement more than I did my office and the courts. I am a self funded retiree. I started painting only about a year ago and have never sold a painting but am hoping that will change soon. I paint for between six and eight hours nearly every day including weekends  which means there's not much time to look after the farm on which I live but I have help with that. Painting is what gets me up in the morning.

michalis

I am working for the Greek Coast Guard between 40 and sometimes up to 60 hours per week. I currently have a 9 months leave of abscence ''child raising'' for my little boy . So I have at least 4 hours a day to paint. When I' ll come back on duty.....4 hours a week will be a dream

broker12

I've been painting for 30 years, the first 10 of which were at nights and early mornings until I retired 20 years ago.  Since then, I paint mornings six days a week.

Since retiring, I've been so busy I've often wondered how I ever had time to work.

rautchetan

I am a software professional trying to make his way into the art world,I can paint only on weekends ( ) because its really difficult to find sufficient time from the job on weekdays,So I try to learn about drawings,paintings on weekdays and implement them on weekends.Thanks  

BOB73

My day job is what I come here to escape from. Never tried to make a living as an artist. I don't get to paint much but hope to in the future. Renovating my house is stalled because there is no room for my stuff and my grown daughters' (living with me) furniture and things.

WIKEN

I have been a full time ER nurse since 1995. Painting is enjoyable, but I have no plans to make any substantial income from my works.  I am not a business person, and I can leave things undone for months, until the mood hits me.  

Forgiveness

I have been "acting landlord" and superintendent 20 hours a month paid + being always on call for a 137 year old house, 14 units since year 2000 in the very heart of downtown where much activity is (not fun at all, very frustrating). Been an artist all my life, never been able to make a living at it, not many sales in my past. The best I've been able to do in art is; rendering chalk art (realism) on the streets for 9 years, first 4 years of this were fantastic in every way, but not after this at all (crash!), and have fantastic photos of each piece that I may include my poetry that I may publish sometime. Been retraining to paint in oil Mark Carder Method since Dec. 2016 and enjoying myself and restructuring my studio. I paint in the middle of night, morning and afternoons, rarely in the evening.

RonHop

Registered Nurse (ER) for 6 years, machinist prior to that (6 years), billboard artist prior to that (7 years), Hardees cook prior to that (3 months). Would love to move towards painting full time, but other obligations make it seem to dicey for now. Just have to find joy in it for now

davelander

I'm in the Army, I've been active military for 12+ years, I paint as a hobby for now, but it would be nice one day to sell some paintings.

kimNZ

Wow....how interesting to know about you all. I am an office worker..40 plus hours....children grown up...play golf and badminton and love gardening...painting is a hobby.....I want to paint like William Adolphe Bouguereau...boy have I got a long way to go

broker12

Before I retired, I owned and operated a pawnshop, a jewelry store, a gold refinery and a jewelry design, manufacturing and repair, and painted at night and early morning.  After retiring, I paint full time, and I'm so busy I wonder how I ever had time to work.

Summer

Housewife and homemaker with a five-year BFA degree in Fine Arts.  I'm steeped in all things fine art every day in my studio with some on-going projects taking years.  Very nice to be here and with you all. 

BOB73

@kimNZ, William Adolphe Bouguereau; a master of light and shadow. You've chosen well for an artist to emulate. We all have a long way to go to get to his level.

MeganS

My day job is to keep house that's regularly destroyed by four kids aged 6-14. I also renovate the house. I'm a serious DIY'er. I also paint during the day and late into the night. My after school is packed really tight with mom duties but I still find time to teach class at the local art center and coach diving for the high school during the off season three times a week. I take on pretty much any commission that comes my way. I have an inquiry for being a book illustrator tomorrow. I even picked up watercolor last week...something I haven't done since high school. I'm currently painting a Vanagon with bikes on the back (in oils). LOL. 

I do have a BA in studio arts, but never worked in the art field until recently. I've worked as a scrub tech for labor and delivery for 7 years, gymnastics coach for 6 years, and now finally trying my hand at painting. I'm liking it. I do feel the push to make some money recently since my husband's job security is a little rocky. I'm positive he'll find a new job, it just feels like I should be doing something. 

Richard_P

Amazing @MeganS!

BOB73

I need @MeganS at my house for renovations and running roughshod over my 21 and 26 year old un-coachable daughters. 

MikeDerby

26 years with a multi-national bank in big data, risk management and now finance.  Ridiculous stress but no more hours than any of you.  Serious hobbyist for all of that including offshore fishing, guitar, woodworking, gardening and now painting.  All meant to relieve the stress and ease the tension between my temples.  Sometimes it works, painting best of all.  Painted my first portrait in Jan 2016.  Painted the first one I showed anyone May a year ago.  Then I found Mark and Lizzie was the result.  The goal is to paint my own Vermeer, and not a copy.  Maybe even more than one.  

