2020: The Lost Year in the Arts (or is it?)

Is 2020 a complete loss? That depends on how you define it.

I always take a moment to highlight an artist or creative that I think is really cool that you should know about if you don't already know about them. Today's artist is a visual artist, and her name is Hannah Pearman, you can find her on Instagram under Hannah and the Cosmos. I love Hannah's art so much that I bought almost every piece from her ocean series that she did several years ago, and in basically every room you can find a piece of her artwork in my home. Even after all these years of having her artwork in my home, I still somehow find myself lost in it, I'll randomly see a piece of the painting that I never really noticed before, and I'll end up staring at it for a few moments in realizing I'm so lucky to have this. Please check out Hannah and the Cosmos on Instagram and become one of her followers and become immediately amazed at what she creates.

And now for the topic at hand, 2020 in the lost year in the arts.

It's summer 2020. Did you really expect that this would be going on as long as it has? Yes, I'm talking about the pandemic for a moment. I gotta say, I didn't... In the beginning, I thought that this might be done by the summer, and that all the hysteria would be over and that maybe we would be back to normal, starting to play gigs, but definitely ready to go by the fall. Right. Well, not the case any more. Folks, it's quite evident that this is here to stay for a while, which means likely fall of 2020, as we know, it takes time to rebook tours and reschedule gigs even if they're oneoffs, and right now with the way things are in the financial world as it pertains to clubs and music venues and festivals, both small and large, there's no money, and it doesn't like this is gonna get remedied any time soon. Well, the PA benefits be extended for the end of the year for all of us artist and musician types, how are clubs going to pay rent if they can't open up and have shows, will the PPP loans continue to be replenished so that these type of venues and festivals can continue to get the funding they need to stay afloat until they're able to open, whenever that is?

Or whatever the new normal is in the future, where does this leave you... How will your 2020 be defined?

When you look back at it after this year, will it be defined by you accepting the unemployment benefits and just sitting around and waiting for you when you get the all clear to start back up as business as usual, or are you one of these people that are really taking this opportunity to take the next step in your career as best you can provide at the times? That's precisely what I wanna talk about today. The people that are really out there working hard on their craft right now and really putting in the time and the hours are gonna come out of this a whole another level higher than what they were when they went into this pandemic. I think if I had to make a bet on just about anything would be that when we come out of this pandemic, the bar will actually be higher for what is required of all of us. I'm talking about if you're a musician, your musicianship, your ability to play your instrument on a high level, all the other intangibles like social media presence and those type of things, the truth is, we can't expect things to be the same when we come out of this, and if you're sitting around and not really making big strides on yourself and investing in yourself two times three times four times more than you ever have before, you're gonna get left behind when this is all over. The reason why I bring these things up is because I think it's important for all of us to realize this in the creative world, there's gonna be a real need for what we do when we get out of all of this. And if we spend our time wisely preparing for the future, we're going to reap the rewards.

I know many of us have been talking to all of our friends that maybe aren't doing so well with this pandemic and being in isolation and not really having a good mental head space or their hearts broken because they can't see their favorite people. And if you're one of those people that are going out and doing those things. It's really important that you continue to do those things. If you haven't done that, please pick up the phone and call somebody, it could be someone that you don't have a relationship with, really, that's just in your phone and maybe you've worked with a couple of times, they'll be really appreciate it. You called and reached out.

Well, it becomes the byproduct of really focusing in on who you are as an artist right now and doubling your time into it, tripling your time into it. The fringe benefit becomes that you keep your mind busy and you keep your heart full of producing art that you love. Which is funny, that is, to buy product because ultimately keeping your head strong right now and your mental game focused on the future as well as your heart satisfied and creating art in the moment that we have, that's just totally void of regular finances and stuff, it's going to keep you going through this whole entire pandemic, so I don't know who needs to hear that out there, but there's somebody out there that needs to I ask the question again, what will your 2020 be defined as? Will it be a year that is totally lost and totally void of any sort of advancement, your life or career, or will you choose to rise up, become a better version of yourself and do the work that's required to make tomorrow.

I would be really interested in knowing what you're doing currently to make sure that your head is screwed on straight and that your heart is full of your art.

That you are putting in the work that's required to advance every day post in the comments below and tell me what you're doing because, Hey, I could use some advice and also other people that watch this video could probably use that advice too, it's important that we check on each other, love on each other and create... To our minds and our hearts. explode right now. So that we stay on track for the future. Don't wait, do it now, this will end one day, and you'll look back at 2020 and realize that this was the start of something great. See, don't you feel great already? Awesome. Call someone and tell them that you love them today. Until next time, I'm Sweet Deat.