A lot of people question the ‘best’ way to make a living as a creative. In this post I’ll walk you through some of the options available to you, utilising all the different tools we have at our fingertips. One of the most important things to reiterate before we start is that your artistic abilities are separate from your business acumen; think about Paul Cezanne and Vincent Van Gogh There is no problem with keeping creativity as a side hustle or dedicating time to turn it into a full blown entrepreneurial experiment (think Andy Warhol’s factory!).
The biggest question to ask before you start is ‘Do I really want to make money from my art?’. Don’t just shrug and tell me “Yeah of course I want to make money from my art”. Everything comes at a cost. Do you want to make money from being creative enough that you will take on the stress of having to create to order, work to commissions or deadlines and hunt for opportunities?
If the answer to all this is yes, then let’s get started.
OK, so you are ready to put the blood, sweat and tears in to make a creative income. Here you’ll learn:
- Different approaches to creating an income from your art
- Tips for success
- Examples from artists who’ve made it
The Traditional Model AKA Gallery Representation
When most people think of artists selling work, the image of a gallery springs to mind. The traditional artist career went like this:
- go to art school, graduate show, group shows, solo show and somewhere between the final three secure representation with a gallery.
This is the classic model followed by RCA alumnus David Hockney for example.
If you’re looking to secure gallery representation here are a few things to consider:
- You will need a good body of work (we’re talking 12-20 cohesive, finished and ready to sell pieces)
- You will need a professional looking online prescence complete with Artist Statement, Artist Bio and a CV detailing previous exhibtition experience
- You need to hand over between 40-50% commission to the gallery, so prices should be robust enough to handle this
- Gallery Representation is unlikely unless you have either a well received graduate show (with press) or 5 years exhibition experience
What does that mean for you?
It means you need to be putting legwork into group shows, open competitions and awards while you’re pitching for gallery representation. You also need a selling record that supports the pricing structure. Galleries are normally VAT registered in addition to taking commission, don’t forget that 20% if you’re not VAT registered.
Open Competitions & Open Exhibitions
If you’re starting out and want to test out the reception to your artwork, or you’re still building up a body of work, open shows are a great way to start. You’ll need to find the opportunities out there for yourself.
If you’ve never shown before, start with smaller local venues and artist groups; they’re a great way to learn on the job. Local shows and venues might offer free entry for artists, they are generally non-curated which makes them ideal for complete beginners looking for feedback.
Once you know how to present work, frame and hang it well, move onto more prestigious opens.
Most open competitions and exhibitions have an entry fee. It’s frustrating from the artist perspective but understandable that the admin needs to be paid for. If you’re applying for open calls make sure you submit your best work and read the rules carefully before you spend your £20 on entries!
Good places to start are looking through ArtOpps ArtOpps – Showcasing the very best artist opportunities or joining the Parker Harris mailing list Artist Opportunities – Parker Harris
Group Shows
Find your tribe. Connecting with artists in your local area and online not only boosts your confidence, it brings in another potential income stream. Find artists who work with similar themes or in the same medium. Suggest venues where you could show work together and curate your own show.
If you connect with other artists, they will start inviting you along to opportunities too. A tip for connecting on social media is to find a # hashtag that is in the thousands rather than millions. Follow and engage with the artists who also post to this, for example #UKPencilArtists.
Join a national society:
If you want to up your game and know you’ve got a show each year, joining a national society is a great way to increase your exposure.
There are many, many artist groups including for Oil Painters, Watercolour Artists, Coloured Pencil artists and more. In fact, you name it and there is a national society for it. It’s another way to meet like minded artists. Some of the more specialised groups such as the RP (Royal Society of Portrait Painters) even source commission work for their artists. It’s a long process to get accepted, normally requiring two years of selection to their open shows. However, it’s worth pursuing this at the same time as building other group opportunities to build your revenue streams.
Solo Exhibitions
There’s no reason you can’t put on your own solo exhibition in a venue, sell work sans commission and take the money to the bank-that being said, if you’re new to the art world I would strongly suggest group shows first. Find venues that will let you display your art for free like local library spaces, coffee shops or community hubs. Make sure prices are displayed as well as contact details so that people can buy your work, or view other pieces online.
