What do you do for a living?

I'd like to comment on the theory of "doing what you love" and making that your job.

It would be the ideal situation... or at least it seems like it would.

Of course the devil is in the details and this idea is dependent on the conditions.

But it can be a way of turning what you love to do into something you can't stand.

I went to school for art (pre-computer age), intending to someday make a living at it, all because I loved to draw as a kid - although I was not very good at it - for me it was just a way to visually express my various stories, fantasies & ideas.

I had related jobs after graduating college (& art school), some of which weren't so bad - picture framer, color separator, amateur teacher (for both adults & children).

I did freelance cartooning & illustration for years. All the stress of trying to please clients, meet deadlines, collect payments (by those who, once they received the work, decided they didn't really want it), deal with rejections from publications, trying to come up with new ideas, and keeping up with the latest supplies (as things like inks would now only last a few years rather than be permanent due to mandates on how they are made).

Once you become known as an "artist" by those around you it becomes a stigma - everyone wants something from you that they can't find anywhere else. And everyone they know finds out they know an "artist" - and then those people want something from you.

I eventually grew to despise drawing - something I used to love as a private past time.

I even used to make my own Christmas cards every year - and even that became a stress-inducing venture that only added to the stress of the holidays.

I haven't picked up a pencil, pen, charcoal, or brush to draw with for years, while my old art table & supplies are in storage. Whenever I think about drawing (or God forbid have a friend or relative request even a cartoon) I get a tightness in my stomach - much like the conditioning of "Alex" in A Clockwork Orange.