How To Make A Living As Artist/Painter?
It’s easy for people to say "you have to get out there and sell your work," but really how can an artist/painter make a living? I sell on eBay but everyone wants cheap art. I sell at galleries, but they take so much commission and expect me to cover promotion.. I can’t paint murals and portraits.. My friend has a Very Good gallery and they sell at such high prices, he can still make a living after the commission. It’s so hard to keep painting and not be able to sell. Yes I have a web site too.
4 Responses
JGinCowtown
22 Aug 2010
Hayley.
22 Aug 2010
I’m probably not the best person to advise you, but my grandmother is an artist and has never made much money. She is amazing at painting and yet she doesn’t get noticed even with the talent she has, I suppose the only thing you can do is keep doing what you’re doing, I know this is rubbish advice but you could get noticed someday and really make it in the art industry. Keep painting, seriously, don’t give up, maybe you could have a job on the side as well as trying to sell? I guess I haven’t answered your question very well, but good luck.
♫ Mad Luv ♫
22 Aug 2010
maybe you have to look at it differently!
you can’t paint murals and portraits and you have nothing that is in demand!
Why not go into advertsising so you can still be creative and paint up a storm with idea’s.
or go in to graphic design or pick a job that has arts in it!
try being a teacher or something else!
but as a stand alone artist (not very likely) hence the term starving artist!
Debra B
22 Aug 2010
Be a good business person, number one.
Number two…meet people. Hopefully you are in a large metropolitan area. Even better if you are in California, the North East, or in any major city!
Anyway, what you really need to do is meet the artists you want to become. Join community organizations, find local studio spots in your area, visit local schools and ask if you could talk to some of the graduates getting their MFA’s, go to gallery talks and museum talks and branch out and talk to people. This will give you a better sense of the art community you are dealing with and will get your face out there. I would not, however, pass out cards…I’m sure you already know, but never give a card until asked….and just try to get to know people…not sell to them right away. If anything they will help you make better art.
Good luck!
I pay 50%. Its well worth it to me to have access to their clientele, mailing list, security and benefits of a high profile, well respected gallery. They pay for insurance, shipping, invitations, announcements, receptions and some advertising. If I want something in a high-end magazine I split the cost with them. I take six students, this is my core "if the market goes to hell I still eat" income. How many galleries are you selling through? Are they actually doing YOU any good or are you in effect enabling them to do nothing for you by accepting bad representation to avoid paying someone who could actually offer you more? A good gallery, good representation increases your prices, increases your exposure and makes you more money. If youre paying them a high percentage and making a good living aren’t they saving and making you more than youre paying them? Don’t give up. This is that period where old bast++ds (c’est moi?! mon dieu, NON!!) tell you "we ALL have to pay our dues." If you can manage to manipulate and direct your career through this period of, frankly, reality then you can make the long haul through your entire career. Degrees in art are more common than flea droppings in a dog pound – even MFA’s are in the range of 5,000 degrees for every 385 jobs. Good artists are a buck fifty a metric ton. The thing that makes one artist last and another give up is not talent…its tenacity. You’re doing all the right stuff…if there’s more you can do…a business plan, increasing your aggressive outreach to new AND BETTER galleries in different regions, examining your technique and aesthetic…too mushy? too docile? too hostile, too cluttered, too simple? shows are better solo than group – one artists work can make anothers look weak,…all of this will always be a part of your life. Do it now and do it daily. ‘d like to see what you do. Time and tenacity will build you a market. Your job is, like any politician to build a constituency, always larger and constantly enlarging, that will eventually keep you afloat. Hang in there. Do everything you can….my motto is "better scared than in a smock with Apooh at Jiffymart! "