A Freelancer’s Perspective
What do you do? This question pops up when meeting new people. Hmm, what do I do besides write and illustrate? Well, I freelance. But saying I’m a freelancer is often met with a blank stare and another question: What kind of freelancer? I’d like to tell them “that depends on what I’m doing at the moment.” Let me explain…
I’m a writer/illustrator with a varied background in the arts. I’ve worked from home as a graphic artist and illustrator (so my kids wouldn’t be raised by a babysitter) and I travel for gigs as a children’s entertainer: caricatures, children’s parties (yeah, I ran the games and did the face-painting but my main responsibility was keeping Winnie-the-Pooh safe from bullies), dancing, teaching arts-n-crafts (more artsy than craftsy)…and doing “walk arounds” as Pocahantes (a previous life).
Until one makes it as a published author and/or illustrator with a decent-sized book list, the word on the street is: Don’t quit your day job. For me, that’s doing caricatures on the side, on-site at events, parties, grad nights, bar mitvahs, etc. or doing commissioned caricature gigs. The image above was a recent rush job for a couple that likes to scuba dive.
FYI, today I drew party caricatures for a company’s 4th of July BBQ. I had good fun. An artist/writer life is often isolating so freelancing is a welcome change of pace. Happy 4th ya’all!