commercial art and Art

When I was growing up, there was a term in use called "commercial artist." This covered the illustrators and designers that made the practical stuff of the world and was very different than the term Artist which is what I intended to be when I grew up. I could never understand why my parents thought that I would take my drawing talent and make greeting cards or technical illustrations for business, but my dad insisted that I take "mechanical drawing" as well as art classes in high school. Regardless, I was still determined to aspire to the purity of being an Artist.

As it turned out, I stopped being an Artist by the time I turned 21 since I started getting interested in making music instead. I did however need to make a living, and working in fast-food places wasn't my idea of a career path. I was lucky enough to have landed at a manufacturer who hired me as a "draftsman trainee," (thank you dad!). After a few weeks they said they needed a technical writer, and I was duly redirected into a new role.

Now I had never aspired to be a Writer, and so I didn't see any conflict of interest in this way of life. I wasn¹t very good as a technical writer to begin with, and I had to work really hard at learning how to say complicated things in a clear and simple way. But I was good at asking questions, and if I could eventually understand what needed to be described or explained, I could eventually say it simply for other people.

So I went on for about ten years helping to make messes clear for people who didn't have the time to unravel the messes themselves. This worked out great because in my spare time I developed my creative outlet as a composer and later as a performer without having to compromise my ideas to make money.

In retrospect, I realized that I had become a "commercial artist" without feeling like I had made any compromises. I also realized that I'd depended on creativity, actually had to maximize it in all aspects of my life, in order to be a good "commercial artist" or any other type of Artist, auditory or graphic.

So what were the lessons I learned?

• That the difference between commercial art and Art is firstly a matter of perception relative to the employment of creativity, and secondly, a matter of financial reality relative to employment. I made enough money as a technical writer to be able to finance the creation of my music and performances. But I never made any money to speak of making Art with the exception of a few paintings sold over the years. And although making Art was important to me, it was ultimately somewhere lower on the list than eating and having a place to sleep.
• That creativity is important in all aspects of life, and without employing it ceaselessly, life can be pretty routine.


• And lastly, I could have it both ways. I could earn a living being creative and I could be an Artist (well, musician) as well.

Today they call commercial artists "designers," and I'm actually proud to be categorized as such.

© 2001 Thomas Gaudynski. Used by permission.

The Drawing Board is a web-only column for artists and artisans writing about their craft. Anyone working in or near the Riverwest area can submit their writing. (Send submissions, proposals and inquires to editor@riverwestcurrents.org.) Selected articles may appear in the print edition of the Currents with the approval of the author.