I'm enjoying this very gradual career shift, I've been a painter and visual artist for twenty years doing gallery exhibitions, art fairs, corporate collections, created more than a thousand paintings (if you'd like to see them just image-search my name), more than a hundred exhibitions, a wonderful experience of meeting and collaborating with artists in many other disciplines. Before that, I was a stockbroker for eight years, and I've also worked as a journalist and editor in arts and culture.
I ask because some people balk at the "artist" title, especially in screenwriting, I will say I am also a craftsman and appreciate the structural architecture of cinematic story, I've been writing feature scripts for ten years and am currently working on number six, I've evolved from drama and dark crime thrillers to some new forays into family-friendly adventure with a comic tilt, very excited to explore the variety of genres and continue entering competitions, I just posted two of my loglines here for completed feature spec screenplays, one of which is currently in development with a startup production company.
So what does being an artist mean to you ?
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Hey, Daniel Stuelpnagel! Great to meet you and welcome to the community! Wow - what an interesting background. Although being in Baltimore, I'm not surprised - we have a wealth of artists there! I was raised in the DC area, so I do recall ;-)
Congrats on your foray into screenwriting, how exciting! I’m sure you’ve already discovered the Screenwriting Lounge (https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting), but definitely check out the Authoring Lounge as well: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/playwriting I think you'd enjoy meeting like-minded creatives there.
Actually, I think as an artist, you'd appreciate some of the discussions in the Cinematography Lounge (https://www.stage32.com/lounge/cinematography) and the Filmmaking Lounge (https://www.stage32.com/lounge/directing). There's even a series on YouTube that comes up quite a bit that I think you'd enjoy - Every Frame a Painting: https://www.youtube.com/c/everyframeapainting/videos
Enjoy exploring the lounges, and don't forget to comment and respond to others’ posts, too! It's the best way to really connect!
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Great! Thanks very much Kay, I appreciate the lovely welcome and additional info !!
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Hi, Daniel Stuelpnagel. I searched for your artwork. I like it. It's creative. To me, an artist is someone who makes art (paintings, screenplay, etc.)
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You are most welcome! Keep at it, and I look forward to seeing you in the lounges!
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I like the idea of being an artist as a career but what matters more is to be an artist as a means to escape. To go to another world for a few hours when creating art. It's very meditative.
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Maurice Vaughan, thanks very much I appreciate that, and yes I agree that making / writing films and scripts and visual art and many other disciplines yield the opportunities for action that comprise the making of art, and to be an artist is to be involved.
Teng Ky-Gan, yes that being in the flow is a wonderful transformation of escape and creation!
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Good point, Teng Ky-Gan - even if you sell your work, it's worth it to protect the creative process. Thinking about the business end of things while you try to be creative can really backfire. Plus, it's no fun, and the craft should be fun!