Surprise! I’m going for it full-time as an artist after all.
Long-time readers may remember back when I wrote a long post explaining why I am not “going for it”, including an extended analysis of how abysmal the chances of “making it” are in creative fields and how crappy our social system is in terms of livability for us not-rich folks. Although, I suppose I did have the qualifiers, not going for it* *full-time† †yet.
So what gives? Didn’t I say that for me creative freedom is the most important thing in my art? Did I get so sick of ordinary day jobs (for many reasons) that I decided making graphics and content for corporations was worth it?
No, creative freedom is still essential to me. Though, I might do some selective collaborations/commission work if it aligns with me, we’ll see what comes up.
But I’ve been on (and am still on) an earth-shattering spiritual journey since last summer, and am finding myself called to leave the normal career grind to have more time for my spiritual and creative practices (in that order).
—you know, my debilitating, and terminal, food and contact allergies and intolerances, which I’ve had and which have been worsening at an accelerating rate over the last two decades, have almost entirely gone away over the seven weeks since I made this decision to change course...
Anyway, I know I’ll be writing and arting more to share about my spiritual journey in the future. For now, though, I’ll just say that I’m very excited for this new phase.
Today’s newsletter is all news from my art side as I’m announcing this new direction, but moving forward I will keep Zeno’s Arrow mainly about my comics-related activities and Way Lee Art (my new art business) will cover my art-related activities.
My Art Is In the Artist Trust 40th Anniversary Benefit Art Auction
Do You Feel Lucky? Try to See My Piece In the 4Culture Art Carousel
Till next!
Check Out My New Art Website!
So what does this look like for me going forward?
I’m still in my day job at the moment. I plan to start phasing out of it this spring.
As for what I’ll be doing creatively, as I mentioned in my last post, since finishing The BOOK of DEATH Haiku Comics, I’ve been focusing on my on-location watercolor painting and life drawing/live sketching. The artistic practice is something that I constantly have an artwork I can go out and do, since there’s lots I want to work on in terms of the expressive language of color and improving my skills. So that’ll be the ongoing base of my artistic work.
I will be trying to exhibit at art walks and in galleries and cafes, vending at art and craft shows, and selling original artworks and prints and cards of my original works. And if collaborations come up that are in alignment with me, I may take on some of those projects, too.
And the comics will come in whenever I have crystallized ideas that really grab and inspire me. Like with my first three comics projects. As little money as there is in art, by comparison there’s none in comics (unless you are very lucky). But there’s an expressive range and power unique to comics, and it can share ideas that you can’t do with just one image. I know there are more comics/graphic story/illustrated text projects in me or that will be coming through me.
Anyway, I’ve launched a new standalone website to share my art with the world!
See my art galleries at www.waylee.art.
Sign Up for Occasional Updates From My Art Side
I know I know, another newsletter. But comics and art attract very different audiences, so I’d better just send separate missives for each. I can promise I won’t send many emails for Way Lee Art, though. The reason I sent Zeno’s Arrow newsletters with any frequency was generally when I was serially publishing one of my comics projects. And waylee.art is a website, not a newsletter like Substack. I’ll probably set up the blog on the website to share more immediate updates, if you’re curious. But then just send quarterly newsletters that bring together the highlights of what’s going on with my art.
You can sign up for my art mailing list at the bottom of the waylee.art website.
My Art Is In the Artist Trust 40th Anniversary Benefit Art Auction
One of my Blue Period pieces (Leschi Marina) is in Artist Trust’s 40th Anniversary Benefit Art Auction!
Artist Trust is a great organization that supports Washington State artists with grants and art business resources and trainings. I’m honored that one of my artworks was selected to be in their auction.
Tickets for the event are now closed...but if you happen to be going, you can see my piece in person there! And me, actually, I’ll be there, too!
Do You Feel Lucky? Try to See My Piece In the 4Culture Art Carousel
“Do you feel lucky?”
‘Cause sadly I wasn’t the four times I tried to go see my artwork on the screen at 4Culture’s Art Carousel.
Another one of my Blue Period pieces (Swansons Nursery Cafe) is in the rotation on the screens facing the street in their building in Pioneer Square, downtown Seattle.
If you do go, it should come up on the screen on the right-hand side. But I recommend contacting them the day you want to go to ask for precise times of when the artwork you’re interested in seeing is going to be on screen. The slideshows on the two screens just cycle all day, and they have the order on a list—but the extra problem is that the slideshows don’t necessarily start right at 7am every day, so you actually just need to ask them the day of.
But by the time I figured that all out, I’d already sunken so much time trying and failing to see my art on a digital screen in the winter cold that I didn’t feel like spending more time to see a digital version of my art on a screen.
Anyway, I’m still slowly looking to do a show at an art walk or cafe…when it happens I might share here (don’t want to spam), but definitely at Way Lee Art.
Wow, that is a surprise! Can't wait to see all the cool things you make on this journey.
William that is such cool news! Congratulations and best wishes for this phase.