"The biggest myth we are fed as artists is that we need to sustain ourselves solely on our art."

I finished reading Real Artists Have Day Jobs recently, and it was a fun romp through various short essays on art, love, and life written by comedian Sara Benincasa.

Sara has a unique outlook on the world, which I appreciated. It's empathetic, social justice oriented, but also funny, relevant, and her writing easy to read. She writes in a conversational tone and explores a lot of her own story through the book. Everything from her struggles with her body, issues with anxiety, and journey with her career. All delivered in bite sized morsels. I really enjoyed that I could pick up the book and read a chapter or two then put it down. I tend to only have brief periods of time or so much attention to give so it worked out well that way.

The stories shared in this book are very genuine and aren't done in a way of sharing expertise on any topic; just one's person's experiences and what they think about them. It's a great way to go in the world that leaves room for growth, acknowledges shortcomings, and is more relatable. Someone who is so sure of themselves to ignore any new information is going to limit themselves to many possibilities to learn and do the best they can with whatever they're working on. Being open to a good, new story change create positive change in anyone. This book achieves just that.

As the title implies, the book emphasizes the idea that we can create and be artists without going headlong into trying to be an "artist" who lives off their creations. We can live in the world, work a "day job" and pursue our creative endeavors just the same as anyone else. It may even work better than way. This sentiment makes me think of another great book I've read, Steal Like an Artist.

I've seen a lot of people talk about this book online and I'm glad I finally got around to checking it out. I recommend you do too. 

Thanks for stopping by!