Richard_P

Sounds good! Which Vermeer?

BOB73

Do the one with the girl at the keyboard-face in the mirror. That patterned cloth in the foreground will take a long time to paint You'll need to start before you are twelve to finish it in your life time.

MikeDerby

Too late Bob, Tim Jenison did it.  Took him three years and cost millions.  I will go the cheaper route and paint my own genre pictures.  Richard I don't have the time or patience to copy someone else's work.  I take my inspiration from Vermeer but not his compositions

NanaBean

I'm a research interviewer for a long term health care study. I'm 55 but I have no clue what I want to do when I grow up. For now I do this, I'm good at it and it's a pretty good gig for me.

svelasque4s1

I am a school guidance counselor and mental health therapist.  Usually i'm constricted in time to paint, so my best foot goes forward when i do have time for it.  

KLB

Pediatrician.  Painting is the new hobby, but my 10 year old little girl is always asking to paint with me, and she is so creative it keeps me going.  

JeffAllen

I actually went to art school in the early 90's and worked in TV for a while, as an athletic trainer and then got into the medical imaging equipment industry (have done this for about 20 years).  I was disillusioned at the end of art school because I didn't think they taught me anything.  Started painting again recently because my current interest in powerlifting (which I have been doing for probably 30 years) is something that my body as I get older is starting to not like me for and I felt i needed to start doing something that won't keep sending back to the orthopedic surgeon.  As for my goals with painting, I don't know.  I don't really care about selling work or even putting a show together.  That may change some day.  I do have to say that this site is awesome because i get to be around (virtually) with other people that have an interest in painting.  I get to critique others' work and if I get stuck and need advice I have a bunch of people I can ask.  I can tell you that you guys are way nicer than the art school environment

PaulB

I am a Research Software Engineer, I work 40 hours a week, and it is my sole source of income.  In my free time I work in Open Source software, and paint.  I'm spending half the weekend, and perhaps 2+ hours each night painting, so it has become the dominant hobby.  With my daughter off to college, I now have a "studio" (a chair covered in paint).  I have no hope of ever selling paintings, but I sure would like to sell one, one day.

I started by attempting a hundred paintings to see if all this practice is really paying off for me.  So far, inconclusive, but I've stopped caring whether I actually get there, and I'm really enjoying the stress-free meditation time that painting is giving me.

Currently selecting a photographic subject for my DMP #1, now that I have enough materials.  I'm hoping to spend a week with Mr Carder in the future, which is my idea of an amazing vacation.

Roxy

What an absolutely fascinating group of people! Myself I'm a scientist, and work for a large government research organisation. I'm trained as an ecologist, but now spend most of my time writing computer models of ecosystems rather than enjoying them in the flesh. I took art at high school which I loved, and promised myself when I decided upon the science path that I would return to it someday (that was 30 yrs ago). It seems that day has come. I've drawn sporadically over the years, and have always dabbled in photography, but have only just started painting after being inspired by Mark C and the good folk on this forum. I only get a few hours per week to paint, but I'm always trying to sneak in an extra half hour here and there. I'm looking forward to finishing my first painting. And then the next. And then the next, ...

tassieguy

Love science! It's all I read these days. I have always regretted not being able to do it. Law is so damned boring!
@Roxy, I'm just now reading E.O Wilson's latest. I've read just about everything he's written. Ecology is fascinating.  We still understand so little about how the living world works. We don't even have a good idea of how many species exist and we seem hell bent on driving them to extinction before we even know of them. Let's have more science. And art.

Roxy

Couldn't agree more @tassieguy. I have always thought art and science are closely related - they are both inherently creative pursuits. I suspect da Vinci would have agreed. E.O. Wilson is a giant.

A_Abaev

I'm a VBA programmer and database administrator, I work 40 hours a week, this is my main job. I also administer an online store and do small web freelancing. I dedicate one of the two days off to painting. Sometimes a couple of hours in the evening on weekdays. I began to paint purely for practical purposes.  If you make paintings, you will never have to think about what to give to your relatives on their birthday. Finally, I gave everything and I do not have any of my pictures. But I'm not sad about it. The process, the result and the fact that I can create something beautiful and make people happy gives me great pleasure

Weatherford

Writer & composer. Also horse breeder, but I just manage to breed them not sell them (so far...) (They all get sick or go lame before they are sold...)

BOB73

All teachers are alike aren't they?

