Becoming a full-time artist takes a lot of work and patience. It can also take a lot of time before you start making enough money to support yourself. If you’re not already making enough money to support yourself with your art income, then start your art business on the side until it’s successful enough to support you. This can take weeks, months, and even years, but you need to eat and have a roof over your head!
Not only does it take a while to start selling, but you’ll be spending a lot of money in the beginning. When I started out I thought I had a lot of supplies, but I didn’t have my studio set up in a way that allowed space for all the different areas I needed. So I had to buy tables and lights and extra easels… I also invested in supplies for nice, branded packaging and shipping. And then you need to stock up on different substrates so you’re ready to create, and you’ll realize you want other supplies on hand.
Plus, I decided that I wanted to dedicate time to learning new things and experimenting with different mediums and subject matters so that meant doing (and purchasing) lots of workshops and Zoom lessons. You can find lots of free lessons on YouTube and the internet, but I found artists whom I loved that offered all kinds of workshops so I did what I could afford.
It’s important to follow your dream if you want to be a full-time artist, but be realistic and smart and make sure you can take care of yourself. Best of luck to you! 🖌️
