Hey......is this everyone's full time gig????

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Permalink Reply by Chris Hoyt on February 23, 2010 at 7:51am

I'm not an artist, but rather a crafter. I "make stuff". I've been doing shows since 1980 and went full time in 1994. This is my only source of income. And I do make a "middle class" living.

But those of us who do this for a living have something many others don't have. A passion for their job! A passion to go out and work weekends! Every weekend if necessary. This in addition to spending time during the week replenishing what sold last weekend so you can leave on Friday for the next weekend. My "day off" is Monday. Then back to work.

Many of us full timers travel too. Some will criss cross the country looking for that elusive "perfect" show, while I just draw a 250 mile radius around my home and pick shows in that area. That way I can be home in 6 hours on Sunday night if necessary. I was able to do 44 shows in that area last year.

Full timers don't have a "steady" income either. Sometimes you can have a fantastic show one week, and the next week it rains. And you're lucky you make expenses. Meanwhile there was that bill that just had to be paid from that show's proceeds. Oh well...

There are people on the circuit who are generally grumpy and not very good neighbors. And there are those who love what we do for a living and make the most of every show. We take our work seriously, but we don't take ourselves seriously. We can laugh at ourselves.

There are no guarantees on the circuit. No guarantee you'll make any money this weekend. But somehow it always works out and you do make money. I really don't remember the last show where I didn't make my space or expenses. Even in the rain. And it rained just about every weekend in the northeast last summer.

Chris in VT

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Permalink Reply by Linnea Lahlum on February 23, 2010 at 11:33am

Doing a variety of things at the beginning is a good idea. See which ones pan out over time. Doing art shows overlapped my last “real” job as a scientific illustrator for 3 years. By the time I lost that job (my boss died) I was making enough at art fairs that I could hold off looking for a job for a while. I decided to try it for a year (with very careful accounting to see if it paid off). I did well enough to keep going.

I still did freelance illustration for maybe 10 years after, but that produced little real income. Eventually all my contacts dried up. I also taught evening art classes and interior design. I put work in a lot of galleries and did a few wholesale shows. My kids were babies at the time, though, which made some of the things I did, not worth the trouble in the long run. I dropped whatever did not give me enough return for my efforts.

It took a long time to build it up to the level of a real job (counting things like benefits), though. When I started there was no internet! At least not available to the average person at home. It was much harder to get the information necessary to succeed.

So now I DO do it full time. "Work all day everyday ?" Well, yes. This being the business it is, though, “full time” is a lot more than 40 hours a week. I do work every day of the week. On weekdays I take a break to make dinner, talk to my husband for a while, then back I go. Paperwork and recordkeeping eat up most of this time slot. When the kids were home (they are in college now) I did work less in the evening. My husband cooks in quantity on weekends so I don't have to do as much during the week (we both like to cook to relax) . Winter weekends I do take some time off to recharge and get out of the house; but I still work about half a day.

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Permalink Reply by Suzette Mason on February 23, 2010 at 2:02pm

This is my full time job and the bulk of my income comes from art fairs. Yep your weekends are not your own but they become a way of life and quite enjoyable at that. :)

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Permalink Reply by Dave Hinde on February 23, 2010 at 2:54pm

Right now Art Fairs are not my full time gig. My long range plan is to make it my "retirement" income or supplement in a few years. Meanwhile I'm still learning and I can see an improvement every year, so I think my long range plan is feasible.

One thing that is important with Art Shows is that you have to enjoy interacting with the people. I sold a big photo recently because I happened to mention to someone where it was taken, and it turns out it was her favorite place as a child. If I hadn't mentioned it, I may not have made the sale. When your work is hung in a gallery, you don't get that interaction with the customers. I think the interaction can be a big help with determining what to paint or print or build in the future.

I do know several artists that have art as their full time income. They have work in different galleries, and do work on commission, but they still get out to do a couple shows each year. I don't think they make that much more money at the shows, but they just do it to keep in touch with their customer base, and to increase that base.

