Paul Gauguin was a stockbroker for 11 years before he decided to become a painter. With his career change, he split with his wife and children and ruined his own life. He became depressed and even tried to commit suicide.
People hear that story and think, “Why in the world would anyone with money want to quit their job and become an artist?”
As an artist yourself, dear reader, you probably identify with this poor chicken. Working a day job is just the worst. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Some artists have had crazy demanding day jobs and still managed to build a successful art career. Kelly Rae Roberts was a social worker. Matt Leblanc and Hugh Mcleod were advertising executives. I worked for internet marketing firms for six years before I went full time with The Abundant Artist. There are a lot of stories like these.
Last week an artist posted a question over in the ArtEmpowers forums. I’m paraphrasing here, but essentially her question was how do I build an art business while I have a day job?
I get this question a lot. It’s tough, no lie. There’s a reason that so many young artists refuse to get a job – how can you make art, show it, and sell it when you are working for someone else 8 to 10 hours per day? You need time to be creative.
Plus, if you’re not a young artist you might have other things to think about like romantic relationships, children, pets, or even (gasp) vacations and relaxation time! What’s an ambitious artist to do?
You Have to Want It
Above all, here’s the issue: you have to want it enough. You have to want it so much that other things don’t matter.
You have to want it so much that you’re willing to forego television, movies, sleep, nights out with friends, or exercise. You have to be willing to sacrifice a lot of what you want right now for what you want your life to look like in the future.
You don’t have to totally neglect yourself or let everything go, but you have to want it so much that you wake up thinking about art and go to sleep thinking about art.
If you have a good job, or even an okay job, you have to ask yourself: do I really want to become an artist full time?
It’s a hassle. You’re going to work long, grueling hours with little to show – probably for years before you have a big enough nest egg to quit and enough collector interest to keep up your momentum.
Lisa Call is an example of an artist with a great day job who still has a day job and an active social life. She does her art when she’s not working, and she’s perfectly fine with that. You can have that life. There is nothing wrong with that – Abundant Artists find joy and fulfillment with the life that they want.
How to Do It
Still with me? You’re sure you want the life of a full-time artist? Before I share my thoughts, here are a couple of good quotes from artists I mentioned above.
Matt Leblanc – “When I was working full time and working on building my art business, I was always telling people that I was training for a business marathon. If it doesn’t hurt and you don’t feel like stopping, then you are not working hard enough to succeed.”
Hugh Mcleod – “If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.”
Kelly Rae Roberts – “Starting an art biz while stilling working a day job is absolutely possible. You’ll need a few things: a vision for what you’re working toward, passion as fuel, and commitment to go the distance one small step at a time.”
Matt, Hugh, and Kelly Rae are all artists that worked demanding day jobs while building their art business. Notice that they don’t sugar coat what it takes. Most of the artists I talk to don’t spend enough time on the business side of their art business. You may prefer to be in the studio, but if you’re not making enough money from your art to live on, then you need to spend more time marketing and selling – it’s really that simple.
Matt told me once that he spends 50% of his time on the business side of his art. More when his Fusion show is coming up. After talking to dozens of artists who’ve made the full-time day job to full-time artist transition, here’s what I’ve learned:
- Be insanely jealous of your time. Your art business is your second job. If you were working for someone else, they would expect you to show up at a certain time. You have to set the same expectation for yourself, and for your family. Let your people know that you will be spending every Tuesday night on your art business, come rain or shine. If you don’t have a whole evening each week, then make it 20 minutes per day. Something is better than nothing, and consistency is better than binges with long breaks.
- Sacrifice. I’ve mentioned this a few times already, but it bears saying again. What can you cut out of your life to achieve your dreams? TV? A recreational soccer league? Can you cut down work hours? I love tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons, but I cut down to one game per month when I still had a day job.
- Take care of yourself. While you need to work hard, you have to maintain the engine of your new business – you. Eat well. Get enough sleep. It’s a marathon and you’ll have to fuel accordingly. This also applies to relationships. Talk to your spouse and your children. Let them know what you want to do and they will support you – if you keep your word and continue showing up. Remember to exercise.
- Focus on the two most important activities. Sales are important. Fulfilling orders is important. Everything else should be closely scrutinized. Will it lead to a sale? Are you budgeting enough time to finish commissions? When I was getting TAA up and running, the website was a mess on the back end. So was my apartment. I didn’t have great business cards.
- Have a goal and an exit strategy. Know what you’re working towards. How much money do you need to make? Can you get by with less than your current income? What will you do when you hit that goal? I wouldn’t recommend burning your day job bridges. When I hit my revenue goal from my business, I talked to my boss and we came up with a two month exit plan. I left on great terms and I know that the people I worked with would love to work with me again if something were to happen.
- Don’t break the rules at your day job. You still have to do a good job at your current job. You can pull back on new projects, though. Be sure you’re working on your job while you’re at work, and keep your art business related activities to lunch and your breaks. If you have noncompete agreements in place or similar contracts, be sure you’re not violating them.
