To ask if it is a mid life crisis

[whydoInotmatter]

My husband has decided that he wants to try and display and sell his art work? I don’t want to be unsupportive - but seriously! He knows nothing about art or artistic techniques - he occasionally draws passable drawings. I honestly do not think he has any real talent. Do I just shut up and let him get on with it? Is it even for me to say to him if I think he has any real talent or not? Does anyone else have a deluded husband? Should I be more supportive?

It's a phenomenally tough gig for talented, trained professionals so let him have at it. I give it til March, tops...

Let him get on with it. He’ll sink or swim, but why hurt him, which is what it would be. For what it’s worth my pal decided she was going to be an artist. Started painting all sorts of stuff, got herself a studio and put up an exhibition and sold loads of art. Seriously she wasn’t ‘all that’, but she was living her dream and being happy. That’s all that matters. Life is short.

I just feel that once he goes into the ‘real world’ people will tell him how it really is and he will be devestated - but seriously how deluded can one person be? I feel a bitch for not getting behind him - even though I think he is being ridiculous!

Oh you are probably right! It is not as if he is hurting anyone! Live and let live.

Support him, but encourage him to start small and explore the market before making any major investment in the venture.

I'm an artist.
Apparently.
I'm looking into whether it would make me enough money for it to be a viable contribution to the household, because thanks to disabilities I'm not very employable.
There's a market for everything out there.

My dh did a short poetry course in the evenings at the local college, 2 years later he's had three pamphlets published - he works hard at it, has had amazing mentors and a thriving social network too.

He cringes at his earliest stuff, but he had to do that to get critique and improve.

My son makes a living from art and you have to be seriously talented to get anywhere and usual multi talented as in animation and computer art also these days. He does well but passable or untalented artists usually end up on Etsy selling nothing.
let him get on with it, I just home he doesn't crash too badly. Sounds like a midlife crisis to me, just be thankful it's not motorbikes or rubber gear.

Thanks everyone. I will try and stop being such a cow! It seems to stem partly from an art teacher telling him he was good over 40 years ago. I might be more convinced if he had done more than the odd drawing since then - surely if he loved art and he believed he had real talent it would have played a more significant role in his life?