I do art, but my parents think it's a waste of time, shouldi just ignore them?

I'M 27 . I like to draw, and do computer graphics and that's what i do all the time when i have time. i live with parents so they always see that i'm doing art and stuff in my room. I even show them but .. they always ask "Is this gonna make you money?" and then i say No..





Anyways, they think that art is a waste of time if i don't make money out of it. But i do it for my own happiness and as a mental exercise. it's my passion, my life.





im just a quiet person with no friends, but I enjoy doing art.





My parents will never accept me doing art. Instead they would love me to be a talkative business guy. By the way my parents are immigrants and always did labor and worked hard for their money. So my father always feels that anything i do should be for money.

I do art, but my parents think it's a waste of time, shouldi just ignore them?
Nothing you enjoy doing that hurts no other creature is a waste of time. Ask them if they would feel better if you were hanging out in bars with friends; not that that's a bad thing, in moderation.





I do not know your financial situation, but by age 27 shouldn't you have your own place? Then you wouldn't have to excuse your activities to anyone.
Reply:i'm having the same prob here. i'm banned from doing anything related to art. what am i supposed to do? i'm 15. Report It

Reply:it depends how talented you R on these arts


if not you do it as a hobby
Reply:Not so much of ignoring them but maybe helping them out. I am a 30 year old female and it has taken enough courage to say..., " Hey my stuff looks pretty good. Maybe I should try to sell it."


Computer Graphics. Wow. Now how do you think they do the movies anymore. That is if I am thinking right. I have a cousin who has a job in computer graphics and believe me it does pay a nice ball of green cash!


A lot of parents think differently. Like mine has been pushing me saying you need to sale this stuff. It's that good. So now I am finally doing it after all this time.


I honestly think they are concerned about you. They may not see it the way you do.


Let me just remind you of this. There was a man a long time ago. He didn't have nothing but he loved to draw. He drew this and that and tried to make money with it. After a while he had a little here and there and occasionally they were some that said no. Well this guy had a little friend. Believe it or not it was a little rat and he had come very close to it. Then came the day when he had to move and live him behind. He never forgot his friend. Well to make a long story short that friend ment so much to him he drew him. I think you might know him. Although the rat had a different name that what his dream was built on. That little rat after all those years became know as Mickey Mouse.


NO KIDDING.... I am not sure how right I got all of that but I know it's very close.


Don't let someone talk you out of or even take away something you dream of. Keep it up. Even if it is something you only want in your heart or in your room.


Best of luck to you.


PS..., I learned to draw when I was sick with a brain tumor. It was my way of letting go of things that bothered me all the time. I know your parents are worried about where you would go with your art. Maybe you should consider selling some of it to show them that it's worth something.


You know what makes you happy so keep doing it.
Reply:I think that your parents are just worried about your financial security and that is understandable. (I know how you feel because I was in the same situation with my parents.)





I think you should try to explain to your parents (again) why art makes you happy. You could possibly show them what jobs you would want in the field or even have a back-up job just in case you are not making enough money with your art. You need to try and explain that you understand that you will not be making enough money but you have different choices of what you can do to make more money.





In the end if you are truly happy with doing art then continue to do that. It won't be necessarily ignoring your parents but you do need to do what makes YOU happy not what makes your parents happy. The will eventually understand you choice. (Mine did.)
Reply:Art isn't hurting anyone around you, so who cares what others think about what you do? If it's something you enjoy doing then you shouldn't stop, despite what your parents say. Art may not always be a really lucrative career, but people do make money with it. Think about it- almost everything around you was designed by an artist. An artist designed your computer monitor, and the logo on that monitor. An artist designed your computer desk, or the pattern on the sheets of your bed. An artist helps to set up camera shots in movies and t.v. Your parents may not understand it, but that doesn't make it a waste of time. I don't understand physics, but does that mean physics is a waste of time? I think not.
Reply:You are way ahead in the game of life...you have passion


which is in short supply in this greedy, material country.


Unfortunately there is a huge gap between you and your


parents that probably will never close in this regard. I'm


sure that when you grow into your art and find the genre


that you can make your life's work, they will see that you


are dedicated to it. Eventually, the happiness they see


in you will tell them enough. I think they just don't want


to see you struggle as they did. Let them know what


a beautiful struggle art is.
Reply:Your parents just want the best for you especially if they had to work hard for their money. I do hope you have a job and don't depend on them for money because otherwise they have a reason to complain. You are 27 years old already. You can make money from your art you just need to know where to look. If you enjoy it so much you find a job that has to do with your art, I did and I am very happy about it. Show your parents that you are happy with what you are doing and tell them that you hope they can accept that you are happy with what you do in your spare time and that you can't be what they want you to be because you would not be happy.
Reply:As long as you really are working hard for the money you do make, what you choose to do in your free time is up to you. In addition, who knows, someday this could be making you money. Tell them it's an investment in your future, whether it makes money or not.





Have you considered moving out? There's not a thing wrong with loving art and drawing, I think it's an admirable trait. If you want to avoid the daily harping on your choices, separating from your parents is a good idea.





All parents want their kids to make lots and lots of money and have a better life than they did, blah blah, but truth is, sometimes they make it worse by making your childhood kind of... naggy. As long as this is a good, constructive hobby, it should be fine.
Reply:definitely stick with it! your 27, they dont really have much say in what you do anymore. btw...why are still at home? and YES you can make money off of it. Look around for comp graphics jobs, theres plenty out there. post secondary schooling may be an asset, but your 27...get a good job to pay for school, learn to be a graphic designer and youll make tons of cash! i love to draw and my parents supported me even though i wasnt going to be turning it into a career. you can! go for it!


and maybe get your own place...
Reply:I may be biased but my daughter was making money with her artwork when she was not yet out of high school. Do your parents want you to live with them? I know that some cultures encourage this but if their attitude is somehow discouraging and/or compromising your following your bliss then perhaps you need to break away and follow your own path.
Reply:Parents are usually wrong anyways keep making art enter a few contests and if you don't win big deal as long as you like it. Get a job that has something to do with art like interior design, graphic design or just something for cash and do art for fun. And move out of your parents house then they cant say what your doing is a waste of time cuz they wont be there.
Reply:Don't ignore your parents. If anything work harder to have a good relationship with them.





At 27 it wouldn't be a bad idea to get your own place. If it's just to not hear anyone else's crap.





You can make money at art if you want to, but if it's what makes you happy don't trade that for cash. It's a bad trade. Your happiness is your repsosibility. So be happy.
Reply:You are following your natural desires and talent. To be able to express oneself artistically is an amazing gift.





I too have migrant parents, so I understand where you are coming from.





Computer graphics can make you money by the way.





Enrol yourself in a course (27) and follow that dream.
Reply:Sorry but I kinda agree with your parents. If your art is not able to support you then you need to put it on the back burner for a while and try and find a job that can get you out of their house. At almost 30 you should be settling into your life not waiting for it to begin. If you want to make it a career that is great but it seems a little to late you should have started back in school. Once you get out on your own I more than encourage you to draw or paint but only as a hobby until you can make a living off it.