My latest piece, entitled Provocation, as it looked while still in progress.
One of the great things about being artist is that no two days are ever the same. When I wake up in the morning, I never know what the day will bring. I may have set things I need to accomplish, such as fine-tuning or sanding a piece, but, I learned a long time ago when working with stone that my plans don’t really matter – the stone is always going to do what it wants to do and doesn’t much care about my plans for it.
Photo courtesy of teeturtle.com
It’s rare that I wake up thinking to myself, “Today is going to be a rainbows and unicorns kind of day!!!!!”
It would be nice if I did, but when you make your living as an artist, those kind of days are very few and far between.
My youngest son sitting in the lap of renowned Canadian Sculptor Bruce Garner circa 2010.
I am blessed to live and work in this place. Unlike most people, who have to commute 20, 30 or even 60 minutes to their jobs, the studio in which I work is only a few feet away from the house in which I live with my family.
The studio and house are not mine, but this is home. It always has been and it always will be.
Otter sculpted by Paul M. Bruneau – July 2018 – Sold to Images Boréales in Montréal, QC.
While I tend to gravitate more toward abstract forms in my sculpting these days, I admit I do still love sculpting wildlife. My wildlife sculptures are something I have become known for over the years because many people find it amazing that I can create such realistic-looking animals and humans out of stone.
There are quite a few animals I am partial to carving and nigig (or otter in the Ojibway language) is one of them.
I’m interested to know if there are any other artists out there like me? Do you struggle with the fine line between being an artist and businessperson? How do you manage? Do you have any tips and tricks to share? Do you do it all on your own or, like me, do you have a spouse, partner, friends, etc. who help you out? Please feel free to share your thoughts, experiences, feelings with me!
Ten or so years ago, a relative who was keenly interested in my art and my career as an artist got the bright idea that I should attend a course being run by a fairly well-known business school. I balked at the idea – I never liked school; never did well in school (I dropped out of high school in Grade 10) and didn’t see the value of spending my time in a classroom when I’d much rather be in my studio.
Disclaimer: I am a very spiritual person and I believe in God. I am strong in my faith and proud of my faith. That being said, I am respectful of all spiritual and religious beliefs and I am completely non-judgmental and I expect the same in return. I am not trying to force my beliefs on anyone. My faith is one of the most important things in my life and has played a significant role in making me the person I am today.
In my last blog post I talked about my grandfather William Moore and the fact that his artistic talent flows through my veins. I credit his penchant for and ability to create wonderful and beautiful things for being part of the reason why I became an artist.
But there is another reason I am who and what I am and that reason is – God.
This is a beautiful post about living life to its fullest and reminding us to focus on what really matters.
We spend an awful lot of time passively assuming we’ll live forever. What I mean by that? Well… binge watching TV, or scrolling through various newsfeeds on social media. Staring at pictures from people we don’t know on Instagram. A movie marathon involving a series of movies we don’t even like that much.
We build this intricate web of routines. We do the same things over and over again. We want comfort. We want safety. We want certainty.
But we also crave adventure.
How many things have you already postponed for tomorrow?
How many plans have you exiled to a distant future? When you’ll be ready, when you’ll feel like it, when you’ll have the money, the connections, the time, the courage?
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