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Permalink Reply by Diane Wright on February 23, 2010 at 4:51pm

This is my full time gig but....I'm retired and do have a small pension so that I am not relying on this income to pay for basic living expenses.

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Permalink Reply by Renee Froerer on February 24, 2010 at 6:23pm

I completely understand your predicament.

I was a full-time graphic designer who is trying to do art shows full time, but I am realizing what a long shot this is.

My best advice is to THINK BUSINESS. Crunch the numbers. There are tons of small business/crafter resources online. DesignSponge and Etsy have several forums for this.

You certainly can't guess what a painting costs, think about how much you want to make a year, and then figure out how many paintings that equals? Then ask yourself if it sounds reasonable to sell x amount each year. This is where SMARTER comes in not HARDER. It's all about that artist-hated word, marketing.

If you want some numbers, here they are:

I sunk about $8000 into supplies, tent, frames, initial runs of prints. I made about $1200 from five shows last year, or about $200 a show. The rest of my income to pay for the investment came from graphic design work.

This year, since I have already made the initial investment, I plan on revamping my inventory, looking at what sells, repricing items, and then getting out there in ALOT of shows. This is the only way I figure I can see if it will really work.

If I can average $500 a show, I will make $10,000 in about 5 months. Given that I will be paying about $4000 in booth fees, not to mention gas and travel (which you should learn to write off), and buying more prints as I sell them, I will be lucky to break even.

I really don't know how people make a living at this, would love to hear from jewelry/pottery artists who from a painter's perspective seem to get all the traffic (although yes, I admit that I get to sell prints of my work, nobody seems to buy originals, so that is the trade-off I guess.)

Don't let that discourage you, though, this is my 2nd year even attempting it, and based on just five shows last year I have gotten a few galleries carrying my stuff and also I opened an Etsy shop where people I meet at the fairs can go if they aren't ready to buy that day.

From what I gather, running ANY kind of small business is working all day every day, even when you get successful, so I plan on getting used to that. But I do enjoy the thrill (for now) of being my own boss.

Hope that helps!

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Permalink Reply by Warren Townsend on February 27, 2010 at 2:16pm

Renee,
I think you gave one of the smartest and truest answer. Yes you have to crunch the numbers, I do it over and over again and there is no way that I can make a decent living just selling the art. I am not just talking at art fairs but all over. I like to think I can make $200 a day doing art work, but even 360 days a year after expenses it sounds okay. Now to make the $200 a day is impossible. Like they say making art is only 40% of the time the other 60% is marketing and running the business end.

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Permalink Reply by Michelle Sholund on February 28, 2010 at 9:12pm

I hear two issues in your question and have to know what exactly are you asking. YOU SAY you want to know if readers are full time artists and if this year will be better. However at the beginning of the post you mentioned how you have done everything from pet portraits to illustrating a cookbook. I am going out on a limb and asking out of pure curiosity - do you feel that if someone is a full time artist they will make money? The one variable factor you have to consider is what an artist does (create and sell). I think there are some artists who work full time and SUPER successful, and there are others who are strapped for cash and full time artists too. If you want to earn enough money to be a full time painter, you might want to seriously think about what you are good at - really good at, then explore what is going on in the marketplace to see if what you are good at is marketable.

Not that I am trying to promote my blog, but your post is something I am covering in my blog series - 40 questions. You can read up on it via my blog (www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com) as well as here under the "art show reviews and blog" tab. The current questions are all about "product" development.

