I am a young female artist. I don't have family money or any other means of financial support other than my work. And, while I do have a partner, he is currently pursuing his MFA so he is not the one bringing home the paychecks: I am. You are right on target when you talk about need creating the tenacity necessary to making art and selling it. We don't make rent if I don't make art!
It may be that my sex is a handicap for my career--I can certainly think of a few situations where it definitely seemed that way! But, in the end, I think it's also a strength. Art is, on some level, supposed to make its audience uncomfortable. Even if that discomfort is as small as the paradigm shift of seeing a familiar landscape in a new way, art must always create change in its viewers. In that way, being a woman and an artist can be an advantage: the very fact of our making art is discomforting to some people on some level. We create paradigm shifts simply by doing what we do.
It may be that my sex is a handicap for my career--I can certainly think of a few situations where it definitely seemed that way! But, in the end, I think it's also a strength. Art is, on some level, supposed to make its audience uncomfortable. Even if that discomfort is as small as the paradigm shift of seeing a familiar landscape in a new way, art must always create change in its viewers. In that way, being a woman and an artist can be an advantage: the very fact of our making art is discomforting to some people on some level. We create paradigm shifts simply by doing what we do.
Thank you for helping me to explore this topic!