Thank you!!! :’D

Thank you! Also you’re totally right, especially about Bill Withers and Al Green for Jinbe. I can see him asking Brook to play this one when the crew is just hanging out on the deck after dinner

This is 100% true ☝️☝️. I didn’t clarify that posting on social media should be mostly for meeting other cool artists/ having your work displayed in one easy to find place. You’re right to point this out, a lot of people (beginners especially) are under the false impression that having a ton of followers results in money somehow. Trying to run your social media like a business will make you miserable.

The short answer is I don’t 😅. I have two jobs right now, one at a library and one at a community college, which is how I make money. I’m very grateful that they’re both adjacent to the Arts and Education fields but they’re certainly not “art jobs”. The most money I’ve made from art has been commissions, but my highest paying commissions are things I rarely post on social media (murals for children’s bedrooms, paintings of people houses as housewarming gifts, paintings of people’s pets, etc.) Being vocal about being an artist will definitely land you a lot of small jobs, because people will turn to you whenever they need a logo, sticker, or album cover.

I’m still in the early stage of my art career where I pretty much have to say yes to any project people are willing to pay me for. It can be frustrating, but every artist goes through it and it builds a lot of good experience. I’d even suggest agreeing to jobs that seem way above your skill level or outside of your preferred medium. That’ll build experience in technical skills as well as dealing with clients (which is sometimes the hardest part lol.)

HOWEVER, just because I don’t make a serious income from art doesn’t necessarily mean I couldn’t. I’m incredibly lazy, and I don’t have a single marketing bone in my body. If you are really serious about making art your full time job I think you can achieve that no matter how niche your art is. For example: I was a vendor at an art festival a few months ago (I submitted my work on a whim after I saw a flyer for it) and the woman at the table next to me made art that was similar to mine in terms of subject matter (I.e. not anything suburban moms would hang in the kitchen). She sold WAY more pieces than me because she chatted with EVERYBODY who walked in. She also had flexible pricing/lots of bundling deals, AND posted every sale on social media. I was a much more casual vendor and sold less than half of what she sold.

So while I’m not an expert, I think the key to making money on art is a multi-pronged approach.

- say yes to any project people are willing to pay you for (without completely overworking yourself.)

- keep an eye out for art festivals that allow you to submit for free (there are more of these than you’d think, and don’t shy away from submitting because you think you’re “not good enough” or because you don’t think your target audience will be there.)

- while SELLING art try to sustain an almost manic extroverted personality (if you work in retail or customer service just try to tap into that mindset)

- while TALKING to other artists, just be yourself! You don’t have to be the most popular guy at the gallery, if you’re nice and easy to work with they’ll remember you. This’ll make it easy to stay in the loop of opportunities.

- be active on social media

- look into teaching at local art centers (this sounds super intimidating but I swear it’s not, lots of small art centers are frequently looking for instructors. Teaching kids is a great gig because the lessons can be simple and parents are willing to pay)

These are ways to make cash while still creating the work YOU want to create in your free time. Building a body of work you’re really proud of, on top of being involved in your local art scene, will open up doors to galleries and other opportunities. (Side note: unless you live in a big city, your “local art scene” will probably be a bunch of weird old people. Those weird old people are still great to talk to! I guarantee you’ll have more in common with them than you’d think.)

And final note, if reading those bullet points filled you with dread and exhaustion that’s totally ok. Most artists, myself included, absolutely hate the marketing part of the business. There’s no set road to take in order to be successful, so I’d say keep an open mind and keep your options open. This advice just comes from my personal experience and stories I’ve heard from older, successful, full time artists.

So YES, there IS a light at the end of the tunnel, but there’s a million roads to reach it, and all those roads will take a very long time. But the only way to get there is to keep making art no matter what, and show it to as many people as you can.