"Bills are consistent. Income is not.

"There it is. Once you realise the full implications of that simple statement you can begin to deal with the least palatable and most omnipresent reality of a life in the arts: the tyranny of money.

"Money is a burden for everyone, because money, though not our reason for living, is at the centre of our lives. But money is an especially onerous burden for the artist, because what is at the centre of our life controls our consciousness, and, for an artist, our consciousness and our ability to direct it is the source of our creative power.

"We don't go into the arts because we want to make money. We go into the arts because we want to create. It seems unfair that we must spend our lives foraging for the finances necessary to make those creations. But that is how it is, because the arts, no matter what the discipline, are project-based; when you have finished a project, you find yourself exhilarated, spent, and without work. So, with rare exceptions, artists are always worried about where the next job, and the accompanying income, will come from.

"Unless you are independently wealthy or one of the rare few who achieves financial security through the practice of your art, you must make a hard choice when it comes to money. Either you can take jobs related to your art to keep your heart close to the art you love, but risk dissipating your creative energy in creating works of inconsequence; or you can protect your creative energies by making a living doing something completely unrelated to your art, but risk losing connection with the art in your heart.

"Artists at all times have struggled with this, and artists at all times have chosen each of these routes. Which route you choose will depend a great deal on your temperament and inner strength."