In December of last year I posted an image of a female nude study and commented that it had cost me half a million dollars. That single drawing didn't cost me a half million dollars but to get to the point where I could do such a drawing did. I came by this number by computing the "opportunity cost" of pursuing my art over my adult lifetime. Opportunity cost is the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. Half a million dollars is not a precise number but I think it is a conservative one and the meter is still running.
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| Male Nude, oil pastel, 10 1/2" X 9 1/2", 2014 |
During my core working years I worked three days a week at a "regular" job. I was lucky enough to have an employer that allowed this. There was always pressure to work full time but I had another agenda. Due to my part time status my income and benefits were three fifths of what they could have been. I have sold a considerable amount of art over the years but much of that income was offset by studio rent, art supplies and model costs.
I have plenty of regrets in my life. Things I wish I hadn't done or would do differently if given the chance. Pursuing art isn't one of them. I would do it again in a heartbeat. In fact I make that decision anew every day. What possible value or price would you put on a life lived in the pursuit of fulfillment?
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