A Video and a Princess (13)

June 27th
This morning, Norman sent us a video that had gone viral. A homeless man, who hit bottom after his wife died and drugs lured him under, was filmed playing piano outside a restaurant. He plays beautifully, and just like Sam, he could play without sheet music. It was all by ear. The video went viral and someone started a Go Fund Me page for the man. With $40,000 to start his life over and a record deal, he completely reversed the path his life was taking. I think we all have it in us to succeed. But like this talented piano player, you have to be ready to realize your opportunity after you put in the time and the hard work. It’s more than just being in the right place at the right time. You have to be prepared for your big chance. This man obviously was a student of music at one point in his life and he kept up his ability outside a restaurant where they let him play every day. Would anyone want to film a homeless guy just sitting on a curb with his hat open for tips? Perhaps, if you are Carlye Rubin and you can figure out the story behind the downward spiral of his life. Would anyone want to film a good looking guy playing beautiful music? Sure, a Chinese lady held up her phone to video Sam playing piano the other day in the Village. But place a hat on top of a piano with an unpolished bum playing very polished music and someone will be intrigued enough to make a difference. Impossible opportunities fall into people's laps all the time, but are most people ready to take the chance?

I Want to be an Artist
I am now after my impossible dream. I have gone through the motion of a school year ending for many years. As a teacher, you get a much needed summer break in June and I would spend the start of it decompressing from the stress of school. Then boredom would set in and I would be eager to start all over again. September and new beginnings are exciting and a time to be optimistic about life. This year, the act of leaving school was my new beginning. A scary new beginning. I retired from teaching with a dream to be an artist. Did I put in the time and hard work to feel worthy of that dream? Yes, definitely. Anything I am interested in, I get obsessive over. Teaching, Quilting, Writing, Veganism, and yes, Art. I should be able to make it as an artist. The only thing I have not put my time into is learning how to be an aggressive businesswoman. There are reasons rich people are rich. Many of them are not so nice. With my introverted personality, I will quietly do anything required to polish my craft until it is good enough for my critical eye and my inner satisfaction. Tell me what to paint and I will research images on that subject for hours, days, and weeks, and then spend months learning how to paint it well. Give me a prompt, like that video Norman shared today, and I can easily write a thousand words on the subject and then edit it for days until I like the flow of the text. It never goes further than that and I have never tried to turn my art or my thoughts into money. I guess what is missing is my master's degree in aggression. Oy.

After sending in applications for part time jobs I don't want and talking to Katie (my therapist daughter), I realize that while I can teach, I would not relish driving in dark and snowy winter nights to tutor students after school. I'd love to be recognized for writing but to be paid as a copywriter, it appears that I would have to learn a new subject so I can write knowledgeably about such fascinating topics as medicine or finance. Unless it is a topic as personally appealing to me as my journey to a vegan diet was, I don't want to reinvent myself all over again. It makes me feel old. I am an artist. I want to be an artist.

So, yesterday afternoon, I wrote a blog post about finishing "Princess," the painting. I turned the post into a gallery view of my seven completed dog portraits. Sometimes the most talented of people find their success by discovering a marketable niche. Could I go into business selling dog portraits? A better question might be whether I am most proud of those paintings. Zoe is my favorite dog portrait, but my paintings for Zach and Sam are personal favorites as well, and they don't have a lick of fur on them! I guess I should be thinking in terms of business, of profit. Maybe limiting myself would make good business sense. Norman posted my dog portrait gallery on Facebook and it got many compliments. Then, someone else at the club looked at my paintings on Norman's phone and was impressed. People love their pets. So, for today, in my floundering quest to become an entrepreneur artist, I will pursue my niche of painting dogs, or maybe just my niche of painting. Perhaps I can be a vegan chef. Now, there's an idea! Floundering is probably not good for business.