THE LONG ANSWER

Okay, I get it.  You're not supposed to use a word while simultaneously trying to define it, but let's be real here.  Not all professionals are created equal.  And not all artists (even full-time career artists) work in a professional manner... especially when third-party clients are involved.

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A professional is technically defined as a person who does something as their paid occupation rather than a pastime or hobby.  But it can also mean they are certified and/or skilled enough in a certain craft to consistently perform at a professional level.  And the sad truth about the illusive realm of professional artistry is that a painfully small percentage of the individuals involved are making an exclusive income through their craft.  This is either due to the fact that artists aren't good at business, or that they simply don't give enough attention to anything else in their lives outside of the art they decide to focus on.  But that argument can go on for days.

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The funny part is that being professional has almost more to do with communication and organization than it does with the actual work (and/or art) in question.  I would almost rather change the word "professional" with "responsible" in this particular case.  Think about it.

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Art is highly interpretational.  One person may absolutely love something artistic (like a film, photo, painting, song, etc.) while another person might think that same piece of art is nothing special.  I mean, some people have paid more than I make in a year for certain pieces of art that I wouldn't think twice about wiping my ass with after a long night of Mexican food and heavy drinking.  The point being that the value of actual art is determined by each individual on their own scale.  And seldom do you find two people who value a certain piece of art to the same exact degree.  That's the difficulty in putting a proper price tag on artistry.

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On the other hand, professionalism can be measured very easily.  Did the price of an item change without any notice?  Did the artist (or their agent) contact you when they actually said they would?  Did "I'll call you on Monday at 2pm" turn into a 6pm text message on Tuesday?  Was the item or job delivered on the date and time you agreed on, or did it come painfully late with a list of excuses?  I mean, these types of questions can go on for days.  But you get the point I'm trying to make here.  Being professional really just means being responsible.  Simply do what you said you were going to do, and do it when you said you were going to do it.

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In the world of art, we all know people who are really good at something but they don't take it seriously enough.  We also know people who are very serious about something they aren't really good at.  It's that refreshingly rare situation when we find someone who is both very good at their craft and truly professional about what they do.  One such person who always pops to the top of my mind when thinking about the perfect example of a professional artist is Anthony Wallace.

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Founder of Saints by Saints, Creative Director at Keep Records, world-travelling photographer, editor, designer, and collector of more tattoo ink than his epidermal real estate could possibly allow; Anthony Wallace is not only extremely professional in the execution of his numerous artistic platforms, he is also very responsible when dealing with clients and their various projects.

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I was fortunate enough to catch up with Anthony and have a conversation about the very topic of what it means to be professional in the world of art.  It's also worth noting that this interview just happened to accidentally land on the very week that his first nationally released independent film "So Indie - Honolulu" hit the shelves.  Normally these types of things are scheduled by publicists and managers to get the full buzz possible for a particular release, but I assure you this time was truly a divine accident.

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Read up and enjoy!

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Q:  In your "The Real Starving Artists" video you mention doing photography and design for over 20 years.  At what point did you receive your first check for hired work?
A:  I consider my professional career beginning in high school.  I started taking actual money for art around 1996.  Technically it was cash.  My clients were high school students as well.  I did websites, photography, and album artwork for several young music artists at that time.  So that was my introduction to paid art.  It also gave me an early start to develop my style.

 

Q:  You mention music and film being your favorite types of work.  Is that because of liking certain genres or is it more due to the artistic freedom those types of jobs allow?
A:  A little of both.  Film and music happen to inspire my own personal work the most.  And I feel that the type of imagery I tend to create fits really well in album artwork or as a film poster.  I'm both a photographer and a graphic artist.  But I'm most interested in creating photo-based designs, where I can create a custom photo for a project and use minimal text with it.  Let a creative photo do most of the talking.

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If I could make a full-time living producing creative photos used in a professional application then that's no longer "work", that's fun for me.  Those types of projects do tend to be more open ended and allow for me to come up with my own unique ideas.  And the clients tend to enjoy those creative types of images.

 

Q:  Does needing to take on less creative work for supplemental income frustrate you as an artist or have you come to accept it as a necessary part of being indie?
A:  It's a temporary necessity.  Pursuing art as a career is one of those things where thousands of other people [are] out there doing the same thing, and only a handful of artists find that magical thing that gets them in the spotlight.  I know that many photographers will take on work such as wedding photography to pay the bills.  I just chose to not take on much work that conflicts with my own personal art.  If I spend my time changing my work to be what a client might enjoy more, I feel like that's going to take away from the personal magic my work has.  I'd rather do something less related to art if I need to compromise to make a living.  So web design has been a cool career because it's kind of related to my art, but not.  I tend to get more coding projects, so it's math and logic.  [It] requires creativity, but in a totally different way.

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Q:  If given the option, would you do the art portion of your craft exclusively or do you like the balance and perspective that comes from getting "other" work?

A:  If I made equal or more money creating art, I'd never mess with web design ever again.  I'd be very happy to be a professional artist only.  I do "other" work to pay my bills, afford a comfortable lifestyle, AND it tends to fund my art.  Creating art usually isn't free.  At a minimum, you might need to travel to a unique shoot location and probably pay a model and buy the clothing for them.  So being a full-time professional artist basically means I can sell my work for enough to cover the costs of creating it and also keep my lifestyle where it is now without struggling.  I, in no way, see that "other" work offering any balance in my art; only financial stability.

 

Q:  At the end of the day, what portion of your art is more satisfying:  successfully completing a project or the process itself?

A:  I honestly feel like they are of equal value, [but] my gut feeling was to say the process.  I realized long ago that my art was about experiences.  Going to the location, exploring, the experience with another person (if a model is part of the image), the action of applying my skill to capture that experience in my own personal way.  But it's equally important to get home and do the editing process.  To select the right photo to represent that experience, to mold it into what it should be through editing, and the final presentation of that image.  The entire process from concept and planning, to having the finished photo on screen is all important in my own work.

 

Q:  Would you still work on your art if there was never to be another dollar made from it, or would you pawn your equipment and call it quits?

A:  I've always created art for myself, and I never [expected] to make money.  I know there's the possibility that some day I may get paid well to create art, however I tend to spend more than I make for the sake of art.  I pretty much lived my life as if I would never get paid enough as an artist.  That's where the backup plan came into effect.  I chose a career path that could provide income to allow me to always be an uncompromised artist working on my own terms.  If I knew I'd never get paid for the art I create, I would absolutely continue.

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