- Live like you’re already on your own. Cut down your expenses. When I decided that I was ready to head out on my own, my wife and I cut our expenses down to the barest minimum. We tried living on what I made from my business and put my salary in the bank. I’m incredibly glad we did that.
Having your own art business can be the most fulfilling thing. It’s an incredible feeling to realize that you will pay your rent by selling paintings that came from your own brain and hand. If this is truly your passion, then you will find a way to do it.
EDIT: We did this really awesome interview with Matt Leblanc on the Creative Insurgents podcast. Matt built a six-figure art business while working a six-figure day job. You can watch the video of the interview below, or subscribe to the podcast by visiting CreativeInsurgents.com.
I’d love to hear from other TAA readers. What did you do while you were working for someone else that made your transition to full time artist easier?
This was a great feature and one which I can personally relate to. As mentioned, like anything you have to be willing to invest the time, energy and perseverance towards accomplishing your aspirations and dreams as an artist. While attending college full-time, I worked full time between 50-75 hours per week and still managed to find time to create architectural illustrations when I served as Coldwell Banker Real Estate’s chief architectural renderer in Pittsburgh. I rendered over 500 homes for the real estate company’s new construction department. Aside from that, I began the foundation for the illustrations and designs which would come to form the small business that I created for myself. After college, I worked for an architectural firm in Pittsburgh and continued creating the hundreds of illustrations that would eventually blossom into my portfolio and which I feature onto my fine art website. In recent years, I began teaching myself how to create digital art as a way to further broaden both my portfolio and interest amongst collectors of my work. In this day in age, it is best to have a full-time career and have the art as a secondary business to fall back upon, unless you feel comfortable where you stand and can make a living solely through your art. Like anything, you have to be willing to give it your all and lay it on the line to get to where you want to be. The sky is the limit and as long as you stay true to yourself and believe in what you are doing you can make it happen.
Great story Charles. I love this!
Cory – thanks for the mention. I do have a pretty nice job – I work from home 3 days a week managing a software team which is spread across 6 different time zones. So I work the day job at all hours of the day leaving me flexible for working on my art as I need to.
You’ve got good advice here. Basically it’s just a lot of work and you have to be willing to work hard – lots of long hours. Learning to work efficiently is critical. Learning to make decisions quickly is invaluable.
Another important aspect are vacations. We get limited time off from our day jobs.
I used to use much of this vacation time in my studio making art and last year I started using the time to sell art at art fairs (I’ll be showing at ACC Baltimore and Smithsonian Craft next year – 1/2 of my vacation time).
We take vacation from our day jobs and recently I’ve learned that I really must take vacations from my art also. It’s reenergizing.
So this year I took 2 glorious vacations just for me – one to Italy last spring and I just returned from 2 weeks in Thailand. No art while I was gone – no sketching, (almost) no emails, no worrying about deadlines. I came back refreshed ready to go back to working 80-100 hours a week…
…and to make art inspired by my travels – which I presell to help pay for the adventures.
—lisa
ooh. Preselling the art before you travel – that’s brilliant Lisa.
I’ve been doing the preselling thing for years. I give people a discount if they reserve a piece (by paying 1/2 up front) before I leave on the trip.
I’ve raised funds for trips to Italy, New York, South Africa, Costa Rice and Thailand over the past 10 years doing this.
I am working full time and dream of being a full time artist, yet I have a family to support and it’s not an easy to make decision. For the moment I’ve started my blog and hope that time and hard work will make things clearer.
Hi Cory,
This is a great question. My first day job, for 9 years, was an art educator. I was fueled by the energy and enthusiasm of my students to work on my art and start a blog on the arts because of them. While I knew I wanted the arts in my life I also had another interest, education. I studied for and became an assistant principal, only to discover that role (with my personality type) left me no room to be creative. I did pay off my debt and save a chunk of money before I moved and now I’m working full time on my own projects. The support of my husband and his genuine interest in my happiness and belief in me fuels me, I’m so very fortunate to have a spouse with a steady paycheck and benefits to keep us in the green. To be honest, I was scared to leave the security of a regular paying job. That fear stopped me for years from doing what I’ve always dreamt of doing: all the art I want and promotion of creativity and the arts on the internet. I still get to teach, but on a much wider scale! Many thanks for your article. I’ve been enjoying your stuff for a long while now.
Thanks Carrie. Love what you’re doing as well. Keep it up!
Thanks Cory that’s the aim! 🙂
Hello,
Your story is indeed very inspiring….!…great going..!
I work as an IT professional, and love making ART.
I dream to work on art full time, purely for the love of it.
But there are many distractions on the way, like everyone keeps on questioning on why do you draw and paint, as it might not take you anywhere.
They question me as I have studied IT in college and now having been working in it for the past 5 yrs. and drawing and painting, I do on weekends and aim to improve myself in it each day.
I do put my works on Facebook, as i love to see the likes and comments, it actually gets me going on improving my self. But i so want to do more of it full time, just ART full time.
Hope that day comes soon…..!
