| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 2/2/2007 1:35:36 PM | Just like the screen name says...I do beadwork.
I make jewelry and repair old beadwork such as
purses from the turn of the century,
I also make extremely different crafts using beads,
vines and wire and also make mirrors using aged
barn siding and the above. During the summer I
do very well with it. | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 2/9/2007 2:52:48 PM | [Only two arts occupations ("producers, directors, choreographers, and related occupations," and "writers") earn the same as or more than the average earnings for the entire labour force; ]
Wow, hope!
With barely anything in the bank untill next Tuesday, my little studio too darn cold to work in for the last 4 days, thanks to 70km wind gusts, and trying to hold my temper as I get told repeatedly by relations to "get a proper job" or told to explain what it is I do, and why, being a real estate agent is looking better and better every minute.
Of course, that will pass, just as soon as the wind stops and I can get back moving again.
I do wish they would stop asking me why? Because I do not know! There is food in the cupboards and then of course there are always the dreaded sardines, but how do you define 'a living'.
I sure don't see villas by the sea in my future.
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 2/9/2007 6:03:44 PM | Your post poses alot of questions (and answers) to me...
Should anyone make a living for art?...
Essentially art should be available to everyone (not just those who can afford it) should it not? This does create problems for people who want to totally give their lives to their art...
If i become rich and popular from my art, will this change my art to something that means more than me? People might not like you but they will pay for your art... i have seen it happen many times... this somehow feels wrong?
Should i create things i know people will like from what is popular and what sells in order to make some sort of living out of it?... a question i have asked myself recently, except it sounded more like "how serious should i be about making music"?
I feel i am still learning as a music producer, i have tried a college course in electronica and dance , but unfortunately the "Lecturers" and "Teachers" had very little passion for teaching what they are said to know. Dissapointing... it happens. lol
I'm mostly self taught in working with chords, frequencies, timbres, rythm, production techniques, etc, etc... i feel like i am working towards perfection, everything i make sounds better than what i last made, it's like a natural learning curve. (curve being about 6 years or longer)... always tell myself i should be doing better... i am actually scared to hear what my best will be some day... should i carry on? how serious should i be?
Should i try to make a living out of what i love? That sounds like a sin to me. I am not a religious man (as my profile clearly states)... but i sure could use the money.  | |
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LBP
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Joined: 12/27/2006
Msg: 82 | |
| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 2/9/2007 7:42:48 PM | Interesting topic. I've been asked by many people why I never became a professional artist. The answer is pretty simple, I like to survive.
I've never been able to make the transition from profitable artist from basically a hobbiest.
I've sold a couple of my paintings but I like to paint what I want...not what other people want to see. Anytime I've tried to do work for just sheer profit it just sucked all the joy out of it for me.
I am self-taught and I find that some people want to classify my stuff as cubist, impressionalism, realism, abstract etc. etc. I just paint what I feel and what I want to paint. It doesn't require a label. I give a lot of my stuff away rather than sell it. I just am really flattered that they like it and like the thought that when I'm gone, that painting will still be floating around out there somewhere.
My sister has her work in about 6 Galleries at the moment. At times she's had them in 9. She still works as a secretary to get by.
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 2/9/2007 11:28:13 PM | | In the 90's i made quite a bit off my art to survive but no more I just do the odd piece for clients if they ask for it,and always have pieces to show customers here and there.I've had a write in a local canadian pot magazine once which I treasured alot at the time.It was awesome piece on marijuana lol.It was about 6ft by 3 ft. | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 2/10/2007 1:27:09 AM | | I play the bagpipes and guitar which I consider to be an art. If it were up to me I would quit University and just play music considering its my number one passion. But the reality of life inhibits me to do so. | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 2/10/2007 2:04:32 AM | Guid tae ye laddie!
And I will personally lead a clan of woad painted warriors to hack tae wee puddin' bits and burn out anyone who doesn't think playin' the great highland pipes is not art...especially the pibroch!
