Anonymous
The Four Directions, 2018, oil and oil pastel on raw birch plywood, 48 x 48"
How did you get into debt?
Education costs and mortgage
How does your economic reality effect your art?
I do not depend on art sales for my survival, so I feel some freedom to take risks in the work. That said, I feel financial pressure to produce enough income to cover my expenses and to keep my art-related expenses low, in order to justify my full-time studio practice. As a result, there are many opportunities for exhibitions, conferences, workshops that I have passed up due to cost. I also seem constitutionally incapable of spending significant money on art supplies, which has led to some interesting developments in my work.
Would your work look different if you weren't in debt?:
I think not. Psychologically, it is easy to ignore the bottom-line of the debt most of the time and just incorporate the income-based payments into the "normal."
www.ashtonsphillips.com