I’ve had people ask me before what it’s like to be married to an artist. I think what people really mean is “what’s it like to live with someone so creative all the time” but the reality is that every artist (like every person) is probably different. My husband, for example, is definitely not the stereotype of the flaky, flighty, head-in-the-clouds artist. In another life, in fact, my husband probably would have been a scientist of some kind, or maybe an engineer.

That said, he IS creative. He looks at the world in a much different way than I look at the world, and that difference can be astounding in how we approach everything from how to paint the living room to what to have for dinner to how we figure out our budget. His creativity is a wonderful thing, but one that I admit I don’t always have ANY idea what to do with.

There’s no way to really encompass what it’s like to live with every artist. There’s no way to really even encompass what it’s like to live with THIS artist. It’s so many wonderful, frustrating, awesome, bizarre, funny things that just…ARE. But there are some hints I can share. Being married to an artist can be:

• paint flecks in all your sinks
• pens you aren’t allowed to touch
• animals who have learned not to walk on the art
• art supplies in every room in the house
• another trip to Michael’s/Aaron Brothers/Blick
• “one minute while I sketch this idea”
• spending more on paints and paper and other supplies than you spend on clothes
• “hey, can you pose for me real quick?”
• more clothes covered in paint than not
• seeing the point when a person becomes an object when they’re being drawn
• constant explanations of what font is on a menu/sign/billboard/commercial
• more images in the “morgue file” on your computer than there are pictures of your kid
• rewatching title credits on movies to see the animations again
• hours of DVD extras looking at art/storyboards/how-they-did-thats
• “no honey, those are daddy’s paints, not yours”
• doodles on old bills
• hand-drawn cards and gifts (sometimes)
• the most awesome nursery ever

…among other things.

Mostly, being married to an artist, for me, has meant that I’ve had years of learning to look at the world differently. I may never see the details and shades my husband does, but I’ve learned to look for more than just the surface. It’s opened my eyes to see angles and curves and colors and shadows I’d never have looked for on my own. The world looks different when I try to view it the way my husband does…and a new perspective is always a good thing (even if the paint in the sink does drive me nuts).

{ 17 comments }