“Oh after you mop the floor and clean the barn, can you finish the Sistine chapel in your spare time?” Contributed by my Facebook Friend Ross Fletcher
I woke up feeling quite feisty this morning. Nothing makes me spit nails more than the idea that some people under-value the work of artists.
Last night I was at a Blog World Expo party in Las Vegas. I met a pretty boy from a social media company who asked about my blog. I told him that I help artists make a living doing what they love with art.
Pretty boy replied, “Artists shouldn’t be paid for their art. Getting paid prevents them from creating really good stuff.”
I thought back to the artsy photographers I hired for my wedding day. They were more expensive than your average wedding photographer, but they gave me something wonderful: stunning photos of the most important day of my life!
I can’t even entertain the thought that being paid makes your work less good. That’s the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard.
I asked him, “If they don’t get paid, who feeds their families and pays for their supplies?”
“They should work another job,” he said, rather smugly.
I want to make three points about Art, Contribution and Money with this article:
- Your art is a CONTRIBUTION to society. It brings joy, it solves problems, and it makes this world a better place.
- Being paid ALLOWS you to make that contribution to society.
- Your contribution expands in relation to the amount of time you put into it. More hours = expanded contribution to this world with your God-given talent.
We live in a money-based society. That won’t change anytime soon – so those of you who say “money isn’t important” get over it!
I almost punched pretty boy in the face when he said to me, “Artists are better off working a job they hate and then painting in their spare time.”
This is the problem I have with that:
a.) No one should work a job they hate. You were put on this earth with talents and you are meant to do that which you are good at and what you love!
b.) The world is missing out on your contribution. The less an artist creates, the less they grow. It requires hours upon hours to hone your craft.
If you are at a “real job” for 40-50 hours a week, doing what you hate, and then you have to come home and be a parent, and mow the lawn, and feed your kids, when will you create art?
I have friends who regret living most of their lives working in an office job and only creating a few paintings a year because that’s all there was time for. Think of how much their talent would have improved, how much they could have shared, had they created all day instead!
“Soooooo”, I asked the pretty boy, my blood getting hot with frustration, “do you get paid for YOUR work?”
Of course, the answer was yes. “Does getting paid make your work less good?” I asked. “Well, no” he said. “That’s different.”
Yeah, I thought so.
This topic drives me insane. Why should one small segment of the population have their work devalued so much that they are forced to struggle? Should interior designers also not be paid, and should musicians play for free and should the guy who artistically installs my decorative bathroom tile do it for nothing?
And an even better question is this: why should my plumber be paid more than an artist?!
Drew Brophy has been a working artist since he was a teenager. He’s always “Lived by the Paintbrush.”
When he was in his twenties, he painted surfboards for a living. A lot of them. So many that he’s become known in the surf industry as the artist who changed the way that surfboards were painted.
He says that painting 10-15 surfboards a day helped him to get really good and to develop a very strong style of his own. His style is now well recognized and many people try to emulate it and attribute their artwork to being inspired by Drew.
If Drew had been working in another field and only painting in his spare time, he would have been wasting his talent.
Drew paints what he wants, and he loves doing it. When someone commissions a painting, it’s because they love his style. It’s a beautiful way to put art into the world and be able to live a good life.
Charging for his artwork allows him to make people happy with his art. Without payment, he wouldn’t have the time, because he’d have to pay the bills by working on something else. And there’s only so much time in the day.
Though he hardly paints surfboards anymore, occasionally he will. These paintings BRING GREAT JOY TO PEOPLE. When they see their very own Drew Brophy surfboard painting for the first time, their eyes light up!
(The picture to the left is from a thank you card that ten year old Spencer wrote, thanking Drew for his painted surfboard – he is proud to be seen with it!)
Charging for your artwork enables you to make a contribution to the world with your art. It allows you to develop your style and to get better and better at what you do.
Most of my friends are creative people. The rare few that don’t care about being paid are either supported by a family member or have another career that they really enjoy.
We live in a money based society. That isn’t going to change right now. It costs money to eat, put your kid in sports, to have a home. We most likely won’t see that change in our lifetime.
As long as we are stuck in a money based system, I find it an outright insult to all hardworking artists to say they shouldn’t be paid for what they do.
It’s just a crazy notion that this one, single profession should work for free! (While everyone else gets paid…)
What do you think?
394 Responses
That ’10 years’ is craft, talent is either there in the beginning or not. It is however the difference in the end.
I realize this is an emotional minefield. Everyone wants to be an ‘Artist’ the fact is there are no more artist’s, they are all dead. (well except for Brittany Spears, apparently SHE is an artist, along with the rest of dregs of the MTV crowd).
