OK, that’s it. I finally did it. I just gave notice at my day job that in one month I will begin my full time career as an artist! That means that February 29 — leap day of this leap year — will be the beginning of my full time art career. It seems appropriate, don’t you think?
I know many of you thought I already was working as a full time artist, but I’ve been making my art, teaching classes, writing my newsletter and updating this blog mostly at night and on the weekends. I’ve been lucky to accomplish many of the things I wanted to even with that limited schedule. Imagine what I can do now?
My wonderful husband has been telling me for a while now that it’s time to do this and he was my last excuse. I realized recently that the only person holding me back from realizing my life long dream was…me. That was startling. And it turns out, not as easy to fix as you’d think. I kept finding reasons to wait just a little longer but finally it was so obvious even I couldn’t ignore it. And as added fun, while I was listening to one of my favorite CD’s today (Sondre Lerche, “Soundtrack from Dan in Real Life“), the songs told the story:
~ Hell No
~ My Hands are Shaking
~ I’ll be OK
~ Prepare to be Surprised
And I have all of you to thank for this. I would never have had this chance without the encouragement of friends and strangers alike, and the support of all of you who have taken classes or purchased my work. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
(Image above: Destiny Awaits, 6″ x 6″, encaustic on panel, 2007)
Embracing Mixed Media 
15 comments
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January 29, 2008 at 6:49 pm
jess
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
🙂
January 29, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Deanna
Congratulations! Sounds like you’re creating your life exactly the way you want it.
January 29, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Bridgette
Congrats! I am very happy for you. Just imagine what you will be able to do now if you were able to do all that you did at night and on the weekends!
January 30, 2008 at 12:27 am
shuju
Congratulations!
January 30, 2008 at 2:05 am
gl.
YEAH, linda! YEAH!!! i love what you have to say about your personal soundtrack and how the only person keeping you back was you. happy leap year!
January 30, 2008 at 7:51 am
Amy Stoner
YAY!!! Congrats congrats! That is fabulous news and I am so happy for you!
January 30, 2008 at 8:23 am
Nancy Grant
Congratulations Linda! I applaud you for taking this leap to do what you truly want to do. I love how the words from the song played into your willingness to risk. Know it or not, you’ve now become a role model for others who are not quite courageous enough to make that move.
Much continued success to you.
January 30, 2008 at 11:30 am
Judy Wise
Wonderful! No fear; you’ll be a smashing success!!
January 30, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Nat
Wooohooo! Love the soundtrack connection. Hope you won’t mind an additional song selection for your transistion. REM’s “It’s the end of the world as we know it”…”And I feel fine!”
January 30, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Kristin Gross
You are such an inspiration! I’m am absolutely thrilled that you are taking this leap and I know it will bring you much joy and much success. When you wonder what else you can do with all the “extra” time you’ll have now, I might suggest both sleep and spend more time with your wonderful Bill! 😉
January 30, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Bansheegrrll
Congratulations – this is well deserved! You’ve certainly been working your buns off – of course, the reward for hard work is, well, more hard work . . . and Kristin’s right: you are an inspiration. More than once in the past six months or so, I’ve found myself thinking, “Ok, Bridget, keep working at it, slow and steady, and maybe in a few years, you’ll be where Linda is” or “Ok, doing good, I’m just a year or two behind Linda.” You really do serve as an example to me of what a working artist/teaching artist looks like.
January 31, 2008 at 10:57 am
embracingencaustic
These wonderful comments are just a small sampling of the support overwhelming my Inbox right now. Thank you all SO MUCH for your support!
February 2, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Dayna
Linda, what an exciting time for you! I’m cheering you on and wishing you success and great joy in your decision.
February 5, 2008 at 12:04 am
Pram
Wow!
I saw this post at the right time. I make music and animation, and I, too, want to work full time as an artist, but the financial stability of my night job has kept me from doing this for many years.
The last time I quit a job, I ended up on the street, and I don’t want that to happen again, so if I’m going to quit this one, I’m going to have to be careful.
The part where you say “and I realized that the only person holding me back was…me!” is eye-opening. I had the same epiphany not long ago, when people were asking about where they could buy my sculptures and music. I never even thought about selling it! Now, maybe I will.
Thanks for a great post!
-Pram
March 10, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Following My Dream as a Full Time Artist « Embracing Encaustic
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