How to Make a living as an Artist
If you want to know how to make a living as an artist, the first thing you should do is decide that art will be your occupation. Once that decision is made, you will begin to find ways to make a living with your art.
I know there are many very successful artists who make a good living doing what they do, but there are even more people who dabble at being an artist and are told to "Get a real job." After all, people want their daughters to marry doctors, lawyers, and other high paying professionals, not an artist. (Unless of course the artist is already insanely successful and rich.)
Like being an actress, a musician or a writer, being an artist has a certain stigma attached to it. I remember an episode of The Rockford Files where Rockford, a private eye, asked a sidewalk artist the price of one of his paintings and the artist quoted a very high price. Then Rockford offered him $75.00 for it if he would also include some information concerning a case he was working on. The artist accepted the offer. He was trying to make a living and he needed to sell a painting.
What are your paintings worth?
In selling and pricing art, it is all about supply and demand. You can put very high prices on your paintings, but if you are not selling them for those prices, you can't say that they are "worth" that amount.The value of your art can vary depending on where you are located and how many people are willing to exchange their hard earned money for your art.
If you consistently sell a certain size of painting for about the same price , then that is what a painting of that size by you is said to be worth. If you want to buy insurance on your paintings, the insurance company will require proof that you consistently sell your paintings within a certain price range.
A painting that cannot be sold or is not valued by anyone is not worth the price of the canvas it is painted on, and it just takes up space in your garage. Therefore, marketing and selling your art on a regular basis becomes equally important as the doing of the work.
If you want to do what you love for a living, then you have to learn the business and the marketing side of it. If not, then you will be punching a clock and hoping to have the time and energy to do some painting on the weekends.
It takes guts to quit your job; especially if it is a good paying job with benefits. That may be why many artists don't seem to have the ability to hold down a job and why they don't get good jobs. It could be possible that they do this on purpose because they know how much of a trap a good job can be. It takes up too much time and it would take a lot of guts to quit and try to earn a living selling paintings on a street corner.
You have to believe that you can do what you love and at the same time make your living doing it. You should begin by having a clear vision of what you want and head in that direction. Don't get distracted.
What about getting a degree in art?
I met a woman who spent four years in college and she had an art degree and yet she told me that what she really wanted to do was be an artist. I asked, "Did you not learn to paint in college?" She said no. She said that her art degree looked good on a resume but that was all it was good for. She could get a job as an art director or an art teacher but she could not paint a pretty picture. I guess painting a pretty picture is not something they teach in college.
Another encounter I had that was rather enlightening was with a college professor who saw me drawing caricatures at a night club. He said he envied me because I was "really out there doing it." I was actually making money doing my art. This was something he desired and dreamed of doing, but he could not because he was so wrapped up (trapped) in his career and obligations as a professor. It was not that he could not create beautiful art, (he could) but he did not have the time to do it and he was not making his living doing it. I found that interesting, as I was doing it because I needed to pay the rent and it was my dream to become a successful oil painter. I was a struggling artist and yet in his eyes I was living his dream. He was unhappy with his life. Even though I was not what I considered successful, I was enjoying what I was doing.
I am not telling people to quit their jobs and live as a struggling artist, but I am saying that if you want to be a full time artist, you can't expect to do so and also have a "real job" at the same time. You have to earn your living, but you should always be working towards your goal of being an artist.
Don't expect to be discovered.
Learn how to market your art or your chances of making a living at it are very slim and none. Learning marketing and learning basic color mixing and composition are the boring basic steps to begin with. If you are passionate and determined enough you can get through these. After you develop your skill to the point where you can paint the way you want, then paint the way you want. Don't paint the way you think someone else wants you to paint. Don't try to guess what subject matter will sell better and paint that. You must paint in the way that is exciting to you and paint the things that interest you. It is not what you paint that makes a painting good, but how you paint it.
Get a website or blog to show your work.
Gone are the days where artists were forced to beg and barter to get a gallery to take their work and half or more of the money for their paintings. I'm not saying that your agent does not deserve half, but if you can sell direct you can keep your prices low and make just as much or more money for yourself. If you can't build a website, and don't want to keep it updated yourself, then set up a blog or get someone to set one up for you. Web hosting companies like Hostgator have made setting up a blog so simple you can have your own blog up and running in less than an hour if you have an account with them.
Sell your art on Ebay as a self represented artist, or on an art site on the Internet that will let you post your work for a small monthly charge, or will promote and sell your art via the Internet for a commission.
Advertise.
That means get people to go to your website or blog. Give them a reason to go there. Have your website on your business cards, in your email signatures and everywhere you can think. Place small ads, exchange links, advertise on facebook, google and other networks. Get in a blog-ring, write articles. Yes, all of this takes time away from painting, but if you don't learn marketing, you will not sell your work unless you get an agent. Finding an agent who is as enthusiastic about your work as you are is not an easy task, and lucky is the artist who does find the right agent. If you do find a good agent, pay them well because they will help put money in your pocket while you follow your passion and do the thing you love most.
As Drayton Bird would say: "Knowing what to do is useless if you don’t DO it!"
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