Collecting experience with knowledge

It's Monday again and I've managed to come up for some air a bit yesterday and today. Since August 12th until September 15th I pretty consistently put in 10 to 12 or more hours of relatively solid work every day without a break. Why? Well, for starters, as a freelancer I need to earn a living so I put in the necessary time to do what I could to meet that goal for my budget. Then, on top of that, GenCon '12 happened between Aug. 12th and 20th (including travel time). My business partners with Harsh Realities and a few volunteers ran 46 games in four days. It was a blast, people seemed to genuinely love our games and dice mechanic, gave praise and valuable feedback, and we learned a lot about what works and what doesn't work. It was also exhausting. Still, I took a few moments to look around the exhibit hall, see some other artists, and of course, a few art directors as well. I came home excited to get to work, and still had a week's worth of work to catch up on, so I put my head down and got to it. Oh, and on top of that there is the web comic to pump out every week. :)
So, that's why. I've been freelancing, working on artwork for Harsh Realities, Art Directing for Harsh Realities, doing the web comic for Worldview Warriors, and ramping up submissions for future projects and bigger clients as well. It's been crazy! This is the part where the rubber hits the road, as they say. I had a portfolio review with Wizards of the Coast that left me feeling in between worlds. I was told I was essentially wasting my talent by jobbing it out, but at the same time those practical needs of daily, weekly, and monthly life don't just go away because an artist suddenly decides he/she is just simply better than the pay they are currently getting. So here's what I have come to. If I want to reach my potential, I have to really hone those art and illustration skills. It takes hard work, dedication, and self-motivated drive. I also feel like I need to really locate my 'voice' as an artist, as much as I really dislike that sort of language. Still, I've had people tell me they can identify my work by it's look. I have a hard time doing that. So perhaps a better way to state this is that I need to learn to focus my already existent style in a more conscious manner.
Either way, I need to level up again. And the only way to level up is to gain experience. In the game world that's achieved by adventuring, slaying monsters, toppling challenges, and achieving goals. In the real world, as an illustrator, it's much the same, but I would say carefully observing, executing your observations, consistently and repeatedly knocking down the habits or short-comings of your work flow, and replacing your old portfolio with a newly acquired series of images to show off. After all, when you level up, people notice. You get new skills, or a new weapon or other gear, or a special ability that sets you apart from all the other adventurers out there. So. Knowledge and experience lead to leveling up. Putting in the hard work, extra hours, and dedication it takes to see yourself through to the next tier.
Oh, and one more thing that has helped put all this in perspective. Since starting the art direction process for Harsh Realities' first book, my artistic eye has changed. I have to give credit to Ninja Mountain podcast as well. I've been listening to their archived podcasts as I work and a lot of the insights offered there have helped remind me or inform me of things I need to know as an illustrator and an artist. I don't have that community of artists so much, but I now feel like I'm starting to create one around myself at least across the internet. A big part of this new network is from the artists I have been able to work with on the artwork for HR, and as I said, it's changed how I look at art. Especially my own. I think from here on out I will be thinking more like an art director when I create artwork, and I think that has already changed how I approach things from the ground up.