Who is an artist? Our definition is someone who has chosen to create through an artistic medium and craft a lifestyle. For those who endeavor to generate income and financial support through offering their artwork for sale, organizing and multitasking is a necessity. Working artists today must be entrepreneurs and wear multiple hats - as creator, marketer, manager, and businessperson. Only a few artists reach the point of selling enough art to provide steady income.
Art brings us joy, inspires us, and can foster our own creativity. It's worth considering art's creators and the challenges they face in sustaining their work and their artistic passion. Artists/creators can be taken for granted and not always supported in their efforts. Learning more about what it takes for an artist to share their creative talents can increase our appreciation of their work.
- While many artists would feel it a luxury to be able to solely paint/sculpt/build/draw, more must be done to garner success. They often must choose what to create. The work that they find personally fulfilling isn't always the same as what they find their buyers purchase.
- For their art to be discovered they must promote, which can include having and maintaining a website, creating content, posting regularly on social media, attending art fairs, networking with galleries.
- Creating and selling art requires an ability to navigate the art market. This includes knowledge of pricing, negotiating, managing inventory and sales. All this takes away precious time from creating art.
Fortunately a number of artists find ways around these challenges and still make art for us through collaboration with others, staying resilient, and prioritizing time to create and hone their work. This is done through dedication and hard work.
Hats off to our artists! We acknowledge and appreciate them for the value they bring to our lives.