Well, this is a topic that has the minds of most artists. Art takes time to paint, sculpt, draw, and more. It can drain you and leave you worn out. But, if you genuinely want to achieve your dreams, the path is paved with sacrifice and patience. People have always used art as a means of communication. However, it’s only been in the past few decades that art has become a viable career.
Many people become successful through art. Art can be anything. It can be painting, writing, music, acting, flying, juggling, dancing, modeling, singing, acting, and more. Art is something that comes naturally to you, which makes it easy to be successful through art. Don’t believe it? You can read ahead to find out what it takes to make a living as a working artist.
Artists Outline Success
In life, success can mean buying a home, finding steady employment, or, for some artists, making a living off of their work. In art, success can mean getting recognized by a large gallery or museum or, for up-and-coming artists, selling their first piece. However, success for an artist is oftentimes seen as elusive, and the definition of success remains ambiguous.
Many artists define success by what successful artists do. Some think success is about getting what famous artists have, while others think success is simply being happy doing what you love. The most successful artists are those who define success for themselves. They have a vision of what they want from life and set out to achieve it. They know that being happy is the goal and that happiness is what drives them.
Artists Dedicate Time
Self-motivation is fundamental to the success of any artist. Art takes practice, and for an artist, practice is the only way to get better and better. But successful artists know that they need dedicated time to produce quality art. One way to ensure consistent time for your art practice is to schedule regular studio time. If you have the means, then it’s best to set up a modular studio in your backyard. Dedicate a block of time for your art at least a few days a week or every day in that studio. That sort of regularity and routine is what makes artists good at what they do, and it makes them dependable.
Artists are Consistent
Creating a consistent body of work has become a challenge for many artists. Artists work in different mediums and excel at different skills. The challenge for artists is to determine what mediums to use and which skills to develop. For young and emerging artists, it is especially important to have work that showcases a range of skills and allows them to showcase their work in multiple genres. In many colleges, art classes or programs are studio-based, where students learn the techniques and skills needed to create works of art.
Artists Take Care of their Business
More than a handful of artists make money from their work. But making a business out of your talent may need more than just filling the blank canvases. From setting up your shop on the web (or offline) to marketing your art business, a lot of hard work goes into establishing yourself. Not to forget that you would also have to be absolutely prepared with a strong cybersecurity strategy to avoid being bogged down by hackers. Likewise, you need to also be careful of online transactions that happen between you and your customers. If you are to remain in the business, especially online, you would need payment solutions similar to ach processing that would enable you to securely receive payments from your buyers; otherwise, you would risk appearing unscrupulous. This would eventually impact your reputation in a negative manner, thereby forcing you to shut the shop.
Expand Sales through Numerous Venues
Many successful artists work in a variety of mediums to achieve a level of success. They diversify their sales by showing their work in multiple venues. Some artists create greeting cards, others in canvas, paintings, sculptures, or photos. The latest trend for artists to generate income is through art tokenization or making NFTs. Many artists are opting to turn their artwork into digital tokens and selling it online. In the last few years, there have been record-breaking sales in the NFT sector, with some tokens going for millions.
Artists need to keep all of their possible streams of income open. For example, having your artwork exhibited in galleries and museums, displayed in public art venues, or sold as prints on Etsy are only a few of the options that artists have for diversifying their sales. Getting your work in front of more potential buyers widens your audience, giving you more chances to generate sales.
Some people just seem to have creativity, while others don’t. An easy way to spark your creativity is to start by learning what makes a successful piece of art.