Be_Forbes

I became a full-time artist since before I taught myself to paint. When I informed my father during dinner that I was going to be a full-time artist, he paused, dropped his fork on his plate, and said, "But son, you have never painted." I, literally, taught myself "in the saddle." I painted watercolors and sold them to doctor and dentist offices by literally cold-calling on them. Paintings that were under $100 sold in volume and I painted a TON of them--a brush in one hand and a blow dryer in the other. I was making as much as my friends just out of college with professional jobs ... while learning new watercolor techniques and tricks. I'm glad I was young and far too dumb to  understand how brazen that was. 

edavison

Great thread, it's really neat getting insight into people's lives outside of painting. Painting is just a hobby for me right now, someday I would love to do it as a living though. 

For about four years now I've worked in the Meat Department of Wegmans (a northeast USA grocery chain) 40-50 hours a week. I have some IT experience though so I'm in the process of looking for a job in that field. 

Bancroft414

My day job: 30 years as a social worker -- much of it in the trenches -- more recently as a senior social services administrator.  The focus of my career has been helping people with disabilities and frail elders access what they need to live in more connected and more integrated communities -- and helping those who are helping them not dismiss individuals' potential for independence.  It's been a great ride and although I am thoroughly enjoying taking the summer off, with twins starting college this fall, I have a long way to go before I can think about retiring!  

Painting: I'm just learning to paint (just finished painting #8!) so for now it's absolutely just a hobby.  If I can get significantly better I look forward to seeing where it takes me.

BOB73

@Bancroft414 When I was younger and even as a kid I can remember enjoying being around elders. I delivered news papers to a few nursing homes. One of them was the last stop on my route and I could get orange juice and rest a little while. They loved talking to me and I listened. They told me stories and wanted to know about by family or school work. It has always bothered me that they aren't treated with more respect. So let me say thank you to you for trying to help their situation.

Richard_P

BOB73 said:

So let me say thank you to you for trying to help their situation.

We are always happy to help you..

BOB73

Thanks @Richard_P, I don't enjoy hanging out with elders as much as I did when I was younger. Now I am an elder too and mostly they want to talk about our various infirmities. Actually what I wanted to say in response to your comment was about respect. I keep visiting because of all the mutual respect here. Moreso here than any forum I know of.

Bancroft414

Thank you @BOB73.  Vulnerable people of all stripes and ages need our collective compassion and patience, and advocacy.  As for the forum, I couldn't agree more!!  This is a humble, authentic, and supportive group.  

BOB73

I'd rather be classified as Venerable with assorted vulnerabilities.

Sanvean

I had my own practice as a natural therapist after I had studied medicine. Two years ago I had to give it up cause of my cancer.
That is why I have so much time to get into arts :-) and to learn with patience.

nagantino

Retired teacher. Which subject? Art. But, when you teach Art the last thing you want to do in the ending is paint. Loved teaching, love retirement better. 

jpaxson

Software developer for last 25 years or so.  40-50 hrs\week. Husband\father\grandfather.  4 children (2 still at home) and 2 grandchildren.  I would rather stick ice picks in my ears than write another line of code, but at my age no one will pay me to do anything else .  I try hard, but mostly fail, to work art in whenever time permits.  I have mainly drawn over the years, but am keen on trying to learn how to paint.  I couldn't believe my luck when I found the cache of knowledge known as DMP that Mark was kind enough to put out in the wild.  I am very glad I found this forum as well with all of you extremely kind, talented, and helpful people.

Kschaben

Pet Groomer that has turned the business over to my husband.  I am now  disabled and cant do much at a time but excited to learn.  I see how others are able to do such beautiful work . Even first paintings are remarkable . It is all very encouraging. 

Joanof_art

WOW, every one's lives are so interesting!
 I'm a Unit Chief for B.C. Ambulance, community paramedic, and a first aid instructor/security officer at a coal Mine. I work full time ours and on my three days off I paint about 6 to 8 hours. That will increase as I let go of the Mine work and focus more on painting. I have a small art business in Tumbler Ridge called Joan of Art and have painted a lot of murals and portraits in our community over the past 30 years, I was a home school mom of 6 children who are all gone form home now. They love it when I paint.

BOB73

@Kingston, I'm sorry to hear you were saddled to such a boring, slow paced and un-productive career It's amazing that you were able to learn anything at all about art. My HAT's off to you for just surviving both the insurgent digital age and the cut-throat corporate advertising environment which I am an authority on, having seen every episode of "Madmen". I would have liked to have you as a mentor back in the 60s and now finally, I do. Thank You.

BOB73

My sincerest and heartfelt congratulations for that @Kingston. All other endeavors pale in comparison if you'll forgive a cliché.

Boudicca

Hey @Kingston! I’ll be 32 in Feb. My dad(RIP) managed to rack up 47.

Freeman

I am a retired Navy pilot, and now I test drones for the U,S. Navy. Kids heading off to school and I am looking forward to making my next transition. I see myself as a working painter some day, not changing the world but capturing it a bit at a time. I hope. Thank you to all for your help and direction.