– Rima. 🙂
All the very best .. Time would help you to pursue your dream ..
Thanks, Cory, It is better late than never. While following your suggestion yesterday I set up a Facebook page yesterday ” Bonnie arts and craft”, it has got 190 likes in 24 hours.
What to do next?
About this I am bit unclear. Help here. Ms Bonnie Glendinning has have been insisting and telling me to act in this way since one year but I have some over intoxication of social media. Now that is over. Let us think we have started just ‘now’ and let me know how to move ahead.
Pay my love and regards to Ms Bonnie Glendinng.
A great wealth of information and spot on, Thanks for sharing.
I was a full time interior designer for 20+ years….I would go inside homes and notice the lack of art…good art/original art.
I Had my BFA and decided to paint paintings for clients that desperately needed personality in there homes….. and it grew from there.
I always did this painting off hours and never on the stores time.
I also got the OK from the owner of the shop to do this as…I did not want to be a competition. At the time the store was selling some art but, not originals.
The owner of the shop started to buy my work and so it all began:)
I believe that if you want to be a full time artist….everything you all mentioned in the video is so true!!!
“If you HAVE TO breathe art, sleep art, eat art, think art, smile for art….go for it!
….because this is what it takes.
PS….did I mention I ended up marrying the Owner LOL!!!!!! really it’s true
Hello there, I just saw your article, and its really great, thank you. I also have a full time job and work 9 hours a day having every other friday off. I do have three dogs and it takes a lot for me to care for them, walks, medications and food and exercise. I have not started anything yet, but I think about it all the time. I have a lot of potential to make money and believe in success. What I want to do is sell online, and not mainly originals, but copies, as I am extremely interested in licensing my art. The problem is I don’t know where to to go, what to read, where to find the information that is absolutely necessary to get me started. I need step by step instructions on how to. Also, a business plan for licensing art. Online success is very doable. Not only art, but I have some of the most amazing photos that I have captured of nature and can be licensed as well. Is there anywhere or a book you can recommend to assist me with my passion, please? Because my life is busy, and at the end of the day, I am tired, I have not done much work or even finished the ones I have started on. Please, any advice contact me at anahid4re@yahoo.com
Anne, Google is your best friend. Google what you want to know. Follow artists, watch You Tube Videos of their business ideas and tips. All of these things you want to know are best researched. This takes lots and lots of time but is very doable. Good Luck!
This was awesome. Solid information. And bonus…. I have love Matt Leblanc’s work for years. It was a treat to get insight from him on the business side of art as well.
I come from a different perspective. I had to leave my work due to the limitations of severe arthritis. This ignited the journey of discovering my passion for art and the online community. It has also been a hardship for our family to lose half of our income, so I am on a quest to learn the skills of marketing and becoming an entrepreneur. “Selling” has never been something I am comfortable with, so I tend to hide behind the art. I need to kick my own butt, and this site is a great resource to learn what I need to do. Thank you!
Great post! I do the same, I have a good job as Airport Security screener and have enough days off to produce art. My free days are to paint and make art even when I come tired from work at night.
Described my life to the letter, down to the chicken (except I like my job, or convinced myself I do.) But #4 is spot on, that’s the one I need to improve, and why I’m here. Thank you.
I was a musician making a living but I wanted to be a full time artist. Couldn’t afford it. So we sold everything we had and opened a picture framing shop. It was fabulous. Now I had access to Artists and Galleries and I look at art all day long which inspires my own work. I do 8 hours a day and then at night I do drypoints and paint on the weekend. I also teach 2 painting classes a week and I learn so much from my students. I have an exhibition coming up at a major gallery next week and that happened from joining their member program. Making it happen.
Awesome post. I’m always curious to how other artists get their inspiration. Most of the time, I’m amazed by their artworks, that I will actually start to think how they came up with that awesome piece of art.
This was an awesome post that really spoke to the fact of taking action. It proved that artists can make a full time living from their work and it doesn’t have to be a hobby. I heard many people say that its only a hobby but this has proven with effort it can be a career.
Thank you Cory. You write posts that really connect. I’m realizing that I’m not thAt person who goes to bed and wakes up thinking about art. That said, I get writing idea in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep unless I write them down.
Since I’ve gotten paid for writing for the last 20 years, I facing the fact that my day job has been more about writing than art. I used to enjoy making art more than I do now. Perhaps it’s time for me to pursue a style of art that’s been rolling around in my thoughts but is different than where it has been.
Stuff to think about. Your posts do get me to think hard.
I am artist with a demanding full time job but I make time for my art business. Every evening and weekends. Yes I do take holidays but always use them as Painting retreat too.
Every evening, I work after 8:00 PM after all my house duties like cooking, washing up is done. I work on my personal projects, My Youtube video contents.
I paint and do illustrations.
I have Podcast channel too where I just share my experiences and learning. Here is the link https://anchor.fm/urvashi-patel
Find me on YouTube at Urvashi Patel Art. I share my painting process, Travel videos and announce any personal projects, books I love etc.