I am not an “Artist” I have been painting for more than ten years and have made hundreds of paintings and thousands of sketches…etc, and I HAVE NEVER MADE ART! I just believe (and have been told) I have some talent, and that keeps me trying, If I had no talent I would have quit long ago.
Everyone gets rabid when they here someone say they have less or no talent, it’s natural. But you wouldn’t say Rembrandt Van Ryn was a duff-us if he said ” He could tell by a mans sketches if he were born to be an artist or a bricklayer”…which he did say.
As I said…I am not an “Artist”, I simply want to be.
I have been devoted to this discipline for over a decade…literally blood, sweat and tears. I’m not going to debate it, i’m tired of explaining this to an endless line “artists”. like Pez from a dispenser.
So, if you want to fight take it to Youtube, or Yahoo, there you find many in another long line of more ‘talented’ people then I.
Everyone wants to be an artist? Ask a class of first graders, “who is an artist? They all raise their hands. Ask a class of fifth graders the same question and you will be lucky to get one.
I respectfully disagree. Artists are simply born? We are all dead if all artists are dead. While talent has undeniable value, I don’t believe talent is enough and practicing the, “craft” will make the difference not talent. There are many talented but without steady focused exercise of that talent, it becomes wasted talent. Keep working. Your talent will only grow when and while you work and it will languish if you do not.
With some small talent and after over 40 years at it, I can state that I’m an,”artist.” I live and breath it every day. The blood sweat and tears is just part of it, some times it’s harder to bear than others.
There are many more talented but not more devoted. Sharpening my, “craft” skills if you will, continually. Without practice any talent is wasted. It’s a lifestyle and lifelong pursuit fortunately not like an athlete where the talent and practice can last only so long. Many bandy the word, “artist” about too easily with no respect or awareness of the effort, sacrifice and commitment it requires especially in our society. Yes, they want to be called an artist but without the effort or sacrifices. Putting it out there is difficult. I opens you up to all sorts of critique. Again part of the gig. Making use of talent is what matters nothing other. Some will appreciate what you produce some will not.
I agree but there are many more artists than there are folks who can afford to buy original art, and it’s getting worse as income inequality rises. I live in an affluent area and am often part of group shows where basically nothing sells off the walls except for the few artists who have spend many years developing patrons among the 1%. To be recognized on talent and quality alone, you have to be part of the 1/10 of 1% of artists as this is how many actually make a living from their work, and some of these are marketing machines, with poor quality, repetitive work, that has found a niche among the unsophisticated. Think Kinkade. He was a marketing machine for trite repetitive work. His work will be worth nothing in the coming years, despite all the snow globes he sold. I have created many hundreds of works while having a “day job” that was decent, and now I can retire in comfort while continuing my art activities. The upside was not catering to anyone’s desires but mine in the work.
Yes but unfortunately there are no more Sistine Chapels being painted today. There are millions of talented artists doing amazing work, but most of them earn their living somewhere else, the lucky few who derive all their income from art generally do other, more commercial work to subsidize the work they care about. The “celebrity artists” who become rich and famous by producing “high art” or “art for art’s sake”, the Christos and the Damien Hirsts, are absolutely dreadful and produce work that requires no skill and contains no beauty. To become one of these artists you don’t need years of study and practice, you need to have the right critic call you a genius, so then everyone else will pretend to admire your work lest they be called philistines.
My point is, I would love it if there were a lot of great artists making a decent living at their craft, and I lament the pitifully small budget for the NEA, and the hacks and charlatans who do get funding from it. But that’s not how it is, as is typical of a society in its decadent decline we no longer value truth and beauty, we value shock and offensiveness. Most of the prestigious galleries and contemporary museums in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago are full of garbage that would be unrecognizable as art 150 years ago. In any of them a person could sneak in, defecate in a corner, and they’d have to consult the curator as to whether it was part of the exhibit. The curator might even say yes!
You’re sooooo right!!! Anyone who craps in a canvas nowadays is considered an artist!!
Where do I line up to give Pretty Boy my contribution to his Waking the F Up slap up the side of the head? Though I doubt Trolls have the ability to understand the lesson.
I can draw but I’m not an artist, I like more to write but I’m not a writer – except at my work desk producing reports and letters etc. I snatch minutes to create when inspiration strikes and adapted my writing to poetry as mostly I can actually snatch enough time to finish a piece where even short stories could take months.
