The Commercial Side of the Studio

There's just about nothing I look forward to more than getting started on a large-scale painting, free from any plan or purpose other than enjoying the process itself. And while that is how i spend a lot of my time in the studio, it's far from the only "style" i explore.

I've been given the advice countless times in my life that artists need to focus on one style, going so far as to repeat the same subject, theme, or composition exclusively. I understand the intent and the value of such "branding" but I also can't imagine anything more dull. 

Much like my day job as a designer, illustration and "commercial" art, in my opinion, provide an important respite from the more "fine art" side of things, and even fuels thoughts and compositions I may not have otherwise considered. I often say that illustration, design, and commercial art are like putting a puzzle together while the "fine art", for lack of a better term, is like creating a puzzle from scratch. Both approaches are enjoyable in their own right, but the latter requires a deeper focus and commitment that I am not always up for. Sometimes I just want to doodle and draw spaceships and dinosaurs, so to speak, and literally. 

I think my biggest problem is not giving illustration, design and commercial art its due credit (for instance referring to "fine art" as such, inferring the others are inferior in some way). I tend to operate under the assumption my painting deserves the vast majority of my energy, but I've come to understand that its extremely important, at least for me, to take steps away from what you know creatively and explore other techniques and ideas as regularly as possible. While I will always be an artist that constantly creates, I think the future will see a bit more of an even spread when it comes to the projects I decide to pursue.