?

Is it an intrinsically human thing to want to be understood?
At least on some basic level by people who know us and people we love and care about?

We are all focused into our unique perspective, and can't/shouldn't relate to everything others experience, and that's fine. It is good for people to be different. But ..... maybe we can know some people better than others, even if we can't necessarily relate to them.

And I do know better that non-artists will never understand artists.
Even if those non-artists have their own creative dabbles.
Not everyone who dabbles in paint is an artist.

Where am I going with this?

I don't consider my painting to be a "hobby".
Even though it doesn't pay my rent.
(It does pay for itself sometimes, which is nice.)
It's a vocation.
Not a hobby.

I HAVE to do it. I came into this life with it and it drives me and defines me.

It often is hard work, and it isn't "a shame" that it isn't always enjoyable.
It takes a lot of practice, training, time, problem-solving, and a stupid amount of my life and headspace.

I am no different from any other artist in this regard, we all tend to say the same things and experience the same things. Pretty much all artists I have had this conversation with say painting is quite stressful, and non-artists are very surprised by this.

I'm talking about artists, not non-artist hobbyists and yes there is a difference.

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Definition of Hobby:
An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.
"her hobbies are reading and gardening"

And-----

Google says:
"Is sleeping considered a hobby? Yes, it is! A Hobby is a regular activity done for pleasure, which takes up your spare time and doesn't pay you money and you don't have to be a professional for it."

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Um, this is EXACTLY why I feel diminished if someone calls my painting a hobby.
To put it on the level of an activity that requires no skill, no training, no dedication.

Painting can be a "hobby" for some people but they probably do it because they find it relaxing, and I have never encountered an artist walking the artist life path who thinks painting is relaxing.
That's not why we do it. And that is not "a shame".

I think I just really hate the word hobby.
It's too casual and too broad.

Do I have something I consider to be a hobby?
Yes, gaming.

But painting and all that goes into it is a vocation.
You don't go to college to study a "hobby".

I think it is an artist/non-artist difference.

************
I asked Carey what she thought of the word hobby in relation to art because like me, she is an artist, a lifelong vocation, and it doesn't pay her bills.

She says:
Honestly, it's always bothered me, though I also think it maybe shouldn't be that big of a deal because most people just don't get it and you likely can't communicate why to those types. I guess maybe it's also an ego thing, though, as to why it bothers me.

Artists get it in such a different way than non-artists.
This is why artists NEED other artist friends.

I appreciate her response so much because...she gets it.