Michelle
www.bythebaybotanicals.com
www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Frantz on March 1, 2010 at 5:14am

I agree, it is a 40-60 split. The business end (remember this is a business) consumes whatever time is left in the day. I live and breathe it - you almost have to to succeed. And it does pay off financially, eventually. As in all businesses, artists get an audience that follow your work show to show. As a result, you can count on making a certain amount show to show, then adding a percentage on year to year. I began my business, full time, 5 years ago. I also had a graphic design degree but felt the need to move on. The first year I made $2,000 at wholesalecrafts.com and placing a few wholesale ads in trade magazines. The second year jumped to $12,000, third year to $20,000, last year to $25,000. This year I hope to do $30,000+. Two words of advice: grow your business slowly. There is so much to learn along the way. This is a journey to enjoy. Secondly, I have gone completely to shows as I can count on how much I will make. Advertising was hit and miss. However, I now advertise to promote where I will be. Hope that helps!

Jennifer Frantz
Americana Floorcloths

Warren Townsend said:

Renee,
I think you gave one of the smartest and truest answer. Yes you have to crunch the numbers, I do it over and over again and there is no way that I can make a decent living just selling the art. I am not just talking at art fairs but all over. I like to think I can make $200 a day doing art work, but even 360 days a year after expenses it sounds okay. Now to make the $200 a day is impossible. Like they say making art is only 40% of the time the other 60% is marketing and running the business end.

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Permalink Reply by Heather Jordan on March 5, 2010 at 1:48pm

Katy,
I have been working with the arts daily either in a gallery capacity or shows. I have found one thing to be consistent with artist that do well as a living: They have a THEME or a body of work that is branding to them. I work in a gallery and if an artist that paints a still life one day or a pencil of a dog the next day the client gets very confused. They come back to pick up another painting and feel lost why? There is more than one wall in a room! Pick a theme and paint a series of that theme with similar tones and framing. We can sell 2 pieces that will add up to a larger piece just because they are framed the same way. Think of the colors in your own home.

This may sound boring but, having 3 themes in your booth on each wall will give you some variety or if you use different mediums on a similar theme is ok. We have one artist that has sold 6 pieces last year she only does landscapes with a bird in there somewhere. She will add a touch and put a feather on the back. Sounds crazy but she is noted for a body of work– branding. Why has she done well? She
rotates her artwork 2 times a year, spring and fall. Her prices range between $650 and $1300. This is the price an average person can afford a year on art. I am amazed at the artist that will leave there artwork in a gallery for over a year. I hate to have the June tourist see my art from last summer!

Shows, gallery work, and commissions are the way to make a living. I try to have 5 galleries and a least 5 shows. Which are looking to do many more shows next year. Now, do the math I will need over 80 paintings to keep everyone happy by spring. You must paint in January for summer and August for winter. Sounds crazy but you are in constant motion as an artist. Your work will find a home it is just finding the right outlet for it. If you hustle and work hard you will be rewarded.

Market the spit fire out of your artwork. I pass out a card in every public place I visit for the first time or to someone new. Restaurant checks with the bill, the bank, the dry cleaners, I tell them I will deliver and gift wrap for free. Always put a picture of yourself and your artwork on your business cards. Sounds a little self centered. How many times have you walked up to someone and remembered what they did but not their name? If you hustle and work hard you will be rewarded, this is America - land of prosperity.

Happy Day!
Heather

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Permalink Reply by Chris Hoyt on March 6, 2010 at 7:52am

Heather,

You make a very valid point about a theme in your work.

It makes absolutely no difference what you do. Artist or crafter, it's best to be known for something in particular.

I'm a crafter. Always have been. And I do shows where there's a mish mosh of themes and items in a booth. Same with artists. I see 2D work that comes across to me as something that was painted just for sale. Then I come into a booth manned by two women from Maine who paint on feathers! That's all. Just feathers. And people are buying their work! I don't know their names but they're the "Feather Painters" and my wife looks for them.

The exhibitor who gets to be known for one thing is probably more successful. People talk about Kinkaid being a "hack", and maybe he is, but he found a "hook" to sell his work. And all his work has that theme. I sold house numbers for 12 years. Just house numbers. And I got the name "The House Number Guy" from fellow exhibitors and customers. So that's what I called myself for that time. And I could successfully sell them right next to someone taking crap out of boxes directly from China.

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