These 5 "Yin And Yang" Artworks Enabled Me To Make A Living As An Artist At The Age Of 22

Creating art has been my passion ever since I can remember. Never ever did I imagine though, that it could be possible for me to make a living off my hobby.

I started painting digitally when I turned 14 years old and got a graphic tablet and Adobe Photoshop for my birthday. Digital Art became my best friend. I would spend hours and hours in front of my PC (I was a weird kid) trying to improve my drawing skills. Eventually, I started posting my artworks online on deviantart, where they attracted like-minded people and got quite some attention.

When I turned 18, I decided to go on a 2-years-long missionary trip for my church, despite many people telling me I was insane, since I could not just leave my ever growing fanbase behind. At that point quite a few of my artworks had gotten viral and people started to ask for commissions and prints - I was at the peek of my beginning career as an artist and yet I decided to leave for 24 months to share with others what I believe in.

Around 18 months ago I returned from my stay abroad and did not know what to expect regarding my future. I tried to continue my pursue to become a full-time artist, but realized it was quite a tough industry with lots of competition. Something that had always fascinated me was the interplay of light and darkness - or good and evil - and how one needs the other to exist. On my mission trip I had learned and pondered a lot about the forces inside us humans, that influence us and make us who we are. Whether people believe in God or not, something that almost everyone admits is, that there is "good" and "evil" and that these forces affect our thoughts and decisions in some way.

So I created my "Symbols of Life" series: 5+ artworks inspired by the interplay and relationship between "good" and "evil", embodied by animals, that are forming popular symbols with commonly known meanings: heart, Yin & Yang, circle, eternity and the peace symbol. These images went viral, resonating with an unbelievable amount of people and enabled me to make a living as an artist by selling prints, clothing, coloring books and original artworks. I never went to art school and I still can not believe, that I am able to do what I love and live off it.

To anyone out there trying to pursue their dreams: do not listen to what people say. Stay true to who you are. Be brave. You will never know, if the life you dream of living could come true, if you do not take a risk and at least TRY pursuing it.

Thank you for reading! Hope you get a little inspiration from my art and my story!

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