If you’re further along in your career galleries will offer you solo exhibitions and you can apply for funded solo exhibitions.
Public Funding
The Arts Council are well known for their Artist Development Fund and there are many other lesser known charities and grant awarding bodies out there. Even local charities are often happy to sponsor art materials or framing costs for artists. When applying for funding, carefully read the criteria first and weigh up whether the cost of your time to complete the application is worth the money on offer.
Selling Directly From The Studio
This is the dream! You host a studio visit and along flocks a gaggle of wealthy art lovers to buy all your incredible artwork. Selling directly from the studio means you get to keep all of the money. Regular studio visits both in person and online build your reputation and make people want to buy from you. I’d recommend looking at local Open Studio events in your area. For example near me, Warwickshire and Birmingham both run annual Open Studio events for artists to sell work directly to the public.
Website Sales
If you have a lot of visitors to your website, why not cash in with an online store? Once your visitor numbers hit over 1000 per month, it’s worth bringing in a way for them to buy directly from you. Shopify is an easy option and there are integrations with most website platforms. The majority of these have a low transaction fee cost compared to the commission model.
E-Commerce / Marketplaces
If the traffic to your own website is lower or you want to piggyback on the marketing of the bigger players, then using a third party website is a great option. The most familiar to us are places like eBay and Etsy.
Find the right platform to sell from; if you are a crafter somewhere like Etsy or NotOnTheHighStreet might be an ideal fit. If you’re a fine artist it’s unlikely eBay is going to attract high ticket prices.
Invest time in researching the platforms, speak to other creatives using them and see if they offer any training programmes. Finding the right platform is key to finding buyers who will want your artwork.
Selling from social media
You’ve heard of #ArtistSupportPledge right? Instagram blew up during Covid into the main platform for artists to sell from. From initiatives like the Artist Support Pledge, pushing affordable art (<£250) to the Instagram shop options it can be a great way to get eyeballs onto your art.
It takes work to market via Instagram, especially now that reels are more prominent than carousel posts. There are artists selling via social media everyday, so look around, connect with them, and ask for tips on how they’ve done it.
Selling via WOM
Let’s not forget this old fashioned winner! Word of Mouth is one of the most powerful selling tools there is. Build your tribe of artists, tell people you’re a creative who sells crochet hats, paintings or jewellery; everyone loves to hear about how artwork is made. Don’t be shy telling people what you do, we all know someone who is getting married or moving house and needs more art and craft to celebrate this!
Commission Work
There are two types of commissions, public and private.
For public works looking at opportunities and asking curator friends is a great way to get ahead. Private commissions are easier to start solo, simply tell everyone that you’re open for work. Make sure if you do commission work that your prices are fair. If you make bespoke handcrafted pieces, the price you charge for it should reflect this. Before starting commission work, agree a contract with the patron, get a deposit to cover any materials you need to buy (even if you have these in stock) and set a deadline. Be realistic about the work involved and don’t be afraid to hold your head high and tell them your prices.
Residencies
Residencies are not only fantastic from a creative energy perspective, they’re also a great extra earner. Getting paid to create work on site is super fun, and because of this the competition is fierce (even by creative industry standards!). These are listed on places like ArtsJobs and Arts Opps, again carefully read the criteria before applying.
You can make your own micro residencies in conjunction with local venues and even source funding. For example, when I created a series of prints based on Temple Church in London, I spoke to the church who offered me a week of free entry to the site. On the back of this I went to the Eaton Fund who sponsored all the materials and even attended the private view of the resulting exhibition. It was a great way to build a micro-residency at no cost to myself.
Top tips
Tell people what you do! Prep yourself an elevator pitch to let people know you’re creating work, looking for venues and happy to take on commissions.
Get your online presence looking fab. Set time aside to make sure your social media and website reflect what you’re making. Limit the number of works shown on your website to your best 20 (at most!) and share the stories on Social Media. It’s not all about followers. My Instagram has under 1000 followers, but I’ve made multiple sales, been invited to 12 group shows and made great connections through this channel. If you focus on community and connections, sales opportunities will follow automatically.
REFERENCE LINKS
ArtOpps – Showcasing the very best artist opportunities
Artist Opportunities – Parker Harris
Royal College of Art | Home (rca.ac.uk)
Charlie Kirkham 
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