Lang may yer lum reek and slainte mhath! | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 2/11/2007 7:59:28 PM | | Wow! You seem to be pretty advanced in your craft! I am a guitarist, composer. Anyone who pounds the pavements for gigs will tell you that it is a hobby....keep your day job...pay the bills. However, I have maintained a respectable living playing original classical music, combined with teaching. Yes, I am sick to death of Maleguena and Fur Elise and all that standard music (though good pieces) But I like to think that my style and my approach to the guitar sells me, and I have proven it. In teaching, it is more about forming personal relationships and maintaing a trust and a bond with the students. Sometimes they just want to tell you about their day or their week. But I don't punch a clock nor do I pay taxes...so how can I complain? I'd love to be up there with WA Mozart, but I'm not at the drive thru window at McDonald's either...it's all in how you percieve it. | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 2/27/2007 12:38:30 AM | I have been making a living as a glass artist for a little over 10 years and it's not easy. Sometimes I want to throw in the towel and go get a "real job" but most of the time I just can't imagine living any other way.
A great deal of the work that I do falls more into the craft end of the spectrum but occasionally I get to rise out of that and actually take attempts at really saying something through my work.
Unfortunately; glass is a very competitive industry and therefore unless youre in the top 2% you pretty much have to play a vicious game of undercutting and trying to compete with sweat shop labor and mass produced work made in countires such as China and India. Go to any home depot and look in their interior lighting department and you will see beautifull venetian style lighting fixtures and wall sconces that are available for about 10% of what I need to charge for similar items in order to make ends meet.
Regardless; I will push onward because God only gives each of us so many gifts and I feel that to squander those gifts is wrong. I took 3 months off last summer and did construction. I hated it. It did however; remind me of just how lucky I am. | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 2/27/2007 7:48:43 AM | I've spent many years scraping by.
I've had enough. My focus is on making money now. I have an opportunity to make quite a bit of it also.
Musicians tend to be very very good with numbers, since music and math are closely related. The maths element can be translated to money management and money management is one way of making a decent living.
Consider also, that the internet is like the wild west right now. There is a lot of opportunities to try ideas out at a pretty low risk. This is what I'm doing.
I have always believed that making your art your living, is an awful idea.
Money and practicality pollutes the delicacy of feeling that is inspiration. They
should never be mixed.
Now that my friend is now longer playing clubs for a living, he has become
incredibly creative. The same thing happened to me.
So, I'm going to keep the 2 separate. Make money now, so, I can make
my hearts art, later. | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 3/4/2007 7:38:12 AM | I was working before I had my 3 year old daughter as an opera singer. I recall the excitement, the joy of doing something I loved. But I would not change all that for being able to provide for my daughter. Had to go back to the drawing board and go to college again to ensure that after I graduate I will be able to feed my little one. Would I like to sing again, or paint, because I have a BFA also, but my daughter is first on my list. A heartfelt salute to all struggling artists! Hang on there if you are able to! I would love to do something related to what I studied before I had a child, and would't mind adjusting to some extent my standards to offer what I knew could be attractive to a wider public. I love people, and I do feel sad that requests from some potential buyers or consumers reflect very modest (in my opinion) knowledge of music or painting. However, I also believe that part of the fun thing about being an artist is the joy of revealing the beauty and complexity of art forms to the uninitiated. Do I get tired of hearing requests for "Oh Mio Babbino Caro," of people asking me for arias from La Boheme when there are so many other wonderful operas out there? Do I balk when people ask me if Carmina Burana is an opera? Not any more. My take on it is that learning about art and music has to start somewhere, and if those works are familiar to the person I am addressing, we will start from his or her confort zone and gently try to introduce new art forms, composers or artists to that person. Isn't teaching about that wonderful universe a delightful thing too?
