Introduction
Who am I? What is this?
Hey there.
If you have found yourself here and you’re wondering who I am, my name is Lucy, I am a serious artist and silly person, sometimes a silly artist and a serious person.
I am on a quest. I hope you might join me here. I am on a quest to try and live, sustainably, as an artist living under capitalism in an expensive country. Giving priority to having the time to make art. The time to experiment, to make, to have fun.
My life has changed a lot in the last year. I went through a very painful break up with my partner of 10 years and begun the process of figuring out how to put my life back together after detonating it.
This quest and this life change, coupled with a couple of other serendipitous events, have led me to move to a static caravan by the sea.
I have made my living as a freelance illustrator for the past 12 years, among other jobs, mostly retail and hospitality, as these have allowed me the time to work on my own practice.
I spent 5 years working as a textile designer, my work selling to some high profile clients. I enjoyed designing for textiles, doing something creative that was not tied to my own artistic practice, though sadly it was still a job that saw me underpaid and burnt out and after 5 years of drawing dinosaurs for kids pyjamas the pandemic hit and my hours as a freelancer were cut to the extent of not being viable. Now I am back working again part-time in hospitality.
I have always found that the pressure to solely earn my living from creativity has sapped the creativity out of me. It is harder to create from the heart when there is such a heavy weight of it having to sell!!
Things I do to earn my living as an artist include:
Freelance illustration
Making and selling art prints in my online shop and markets/art fairs
Wholesaling my prints to shops
Hand-poked tattooing
The odd guest lecturing gig when it comes up.
I have irons in the fire, fingers in pies! Variety is the spice of life and I like dishes hot. Spice me up baby! I do not like doing the same thing - in my art and in my life. I love discovery, new ways of making, new things to learn! Sometimes I wonder if this has been detrimental to me. Should I have just stuck at one thing and be really, really known for it and excellent at it? But it is all kind of one thing to me! I have a holistic view of art and creativity and life and everything feeding into everything else. The snake eats its tail, it’s all connected!!!
So here I am, at the age of 35, trying to figure out how to live the life I desire under a capitalist system. The life I desire prioritises making art for the sake of personal development, fulfilment and joy. It prioritises having fun, spending time in nature, having respect for people and planet.
From this page you can expect general life musings related to this quest.
Thank you for reading.
Me, searching for how to make good money and have a good time. Blessings xxxxx