How Does an Artist Spend a Workday?
Creating Art
Artists usually spend a good portion of their day actually creating art, particularly if they are artists by profession instead of simply artists as a hobby or creative outlet. The amount of time artists spend throughout the day creating art depends largely on their level of inspiration and any deadlines they may have. Artists vary greatly on how each individual decides to spend time throughout the day. While some artists may become highly absorbed in something for hours at a time, other artists may follow stringent schedules that only allow for limited amounts of time devoted to creating art.
Most artists who are highly passionate about their craft enjoy this portion of their workdays the most. They want to spend as much time creating art as possible, and most artists do not bend on the amount of time they allow each day for creating art. While some artists will have rather flexible schedules for the other tasks associated with being an artist, they feel a real compulsion to spend time enmeshed in the actual process of creating art as much as possible.
Seeking Inspiration
Artists can find inspiration in a variety of environments and situations, and the majority of artists need to spend some time every day finding inspiration for their art. For this reason, most artists take some time daily to seek out inspiration. Where they look for inspiration depends on individual preferences. While some artists like to wander busy city streets to find inspiration, others prefer to go into natural settings to await inspiration to hit. Every artist is different when it comes to seeking out inspiration, but most artists do indeed need to spend some time every day in attempts to get inspired.
Administrative Tasks
Unless artists are wealthy enough to employ administrative assistants or have public relations people to handle all the extra tasks associated with running a business, artists must devote some amount of time during a workday in dealing with administrative tasks. Examples of these tasks include bookkeeping, publicity, and dealing with galleries, merchants, and individual customers. Some artists must devote some time to seeking out new customers, especially if they are self-employed as freelance artists. Artists who work for a corporate client within office buildings may also be required to attend meetings on some workdays as well as additional duties that may come with being employed by a large corporate entity. Many artists do not necessarily enjoy this aspect of their jobs and would prefer to keep this portion of their day to a minimum.
