How to Make a Living As a Fine Artist

Video Transcript

"O.k., folks in this clip we're going to talk about how to make a living as a fine artist. This my friends is a very, very admirable and brave route to take as an artist because the earliest stages, there's no guarantee, there's no guarantee that you're going to achieve that level of success that you need to support yourself with this profession. You have to really believe in yourself, you have to be really determined and hard working and you need to be dedicated to the early stages of your career to really getting a lot of really great work down on the canvas, so to speak. Find a place where you can work uninterrupted and just go nuts. Like, find your source of inspiration, your muse and get your creations down on the canvas or on paper or on whatever your medium is going to be. Work very very hard at the outset. Second thing you need to do in the world of fine art, you need to find someone who's willing to A, show your work and B, represent you as an artist. So, a lot of artists rent out their own studios, obviously and they work out of these studios too, most of the time. There's sort of a, for the art connoisseur, people that go to these different galleries and shows and all these different openings, there's sort of a special energy knowing that you're going to a studio that the artists themselves create in, not just display their work, but that they create in. So find a space, if you can afford to, to show your work as well as create your work. Rent a, you know, a loft downtown if you can find the cash to do so and get a whole bunch of work done. And then what you're going to need to do obviously is find an agent, really someone who deals in art and specializes in bringing the customers to you through different shows and openings and also getting your art out at different displays and galas and places where you might not even be able to go, because it's clear across the country. And just finding someone who really believes in you and has an eye for your talent and represents your work in a way that is respectable and that people you know, can trust. Once you've reached this level where your work is being shown on a regular basis and you've created a name for yourself from a following and sort of a, there's a mystique around the work that you've done, you've achieved what many artists dream of their entire live, which is a brand. You are essentially a legend in the art world. And at this point you can charge you know, many many many thousands of dollars for your work and to be known all across the world as a professional fine artist."