Embarking upon the path of working for myself as a full time artist and in turn making my art my business has been, and is, an intense process. This process, a winding path, has been fraught with emotional highs and lows, with moments of clarity, inspiration and joy and with moments of extreme self doubt and overwhelm. This path requires copious amounts of courage, discipline and confidence. I have to believe in myself as an artist, know that my work is good and worthy. I have to strive not to listen too deeply to those who have a hard time accepting that making a living with art is a ‘real’ job. I have to believe in my capabilities as the administrator of my own business and as a successful entrepreneur. I have to believe in myself as a socially capable, gregarious, likable individual who can network with grace. I have to practice listening to the muse and channeling creativity as well as discernment, bravery and discipline.
The learning curve is high, much higher than I had anticipated during the time when I used to make art in the hours after my day job. Making your art your business requires A TON of learning. Learning about software: spreadsheets for keeping track of your artworks, sales, contacts, databases, Photoshop, etc. Learning about website design and having the patience to redesign and regularly update not only your website but your blog. Learning about the endless social media tools out there on the inter webs and how to use them to promote your work, get followers, and create interlinked pages.
Discovering and subsequently learning about how to access and utilize all of the resources available to artists; organizations, newsletters, publications, websites, etc. requires time and good research skills. Then there is the shock when you first realize how much it costs to regularly enter artists calls. Each piece you enter into an art call for a gallery, a website, a publication, etc., is generally around $20-$40 for the first piece and then almost as much for each image or piece entered thereafter. There is a period of learning how the proper etiquette for approaching galleries and those you wish to display your work. There is lots of rejection involved and the process of deepening and strengthening existing network contacts and searching out new ones is never-ending.
Another important learning curve that working as a full-time artist requires navigating is that of learning about budgeting, marketing, bookkeeping as well as how to price your work based on the market and your level of experience, cost of materials, etc. Pricing your work is one of the most awkward and difficult things an artist does. Ultimately you have to learn to be your own accountant and financial manager. This was one aspect of working for myself I had not considered and it encompasses a lot of learning material. However it is integral to being financially solvent and profitable as an artist. One must learn to break through the archetype of the starving artist, which turns one into a victim. With that said there is also a lot of financial investment: art supplies (which as most of us know are very expensive), the cost of art calls and submissions, photography equipment, artists publications/books/magazines, making prints of your artwork, business cards and other related materials, classes, utilities, display equipment, software, and much more.
There is also the frustrating process of learning how to photograph your artwork which is entirely different than other types of photography and requires an investment in the proper equipment. However, without those professional pictures of your work you will not get very far as a working artist and business. You need them for the dozens and dozens of online resources to promote your work, number one being your personal portfolio website. You need them to present to clients, you need them to enter art calls, you need them for your digital portfolio, you need them to make prints of artwork, you need them for promotional materials and so on.
In the beginning and still to some degree, I feel as though there is this secret successful artist’s club that you must sacrifice blood, sweat, money and tears in order to gain membership to. Or perhaps there is a secret password or a ‘hazing’ process? Either way I don’t feel as though I am yet privy to such information or that I am a member of this precious club yet. I am starting to realize though that this left out feeling is probably less a product of inability to gain access. More likely gaining entrance requires many years of time investment in the ‘art’ world networking and gaining a foothold, seeing the light on the other side of the learning curve, savvy self marketing, a fair amount of luck thrown in the mix as well as the prerequisite blood, sweat, money and tears. Someday I hope to be a member of this secret successful artist’s club.
I do need to acknowledge that one of the only reasons I have been able to pursue this path of making my art my business over seven of the last nine months (two months were almost exclusively taken up by wedding planning) is thanks to my now husband. He encouraged me to pursue my dream in full force and has taken over the financial burden of the household. He has told me that he has utmost confidence in me, my vision, my art, my business savvy and in the fact that eventually this path will produce income stream. It is fabulous to have such an ardent supporter, not only my husband, but many of my friends and family as well. Having a strong base and community of friends and family (sometimes your friends are your family) is truly necessary to being a successful artist.
Though I am eternally grateful it is at times emotionally difficult to traverse the arrangement with my husband. I have always been an independent self sufficient woman whom has often lived by herself and more often than not been the head of her own household. It can be hard to feel as though I am not contributing financially to the household so I tend to make up for that with cooking delicious meals almost every night, keeping the house organized, clean and pretty and other such domestic duties. However this can be a trap in that it makes me feel as though I am in debt always, (especially during certain money disagreements) and that I am constantly struggling to make up for my feeling of indebtedness, somehow. This I suppose is my own fault and ultimately I enjoy keeping a pleasant and pretty house almost as much as I enjoy being my own boss.
Nevertheless I do want to acknowledge that my husband’s kind offer and arrangement with me is one of the biggest factors that has allowed me to pursue my dream and goal of making my art my career and my business. I know that many artists if not a majority of artists out there continue to keep their day jobs and spend all their extra time working on art and making sacrifices in order to work towards their artistic goals and visions. So I feel very, very grateful for the opportunity I have. It is not just a result of this opportunity afforded me by my partner it also the large amount of self-discipline, tenaciousness, resourcefulness, drivenness, passion and perseverance that are inherently part of my character and personality. I believe I will be successful in creating an income stream for my business. With the use of what I call my personal trifecta of positivity (Knowing it with Intuition and Wisdom, Willing it with Fierce Intention and Knowledge, and Doing it Fullheartedly with Dedication and Practice) I can make this happen!
As I previously expressed, the professional artist’s path is a winding, emotional, rewarding and sometimes difficult journey. You have to learn to maneuver many different roles and personas. You have to bust through and negotiate with many stereotypes, assumptions and expectations of who you are, the artist. You have to be willing to explore corners and crevices of your psyche that may be more comfortable when they are left untouched collecting dust. You have to be willing to expose yourself and to be vulnerable in many ways. You have to be willing to make financial sacrifices. You have to be willing to make the strenuous and time consuming climb up many learning curves. You have to accept that a successful professional artist often has to work on the marketing, networking, administrative and business aspects of their business and career as much as they do the actual art making. You have to be willing to persevere and never give up. You have to be willing to often work strange hours or more hours than the standard 40hr/wk job. There will be lots of work to do always, lots of rejection and plenty of highs and lows, a fair amount of self doubt and many moments of happiness and gratitude. Finally you get the reward of doing something you love (at least some of the time), making a living at it (hopefully), and being your own boss (definitely). Ultimately it seems like a hill worth climbing!
As I contemplated all of this over the last week I started working on the following piece…As you can see the word ‘Confidence’ is prominent. 