The Only True Destination Of An Artist

The Only True Destination Of An Artist

Destination

Have you ever felt that feeling that something ain’t right in your life? That awkward feeling that the things you do are not “yours”?

I recall my first day at school. It was a sunny Autumn morning. Mom took me to this huge building with lots of other kids in it. I was supposed to be happy. Or excited. 30 minutes after she left me, I ran away completely devastated. I ran, ran and ran, until I was back at her kindergarden job. That was a 30 minute run.

Well, I was 6 years old.

Already at day 1, I felt something was wrong.

Just couldn’t put my finger on it. A few years later, I got a home computer from dad, a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. That was the luckiest day of my 10 year old life. There is was, a world that made sense. A world that I had control over. A place with instant and correct response. And the english computer launguage was cool. Really cool.

As opposed to mean kids, cold weather, pain in the ass teachers, my home computer was a safe place where I could use my creative mind in advanced ways. I felt good. Really good. I was extatic designing my own computer games, music and graphics. So darn extatic, that I started doing that during classes. It was so much more fun than boring lectures about what happened in 1729. I made computer pen pals, friends and shared my knowledge and work.

Obviously, a few laters later, that didn’t have the positive impact on my grades as my dad and mom wanted for me. My younger brother was doing great at school, but I was the outsider.

I was the black sheep of our family.

Years went by. On my free time, I kept on designing, creating, filming & editing movies, taking photos and having an awesome time while using my creative mind with full freedom. I did cool oil paintings at school, that decorated the school’s dining hall, and I was awesome at playing the piano. At some point, I actually got A’s in art and music. My dad was mad at me, since I was not following in his footsteps. That is, to become an engineer. I felt so much joy being free and creative, but I was told by my parents and pretty much everybody I knew–that I should get good grades, get a good job and create a life like everybody else. One morning, one of the art teachers approached me and said hi. She was impressed with what I did during classes, and said that whatever I do in my life, art should be a part of it. Because she saw that in me. She saw my passion. I can still remember her name, Elisabeth, but I can’t recall any other teachers names. Apparently, she made quite some impression on me that day.

Eventually, the rebel within me couldn’t take it no more.

ScreamFace

The second I turned 18, I jumped off school. With ZERO grades. Yeah, my dad was thrilled… But I was an adult now. It was my life, and I knew what I wanted. To be free and creative. That was the only thing that mattered to me. I had no plan. Just a gut feeling… So I took jobs here and there. Tried everything from packaing food, to cleaining pizzerias, to printing books, to filming and editing movies. Years went by. I wasn’t happy. Something was wrong. Having a professional filming / editing job for years, made me feel boxed in, limited and I didn’t feel that sensation of using my creative mind. I was just following other people’s wants… I didn’t feel much appreciated either. When I turned 26 and met Jeanette, I felt something was different about her. She was not like any other woman I had met before. She was not only beautiful, but deeply warm and intelligent. I felt an instant connection with her, on a much deeper level than just visual.

She taught me many great things about life, women and… business. She opened up my mind to outside the box thinking and together we started an amazing journey. At first, we tried various money making opportunities, but after 5 years of constant failure, and not really feeling at home, we switched to something else.

Something that would change our lives forever.

DAZ Studio, a free 3D software which I found on a CD from 3D Creative magazine I bought randomly in a store one day. Here I was, the kid that ran away from school at day 1. The kid that refused to follow the path that was given to him. The kid that spent most of his time at school, being creative with his own projects, with a computer as his best friend. The kid that rebelled against his dad’s vision of becoming an engineer.

When I sat down with 3D graphics… when I had that feeling of “home”, where I could express my entire freedom and creativity… I felt like 10 again.

ParadiseBeach

As my passion for 3D art grew, so did my skills. I used my skills from video filming, lighting and editing. I entered the DAZ 3D marketplace, which scared the hell out of me, but yet felt like the right thing to do. My first light set for DAZ Studio became an instant hit.

Something told me, I was at the right place, doing what I love. And I felt appreciated. Scared to death, but appreciated.

Long story short… Using my previously learned marketing skills, I started to grow my hobby into something much bigger than I ever thought possible. After a couple of years, I was making more from my hobby than what I made from my job. Suddenly, I started to question what I was doing at my job. Thing is, funny thing happens when you take money out of the equation. Ask yourself this question: If you take money away from whatever you’re doing to get paid, would you still do it? If you say no, like most do, then you’re only doing it for the money. Not becuase you’re passionate about it. Of course, we have to pay bills, take care of our families, kids or pets, but now that I was making more from my hobby, the pain within me grew even bigger.

After almost a decate and a half, boxed in at a job, I said no more.

I had to break free. Freedom and creativity was my destination. Today, I don’t have a job. It was scary and painful at first, but I kept moving because I felt it was the right thing to do. Now, I can do what I love, what I’m deeply passionate about each and every day, and I share it with others, like I’ve always done. No more spending 40+ hours a month in car jams. No more feeling boxed in. No more being told what to create and what not. No more doing things that make no sense. My art teacher was right. She was the only one for 26 years of my life, that understood that I should be an artist. Everybody else told me it was impossible to make money from art. Well, surpassing $1 million online now… nobody is laughing. When I ask myself, if I took away the money, would I still do it–I say YES. I feel free and creative each day of my life, and I’m deeply greatful for this amazing journey, the amazing peoeple and artists I’ve met. And you know what?

I still feel like an “outsider”.

Because I’ve always been one. And that is part of who I am. I have a hard time following the roads that are built. I need to create my own… We artists need to feel special and unique. I love Kurt Cobains quote: “They laugh at me because I’m different. I laugh at them, because the’re all the same…”. It took me over 3 decades to find my path, a path I felt was right when I was 10. As kids, our minds just swallow everything in order to survive. We don’t question what is right or wrong until later… Some people never question anything at all.

But as an adult, you have the POWER to do what YOU feel is right.

Was it easy? No. It was ultra painful. But everything worth fighting for leads to great satisfaction and big rewards. With the right support from someone close to you, you can accomplish great things. You are destined for so much more than you can imagine. We can’t see what we don’t know, and I know there is so much more for you right now. Surround yourself with great people, people that believe in you, people that bring out your PASSION… people that have done what you want to do…

Create the art that makes YOU feel awesome, proud and happy.

And keep doing that. And ONLY that. Freedom and creativity is the only true destination destination.

– Val Cameron

P.S. Ready to fight for your own freedom and creativity? Follow my proven step by step paths HERE.

Happily sharing how to create great 3D & 2D art in DAZ Studio, Lightwave and Photoshop, Val Cameron, CEO and founder of Dreamlight, has been coaching and mentoring hundreds of thousands of artists since 2005. Bestselling DAZ 3D vendor with over 230+ video tutorials, plug ins and light sets.

2 Responses to “The Only True Destination Of An Artist”

  1. Kathleen Sibo November 17, 2014 at 8:54 pm #

    Very nice essay. And now you teach and inspire the rest of us. I have made so much progress the last 2 years, but I couldn’t have done it without you. You are appreciated very much. Thank you, and thanks for providing the stimulus to keep working.

    • Val Cameron November 18, 2014 at 9:52 am #

      Hey Kathleen, thank you very much for your kind comment. And you’re welcome, it’s a pleasure being around you guys!

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