This article is written for an adolescent audience but may also be enjoyed by persons of other ages.

Student (and you are a lifelong student), you may be asking yourself questions such as, “Am I an artist?” “What is an artist?” and/or “What is life as an artist?”

As it is with life, one individual may have more choices than does another. These choices may or may not be related to the amount of money (or lack thereof) available to support a certain lifestyle. Depending upon your creative or artistic medium of choice, money may play a lead or lesser role.

So, money may be your first consideration or it may be lower on your list of considerations.

For example, if you draw, sketch or design graphically, you may be spending less money on supplies or equipment than would be someone who paints or someone who is working at becoming a recording musician or a recording artist. Sketch pads and pencils may be less expensive than are painting supplies or recording equipment, though in recent years the basic graphics and recording tools have been made available for free online. Either way, you may eventually need your own computer which you may not yet have.

If you are reading this article from a computer at your school or a computer at your local library, good for you! You have already discovered an economical avenue for exploring your love of art and/or music and educating yourself on how to enjoy life as an artist.

As you work at your art and therefore become more artistically experienced or advanced, money may become more of a concern. You may begin to discover that the tools available for free online are not sufficient for your more advanced knowledge and skills. You have outgrown the tools. Congratulations on your time and effort!

Hopefully, you are taking art and music classes and therefore have art and music teachers as resources—people who can provide new tools or point you to someone he or she knows who might be able to help you with your current needs for new tools. If you are already skilled at or become practiced at online and library research you will likely find your own artistic way. Finding your own way may be even more artistically gratifying than if it seems family members, teachers and friends are trying to tell you which direction to go.

Not that you should ignore the voice of experience and the voices of people who know you best. And not that you can ignore the fact that your talents came from somewhere in your family. Remain humble. Recognize your parents and your teachers as people who have lived more life than have you and therefore deserve a certain given amount of respect. That said, after you have considered what those around you are saying, only you as the artist will know what is right for you, because being an artist means discovering your own inner self.

Let’s assume you now believe that you are in fact an artist. How do you know this? You may have achieved A’s in your art or music classes. Art or music teachers may have told you that you have a special talent. Someone may have told you that you have a good eye or a good ear. Maybe no one has said anything in particular about your work. You may simply have a sense that there is something unique about the way you perceive the world or the way in which you express yourself artistically or creatively.

One of the most important realizations of an artist is that you are not the only one. Obviously, there are other students in your classes who have also achieved A’s. Will these students also choose art as a lifelong endeavor or will they choose different paths? Be conscious of them. Again, remain humble. Remember that you are not the only one and that you will always have room for improvement or new methods in your art. Keep working at your art and keep educating yourself.

Keep visiting ZArtTones.com and follow ZArtBlog. Look for the next article in this series about the choices an artist makes to keep his or her art in focus.