artist: 2 a: one who professes and practices an imaginative art b: a person skilled in one of the fine arts (via m-w.com)

Being someone who makes art for a living, I often get trapped in certain stereotypes so based on my experience, here are five misconceptions people seem to have once you mention you’re an artist.

1. That you’re one of those guys who draws charcoal portraits at the mall or character sketches for police reports. I can’t blame people for immediately thinking that but there are other opportunities for artists in every industry, especially now that computers are must-haves in the workplace.

2. That you’re always in tattered jeans, have paint on your fingernails, and wear your hair long and unruly. I may have been guilty on all counts at one time or another but I do clean up after I work.

3. That there is no future in the world of art. How many times have we heard parents say “mamumulubi ka lang” when their kids proclaim that they want to be an artist when they grow up? Being an artist might not pay as much as being, say, a medical doctor or a lawyer, but like I said above, there are more opportunities for artists now because of computers and the internet.

4. That you don’t think, you “just” draw. Yes we do think, how else will we get ideas about what to draw? It peeves me to hear statements like “oh, he’s just an artist,” or “he’s my artist, he draws my ideas”. I believe artists should be given as much respect as any other person.

5. That you’re moody, unpredictable and unapproachable. No we’re not — when we’re not at work, that is.

- Arnold Arre