Why Be One Dimentional? by Eddy Dio

Most people, who have read my writing, have said that I write very well and my character/cartoon voices are top notch. So why not do them all? I have found that when an artist is good at one thing they have talents in other areas as well. Look at singer Tony Bennett. You know him as musician but he is also an artist as in painting/drawing/ sketching and look at actor Paul Sorvino. He is a poet, painter and sculptor. I did not know he was multi talented until I saw him interviewed on of those entertainment shows. Jennifer Lopez is an actress, dancer, and singer. Actor Jack Black from such movies as Shallow Hal and Orange County is also the singer of the rock band Tenacious D. Why not do something else you are talented in? Yes there is something you want to be known in and established as but we only go around once so why not try everything you feel you're good at? It seems artists get pigeonholed into these titles and if they do more then one type of art they are not taken seriously at other types of art because they are established in that medium and would like to do something else. I am sure they love what they do but after a while it does become a job so maybe this is fun for them after a grueling day at their acting job. It may be an artistic stress release or maybe it was something they always wanted to do or were just inspired somehow from the movie they were working on. Then you hear “He’s an actor who wants to be a musician" and vice versa and then no one takes you/them seriously. You also hear "Why don't they just stick to one thing?" Some of these actors and actresses got their start in art, I am sure, and then went into pursuing other avenues such as acting and music. I am sure there are commercial artists and cartoonists who are doing that type of art so they can make a living. They would maybe rather be doing fine art, which is their life and passion, but they need to pay the bills so they are doing that to just make a living. Yes it is a "double edged sword" to use the cliché. So what do you do? Do you not take a chance on what you have a passion and interest in never knowing what could become of it because you are known for and established in something else? Or do you take those chances and see what happens because I always say, "You never know until you try. If you don't try then you will never know." And it is so true. I leave you with this quote from actor Paul Sorvino from that same entertainment show I saw him interviewed on and I am sure his quote rings true with most, if not all, of us artists. "I am not happy unless I am creating."