Blessings to all!   | |
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musi5
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Joined: 9/14/2004
Msg: 91 | |
| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 3/4/2007 9:37:46 PM | anyone can make a living from their art...it just takes hard-work...one needs to learn how to market themselves, how to make connections, etc...all stuff I wished I had learned about earlier in life
peace
Jody | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 3/8/2007 1:53:50 AM |
anyone can make a living from their art...it just takes hard-work...one needs to learn how to market themselves, how to make connections, etc.
exactly, there are ways to do this folks. I have always liked drawing and painting but my parents encouraged me to get a degree in something more practical in school, like science. I did this but I have been taking classical painting and drawing classes from a local Atlier after work for a number of years, also started to develop my own style that I would call a fusion of classical and oriental art (sounds wierd I know, really I just paing what I feel like) And I dreamed about doing art full time. I also enjoy photography, and got an SLR and then a DSLR to take reference photos for paintings I wanted to do and learned photography in the process.
I got involved with a stock image agency when a friend of the family who is a photographer told me about it and encouraged me. He got me signed up with this agency and for the last couple of years and a half I have worked my butt off in addition to my day job to build up a portfolio on this agency and a few others I have signed up with since. I have a mixture of photos and digital illustrations, and now I am making enough in royalties that I don't have to work if I don't want to. I make money while I sleep I still have my day job as a sceince teacher but am planning to quit this summer to try the fine art field, which is secretly what I have wanted to do all along anyway but my parents insisted I do something "practical".
Now I am trying to figure out when I should change my occupational title from science teacher to artist/illustrator/photographer:). Both have the reputation of not making much money, but I know people personally who make well over a million a year just thru stock image agencies(the friend of the family I mentioned is also famous and makes at least this amount). So the potential is there for those who want to work at it. Some of you may look down at commercial stock illustration and photogarphy as "selling out" , but you can separate this completely from your fine art without a problem. I don't even pretend that stock imagery is real art, but it is a means to an end and it sure beats doing alot of other things. You will also not make as much money at first, but the licensing fees start rolling in and add up over time as you build your portfolio, kinda like owning rental property but the investment is hard work instead of money. | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 3/9/2007 5:46:45 AM |
Consider a used car salesmen. Could you do THAT job? If not, forget art. You won't make it.
I completely disagree with that horrible remark... just because it failed for you and you couldnt keep the passion going.. is no reason to make such a generalization... and discourage someone else .. yes it can be hard... but jazus... how rude How bout something constructive like yes its hard but with a determination and focus, and a stick to it attitude anything is achievable... look at people like Trump.. or even Lincoln .. they failed miserably many times over.. Trump is now an insitution of his own lol... and Linconwent bankrupt something like 5 times before hishe was Prez. ... | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 3/9/2007 5:49:58 AM |
I got involved with a stock image agency when a friend of the family who is a photographer told me about it and encouraged me
I would love to hear more about this... could you email my profile... thanks ... looking forward to it | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 3/10/2007 8:06:37 PM |
hi,ie just finished a year of art class and going to start anotheryear in sept ,and people ask if i sell my painting s but im not sure theyre good enuogh,where could i go to try and sell some?
thewitch69.. I tried to write to your privately.. yet you have women blocked from writing you.. LoL! Don't worry.. I just wanted to let you know that artwanted.com was a great place to put your work up and sell it. Really.. they have some great benefits.. and on the most part it's free.. and to be a member it's very very cheap.. yet you get great results.
Peace, Lily | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 3/11/2007 10:37:15 PM | | I think the necessary evil within trying to make a living with art is the fact you have to focus on the business side of things and whatever it is you are doing finding the niche market who are most likely to be interested in what you are creating so you can earn some revenue back. Or as a musician as I am you can just use what you know to make cash for example teaching guitars etc at schools. I think its more a lifestyle choice than anything and there is no point lining your coffin with gold | |
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| Anyone make a living from their art, or wish they could?
Posted: 3/12/2007 4:08:47 PM | | Good point but you are also forgetting the fact that some people just arn't good enough to make a living as an artist. I see it every year that students taking art and craft are under the impression that you can just easily slide into a job or a business with out honening talent or experience. And a whole bunch of hobbyists are crowding the market with sub-par product, which makes it harder for quatilty work to be purchased. | |
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