Making a living as an artist is
hard. Getting to a point where art sales are sufficient to sustain life can
take years of sacrifice and hard work. Many of you know I grew up in the home
of an artist. My father, John Horejs, has been a full-time, professional artist
for over thirty years, so I’ve witnessed the challenges an artist (and the
artist’s family) face. I remember periods of extreme financial hardship growing
up while my dad worked to establish his career. There would be periods of
months where nothing would sell. These difficult times challenged my father and
mother’s resolve to pursue my father’s dream of making a living as an artist.
This experience is nearly universal
for artists. The words “starving” and “artist” seem to fit naturally together.
Many artists feel compelled to pursue other work in order to make ends meet and
have to relegate their artistic endeavors to the side. In my extensive
interactions with artists from around the country, I’ve met many who’ve worked
very hard to carve out time to create art around a busy work/family/life
schedule.
Artists who are in the struggle to
balance their outside work with their art career often ask me whether it’s
possible to build a successful art career while engaged in another job. This is
a difficult question to answer. The definition of “success” can vary
dramatically from one artist to another. Everyone’s tolerance for risk and
sacrifice differs as well. A young, single artist can withstand a lot more
sacrifice than an artist who has a family to support.
If your definition of success
includes showing and selling your work in galleries, however, you’ll find it
very difficult to break in if you are working full time and creating art on the
side. As a gallery owner, I see very few artists who are able to juggle a full-time,
non-art career and their art, and are able to create enough high-quality art to
successfully work with galleries.
Why
it’s Necessary to Take the Leap
Production
Math
Why is a full-time commitment
necessary? To a large extent, it’s simple math. In order to produce enough
inventory to sustain gallery relationships, you’ve got to spend a lot of time
creating. Successful artists typically show in multiple galleries. They know
that not everything they produce is going to sell. While every artist’s level
of productivity varies, the math is pretty simple:
Annual Work Produced * Percentage of
Artwork Sold Annually * Average Net Sale Price (after commissions and expenses)
= Artist Net Income
A successful artist is going to be
working on all three components of the equation. Net sale price and % of
artwork sold annually rises as demand increases. Demand will increase as
the artist expands reputation and markets her/his work. Increasing demand takes
time though, and early in the artist’s career the factor that is most readily
controlled is the first, production.
An artist who has a full-time,
non-art career can certainly carve out time to create and be very disciplined
about production, but they are still at a disadvantage to full-time artists.
The non-art work is going to sap energy, creativity, and time.
Focus
In addition to having more time to
create, there’s great value in the focus an artist gets when their livelihood
relies on art sales. An artist who depends on their art to eat is going to push
themselves harder to produce and to get their work out there. An artist
who is hungry is going to push a little harder when talking to a gallery owner
about representation.
Gallery
Respect
Galleries are more likely to invest
their efforts and resources in an artist who has made the full time commitment
to art. Speaking from personal experience, it’s harder to make a commitment to
show an artist when I feel that I may not be able to get the inventory I need
because the artist has outside obligations.
How
to survive the leap
Have
a Strategy
Let me be clear, I’m not suggesting
that you tender your resignation from your full-time job today. If you know you
want to go full-time with your art, it would be wise to plan ahead. Talk to
full time artists in your area (or in your social media circles) and ask them
for advice on how to proceed. Council with your significant other and family
members about the commitment you’re wanting to make to your art.
Create a business plan for your art
business (you can find great tools to help you with this at http://www.sba.gov/business-plan/1).
Try to be realistic about your projections regarding sales (sales will be lower
than you expect) and your expenses (they’ll be higher than you expect).
I might humbly suggest reading (or
re-reading) my books, “Starving”
to Successful and
How to Sell Art . These books are resources that will help you build a
general approach to your art business and find gallery representation.
Live
Within Your Means
Over the last several years I’ve had
a number of conversations with artists who survived the Great Recession, and
even saw their business grow. It was interesting that they have all mentioned
to me the importance of steering clear of debt – especially consumer debt.
While they may not be driving the newest luxury car or watching the game on a
brand new, giant TV, these artists are able to create without the stress of
unnecessary debt looming over them.
Simplify your finances and avoid
luxuries. While I know many artists who have attained a level of real comfort
in their lives, most still work to keep things simple by avoiding too many
possessions.
Be
Mentally Prepared for the Worst
I would encourage you to also allow
for the fact that things may be harder than you can currently conceive. As you
contemplate taking the leap to full-time, you are probably imagining that
whatever hardships you might face will be worth it because you’ll be doing what
you love. From my experience pursuing my dream of having a gallery, and from
talking to full-time artists, I can tell you that your vision of what it will
be like is probably overly-romantic.
As you dive into the daily work of
being an artist, you are very quickly going to discover that it is . . .
WORK! Some days it’s even going to feel like drudgery. This is probably
one of the greatest shocks you can face when you’ve built art up in your
mind as the greatest pleasure in your life. Be prepared to push through periods
of frustration.
You should also prepare for the
discouragement that comes from lack of recognition for your work. It’s going to
be harder than you realize to find fans and buyers for your work. It’s going to
take longer than you expect to cultivate gallery relationships.
Your savings will drop at an
alarming rate. Your car will break down, requiring costly repairs, and your air
conditioning will go out. It will feel like the universe is conspiring against
you.
I personally know artists who have
been through bankruptcy, divorce, depression and worse.
So,
Is It Worth It?
After reading how hard it can be,
you might be asking yourself, “Am I sure I really want to pursue my art
full-time?” For some, the answer may be, “nope!”, and that’s fine. You may
decide that you can pursue your art as a passionate side-interest. You may choose
to wait to do more until you’ve earned your retirement. As I said earlier in
the post, your definition of success is your own. There is still great
satisfaction, and even financial reward, to be found in a part-time pursuit of
your art.
For those of you who can’t shake the
siren song of a full time art career (and yes, I chose “siren song”
deliberately), I hope you go into with eyes wide open and ready to work harder
than you ever have. Success won’t come easy, but when (and if) it does
come, you will feel the most intense satisfaction possible. What could be
better than finding success doing what you love? You’ll be spending your days
creating art, and your hard work will allow you to share that artwork with
people whose lives will be forever improved because of their experience with
your art.
In my conversation with artists who
have taken the plunge, fought their way through, and found success, I hear them
say over and over that they couldn’t imagine doing anything else. In spite of
all the hardships, they have found their vocation in life.
Adam Brown
Osio-Brown Editions Website
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