At Radcon I spoke with Theresa Mather for a long while about what she does for a living. She sends her art out to 50 conventions a year. She claims to make a pretty decent living at it. She's her own boss. She admitted she'll never be rich, but she has her own house. Could I do that? I've been rolling it around in my head ever since. There are a few things I'd need to work out. Medical insurance for one. She doesn't need it. I do. I'd need to finish paying off my debts, which is still a couple years down the road. I'd need to keep working here or somewhere similar until I was done. I'd have to get a decent work space. Better lighting. Supplies and storage. Matting equipment. Yuck! I really hate matting, but I'd have to do that to make it economical enough.

It would require working from home eventually. I'd need to be pretty focused about it. Looking at her work, I think I'm at least as talented. I am concerned about whether my work would appeal to people. She does a lot of animal stuff. I find it kind of boring. I've never been good at catering to the masses.

The business aspects are really daunting. Business licenses, bookkeeping, taxes. Also the chore of packing the art up and sending it out. I don't know if that would be worth the trade off of being my own boss.

I suppose I could take on a bit at a time and see where this leads. Food for thought.