Speaking of Art Paintings… Can an artist live off his own art?
Historically, many of the artists that we know practically lived on their artistic abilities, but ... those who managed to do it had something more in common than their great talent:
His social skills.
For example:
Michelangelo Bounarroti unveiled his talents and had commissions from some of the richest and most powerful men of his day, including popes and others affiliated with the Catholic Church.
When he died he owned a property that was worth 50,000 florins ... the equivalent of $ 35 million in today's money.
Pablo Picasso was characterized not only by his artistic genius, but also by moving with great skill in society and in the art world, and with his magnetic personality, he knew how to make the necessary contacts to move his great works and impress potential clients with strong economic resources.
However, Van Gogh, who was unable to establish normal social relationships due to his emotional instability, his lonely, dreamy and unrealistic personality, brought him as a consequence that despite his incredible work, his personality was simply not the ideal one to succeed in life without a huge stroke of luck.
So ... we can say that it is not enough to be the best artist, We must know how to value our art and place it where it is most appreciated.
I know many artists who say they live off their art, but they really come from families where they don't need money, because they have it ... so literally “they don't live off their art”, rather, “they live for their art ”.
So I consider that this group of artists does not apply to our existential question:
Can you make a living from your own art?
But, what about the artist of average or limited economic resources.
Can they live off his own art?
The short answer could be: "It depends."
What does it depends?
Well, this is subject to multiple situations, since, realistically, it all depends on the artist's lifestyle and the amount of monthly expenses that must be covered with the income from the sale of his art, like this as we already mentioned, of his ability to socialize and the environment where he promotes his artworks.
Yes, I know ... this starts to sound a bit "stressful", but ... the formula is simple to answer the question that summons us today and that is:
As Artists, can we live off from our own art?
Make your own numbers:
Your monthly expenses must be equal to or less than what is generated by the monthly sale of your artworks.
If the goal is exceeded, then we are on the right way.
If this is not achieved, then emotional stability may be at stake and strategies should be changed, because without emotional stability… it is difficult to find inspiration.
So… what should we consider to assess our situation and not abandon our dream of “living from our own art”?
As we mentioned, you must be very clear about how much your living expenses amount to monthly.
Also consider the investment you make in material for each artwork and the time invested in creating it.
Now ask yourself:
Based on the price you put on each work ... How many paintings do you need to sell per month to achieve your goal of living off your art?
Do you have the production capacity to do that amount of works per month?
And finally, are you assured of the sale of the works necessary to meet the goal?
There you have it!
This should give you an idea of the big picture.
If you are one of the artists who manage to Live from their own Art… Congratulations! If not….
What alternatives do we have to not abandon the dream?
Well… Change your strategy and now do not depend solely on the sale of your physical work.
Get modern!
Digitize your works, in this way, you will create your catalog and you will be able to sell the same piece, not once, but hundreds of times as a high quality digitally printed reproduction, invest less in material and production time and take the alternative of selling digital reproductions of your works.
No longer depend so much on physical spaces that lead to additional expenses to be able to show your work.
Omit as much as you can the transport of the work, save on fuel etc.
Enter the digital world, promote your work online, use social networks and show your creations to the world.
Here at TheArtGarden.net you can find how to do it.
If this does not lead you to be able to "live on your art", at least it will leave you time to do other things that help you financially, but without abandoning your passion for creating art and that it helps you live better.
Let me know…. What do you think?
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