I’ve called myself WriterPainter on social media for as long as there’s been social media. In actuality, for a long time I was 95% Painter, now, I’m 95% Writer. Nearly three years ago I was doing both. After leaving the Dream Job I decided I’d paint what I wanted to paint rather than to brief. It was fun for a while but then I got bored. Not once during my 20 years of making and painting did someone say to me ‘Oh you might be the next Frida Kahlo, or the next Margaret Olley,’ or even the next Ken Done, considering I was making very commercial art.
So why, within minutes of telling someone I’ve written a book or that I am a writer, do they say ‘Oh you might be the next JK Rowling.’ It’s always her isn’t it? I’m sure sometimes it’s the next Stephen King or Lee Child but for the most part it’s JK Rowling because she’s uber famous and she’s female.
It took me a while, but I understand now that what they are saying is ‘Oh you might write some books and be discovered and be uber rich and famous, and I know you.’ The phrase says nothing about me as a writer or as a person, it’s about their (limited) understanding of the creative world.
Just for the record, I wouldn’t say no to being the next JK Rowling. She’s doing wonderful things with her good fortune.
Feature Photo by Me! Burleigh Heads
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