I just found this blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you for it! I’ve worked for a long time trying to make a living from my artwork, and it can be a real slog, and as it happens I do have a “real world” job that I do, unfortunately, hate, even though I’m good at it. I want more than anything to leave that job and make a good living from my talents. I can’t imagine coming home from a hard day’s grunt work, sitting down at a drawing board, putting in hard hours over a painting and NOT expect to make money at it. I DO expect it, thank you very much, and I deserve to! Thanks for sticking up for us “starving” artists! Much appreciated!
I am constantly asked to do long art projects for free, or about $100 per week. It’s disgusting. I did it for a short while to gain experience of creating detailed concepts for games and film etc. No more will I do this.
Wherever I look for work I see hundreds of artists from the developing world offering their services for about $5 per day. Being from the UK I can not compete with this. Money IS king – if we don’t contribute to the system we get arrested and become homeless. Money IS everything, whether we like it or not. No money, no life.
If people really believed money is not important they should donate all they have to charity or me, after all their money isn’t important to them. Of course no one will do this in reality as they will eventually realize that their money is EVERYTHING to them, as it is with the rest of the world. No money, no life. No money, no bills paid. No money, taken to court. No money, bankruptcy. No money, depression. No money, no friends. No money, no chance of independence and the ability to grow. Money IS everything, that’s why hollywood actors and top musicians/sports people love their jobs so much, because it makes them rich. They simply would not do those jobs for the love of it, otherwise they would be happy doing projects for indie companies, and happily leave their Hollywood jobs. That certainly won’t happen.
As long as we are told we need to pay for everything, we will have to pay for everything. The world is driven by money. It’s the reason why everyone get’s out of bed each day, to make as much money as they can. Not because we love money, but because we have no choice in the matter. No money, no life.
Artists are not classed in the same way as all other professionals. Their art is expected for free, or close to free. Artists shouldn’t have bills, shouldn’t have children, shouldn’t have a roof over their heads. Artists should provide all their work to who ever requires it, however long it takes to produce and however long it takes to develop the skills to become good at it.
This line of work has proved to be extremely disappointing and unrewarding.
Thank you, it took me many years of friends and family telling me I am good enough to charge for my work. The website is in the works as we speak but I will launch it soon.
Thanks again,
AD
Something just came to my mind – when I reading yours and “pretty boy’s” conversation: Michael Angelo was technically ‘paid’ for Sisteen Chapel. What I mean by that is that Angelo’s “art” was his sculptures and his ‘work’ was the Chapel (he hated it)
I’m afraid my spelling isn’t that great but the point I’m trying to make is that if artists work 40 hours a week on a job that isn’t related to their profession (i.e. a painter working in McDonalds or a musician working as a barista), then how is that person to develop the skills required for their art?
However, if an artist is working for money at a job that is similar to their profession (i.e. a musician working in a recording studio, a painter painting caricatures of tourists, a sculptor teaching classes, etc), then that person will eventually go on to create high art.
So if society required the contemporary Eva Cassidy, Da Vinci, Monet (my personal fave) to work at some soul crushing job in order to create high art – that society is kidding itself.
Also, I find it rather insulting to pawn off artists in jobs that they aren’t suited for. I remember trying to hire a person to work in a fast food outlet. I had dozens of CVs from people who only wanted the job for money. I know that sounds weird but there are people out there who love to cook and could get their step up into being the next Jamie Oliver/Ramsey through a fast food outlet. So those other people are really wasting my time, the customer’s time and their own time too.
Whatever happened to working in a job that you actually like?
Rant over.
I have been painting for almost 40 years, my first sale when I was 8. Vincent painted no matter what! Struggled hard. Goghan painted while working very hard physical jobs. And we all remember both. Both exceptional painters. We paint because we have to. We crave it! I do anyway. I am not wealthy, I paint for people who want everything for nothing. I have painted all sorts of things for people. I just recently a person ordered a large canvas they knew the cost of the canvas so they said to me that after you paint it since the canvas was so much, than you should just charge 50 or less for the work you do on the painting! Than I just finished a mural, with turkeys the husband wanted me to paint the turkeys head a little bluer, he called me 10 minutes later and told me not to worry about it, he took a magic marker to it! How do you handle those situations? That’s just a few things I deal with. I get that canvas thing a lot! What is wrong with people?
Kendra, I understand your frustration! I’ve had to deal with a lot of people who don’t get it. But, you can’t let this get you down. Instead, take charge of your business. YOU should be the one telling your clients how YOU Work. Take control of the transaction from the beginning. For example, when a client wanted to buy the canvas and only pay you $50, you say: “This is how I work; I will purchase the supplies that I want to work with. I have my preferred supplies. But first, I will give you a price quote. When you want me to start, I’ll get a 50% deposit from you. Then I’ll buy the supplies and when the painting is finished, your final balance is due when you pick it up.”
