On Painting

I'm currently taking a painting class at college and it's been really satisfying. Art classes are just pure fun for me. I'm on my 6th painting for the semester (I'm not sure if that's fast or slow). My friend in that class is a much faster painter than me and she's always asking our professor for new assignments. She's done like double the paintings as me. I'm okay with being slow when it comes to painting. It's not something that needs to be rushed. There are no deadlines in this class. There are new assignments and critiques, but I could technically continue to work on one painting for the whole semester. I don't. I'm very much a "check that off the list" type of person, and so I need to say that something is done, even if it's art. 

I know that art is a hard career to be in. For people to say they want to be a painter is a bold and ambitious statement. It takes skill. We all know that. I don't personally know any professional painters. Do you? Come to think of it, professional painters do exist -- and not just in Paris or New York. In Minneapolis, we have lots of art fairs during the summer. At those fairs I've seen artists' booths full of beautiful paintings and they're sold for lots of money. Whether these artists make a living solely off their paintings, I don't know.  Today I discovered a blogger who's a full time painter. Painting is her thing and that's how she makes a living. I think her work is beautiful. It's the kind of work that sells, and that's how she can be an employed artist. Here's her site emilyjeffords.com, if you're interested. Here's a glimpse of her painting:

Simple, beautiful strokes. This is what I think of when I think of painting. This is something I would want. It's inspiring seeing people who love doing something and then go turn that passion into a career. I guess that's my main message with this post. I love hearing (in this case, seeing) stories of people who love what they do and do it exceptionally well.