This post is the first in a series on the business of being an artist.

How do I make this business work?
When I started my studio practice in 2015, I had no formal training as an artist or in business. But I did have the experience of having started another small business (as a photographer) in 2010. I devoured online business seminars on how to run a creative small business through CreativeLive. I signed up for everyone's marketing newsletter. I gobbled up all of the tips. Some of them are principles I still use in my business today.

I find that when I meet up with many young artists who desire mentorship or have questions, one of the big ones is how do I make money? And not just enough to cover your supplies and expenses - meaningful money that can actually contribute to supporting you and those you love. 

Principle #1: Consider working a part-time job alongside your creative work
​There is an ugly myth in the artist community--that you don't earn the label of artist unless it is the only thing you rely on for income. How ridiculous! Even Mozart had students, as did many monumental composers of classical music. Philip Glass, a very famous living composer, worked a day job as a plumber for a long time even after he gained recognition in his career. I do encourage young and beginning artists to have some kind of a part time 'day job.' This will give you some cushion for leaner months and as you scale your business and invest in it long term. When I started my studio, I was teaching voice lessons and working as a headshot & portrait photographer. A year into my studio, when I began to experience some of the fruits of my labor from my first year of hustling as an artist, I switched to an adjunct teaching position and closed my photography business so all of my entrepreneurial energy could go into my art practice.

Of course, your pursuit of other work alongside your practice is also dependent upon your life circumstances. If you have young children, you may only be able to manage one part-time gig, and be ready to make art that gig. If your partner is able to support your family financially to allow you to develop your practice, that's amazing too. If you have limited energy, you may need to devote full attention to your practice or you may not have space for your art at all. I had no kids when I started out, but I also have had chronic health conditions that greatly impact my daily life. Yet, in 2016 & 2017, I created six bodies of work and had my first four solo exhibits. I painted my first two collections of hand-painted ornaments, and made hand-painted prayer card sets. I also taught around sixteen voice students per week during the school year and began lecturing in music at a local community college. Yes, I worked a lot of weekends and nights. But I wouldn't change a thing.

Today, my artwork practice is a vital (and the largest) chunk of my income, but I still work part time as a curator & arts ministry leader and teach a handful of students one afternoon per week. This other income lowers my stress levels during leaner months and allows me to broaden my audience. While there are definitely days I feel overwhelmed to have so much to do, many days I feel grateful for the diverse and meaningful work I get to spend my time doing.​

Principle #3: Find a mix of active & passive income streams
There are two basic kinds of income:

1. Active income: work that requires hands-on effort and time to create
   Examples: creating a painting or commission, designing or fabricating a new original, one-of-a-kind product, teaching a class
2. Passive income: work that requires little or no hands-on effort​
   Examples: licensing images of your artwork, selling prints or products that can be reprinted, earning money from an e-course

If you're pursuing a career making things with your hands, then your income streams will be mostly active. Even the passive streams rely on a portion of active time, but it is good to invest that time into creating some sources of passive income, so you can bring in extra income with little effort after you've invested the initial time or money.

Though passive income may sound way more attractive than active income (who doesn't want more for less effort?), as an artist, it is generally through the act of creating that you will grow most. While you'll regularly be working on various individual projects, like commissions, exhibitions, and collections, those will just be a part of the overall body of work you'll build over time. 

Most visual artists dream of having a sold out gallery opening. This just simply isn't realistic for most of us. While you should pursue and aspire to sell work at exhibit openings and releases,  it isn't the end of the world if you still have work that remains unsold at the conclusion of that exhibition you've been dreaming of. Remember that all the time and energy you spent making it is an investment in your future: it is making you a better artist, and it is creating an artifact that can be sold in other spaces.

At the time I'm writing this, I have created thirteen bodies of work for exhibition and numerous small collections of artwork and products over the past ten years. I've made several bodies of work that I considered excellent, and yet it took several years for me to sell even half of the paintings in some cases. Most of my work from previous exhibits and collections is listed in some kind of online shop, and sometimes I make a big sale of one of these works and it is totally surprising. When I sell a painting I made in 2017 for $1200, it feels like passive income and a huge blessing. 

Keep your head up and keep working hard, dreaming big, and don't forget to pray. It will eventually pay off!

If you found this post helpful, or if you have any questions or comments, I would love it if you left me a note below! Thanks for taking the time to read and engage with my work today!

My work is almost always informed by scripture, poetry, theology, and philosophy. I study the material intensively before I even put a brush to canvas or water on paper. This deep contemplation requires considerable time and energy. I have to give it time and space to breathe in a world where there is increasing pressure to be quick and efficient. If I don't understand the poem or the scripture, it comes through in my work. I have to ask what the author meant, who he or she was speaking to, what they intended me to feel. Of course, the process is filtered through my own experience, bias, and viewpoint. I convey what I am learning by taking all of this information and experience, creating a visual feast from my own point of view, with the aid of the Holy Spirit.

I paint with intensely pigmented ink, using metal foils as an homage to the illuminators of the past. The gold in most of my work represents the presence of the divine in all things, taking all shapes, present in the blackest black or the purest white. For me, this process of illumination involves all definitions of the word: I am trying to gain understanding or find answers to difficult questions about myself, my life, or a particular spiritual or philosophical question. I am wrestling with the mysteries of God and faith through this marvelous tradition of illumination: using paper and canvas and pigment with precious metals to create a beautiful artifact that points to the one who made all things.

Sometimes I see a vision come to life on the canvas so easily, and other paintings come much harder. It mirrors the way that some questions have immediate answers, and others linger in the gray area, others are more difficult or take more time. Sometimes I seem to find the answer, or sometimes I can only see it in part.


Originally written in 2016.
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