This way, you take control and use your own payment policies.
In the case of the man who made the turkey’s head bluer with a magic marker – I wouldn’t give any attention to that . Just let it go, don’t let it bother you. If you were charging more, he wouldn’t have done that!
All you have to do is change the way you handle your business financial transactions just a little, and everything will get easier for you.
I hope this helps!
forgot to put this in: things are going to change since I have found this site. Thank you so much for all the great information. We struggle with people all the time. A lot of people tell me that I will not be rich or famous until I’m dead! A lot of people! I need to have money to be able to create more! That’s why I charge! I also have to be able to eat have a place that’s comfortable to paint and gas to drive to locations and meetings. To pay taxs, wear clothes. I just don’t understand some people at all. Family say its because my thinking is different because I’m an artist. I think that maybe their thinking is the one that is different!
I really appreciate you taking the time to read and answer my questions and complaints. You are so right on about me not taking charge! Sorry I had so many complaints. Again thank you, you have cleared up my thinking on how I should react to my clients.
One does not have to be successfulllll to carry on.
But….one does need MONEY
It’s sad. Having a true artistic talent nowadays is worth as much as being able to palm a basketball!! My uncle was an art prodigy and grew up poor, and I’m also an artist (not gonna call myself a prodigy :p) who is blue collar. I been selling my art since I was in high school. In the 90’s, there was a growing interest in artists, but that changed in the 00’s and I saw this happen. People say I’m extremely talented, but I can’t work on what I love , unless I work for a magazine as an art director, or similar commercial things. I’ve been thinking of becoming a makeup artist, it’s basically the same technique as painting on a canvas, except a person’s face is your canvas. I’m trying here, even with being unemployed, in school, my mom with horrible kidney stones that make her shout in pain :'( and a sister who’s also sick, and having my food stamps taken away for unfair reasons, and I’m trying to be extremely positive and calm, and what I want, is to actually succeed at this…..I wish you all the best of luck, and I hope you succeed….There’s something to be done at the lack of art appreciation in these times…
i am an artist with exceptional skills. I’m not sure how much of that is talent, and how much of it is years of hard work. I teach art in public school in order to make a living. However, it drains me emotionally having to deal with “students” who do not give a rat’s rear end about art. When I get home I am too tired mentally to create. I do most of my work on weekends and summers.
Art will be purchased if people want it enough, just as with any other product. Art is a hard profession, and the reason behind artists complaining about not getting paid is because they expect people to pay for something that people don’t need, as in:
a) a product that serves only the artist’s own creative needs (pure self-expression – “fine art”)
b) a poor product (no matter how much artistic talent there is, if it isn’t channeled properly, it’s not marketable)
Artists should also ask themselves if design or applied arts really limit their creativity at all. Craft or creative work is in general is prostitution, but pure expressive art is closer to masturbation. Is your work really the kind that should be charged for? Does anything commercial fit your comfort zone?
I loved the article. I disagree with allot of the comments. Their are not millions of artists. I live in a city with a population of about 250,000 people. There are around 100 artists. However these 100 aren’t all the same, out of the 100 their are landscape artists, portrait artists, contemporary, abstract, people who use charcoal, graphite, ink, oil, water colors, spray paint, etc etc etc. There are only around 5-6 artists who operate within the same category/medium as me. 5 out of 250,000. More people will be diagnosed in my city of the same rare type of cancer. Art is affordable to 99% of the population.
Originals are more expensive but $50 for a limited edition print is not breaking the bank especially seeing as it lasts for hundreds of years.
People buy flat pack furniture with parts missing and replace them after a couple of years. People spend $100 on alcohol for a night out. Their are two types of people on this planet, those that admire you for your achievement/accomplishment/skill and those that are jealous. Unfortunately the vast majority are jealous.
Very thought-provoking post. I am an artist, and I’ve SOMETIMES (only sometimes) wondered that if I created something without the intent to sell, would it be that much different. I don’t think so: I enjoy it that much. Thank you for posting this. Enjoyed the read and now I’m a subscriber.
I don’t know if you’re born with the talent. I think everyone has it. Though some people use their minds differently are brought up differently and develop a different way of thinking.
Artist are not dead. Anyone who creates, invents is an artist. Without these creative people we would never evolve. You could mimic and quote from a book but it took creativity to write what is in it.
I’ve always loved art. I’d win every art award in primary school and high school. Then it came to my final years I had to decide what to study at uni. I come from a very strict family who were very much against the idea of getting a career in the arts. I was told I can’t be an artist and I can’t study art because I won’t ever make a living. So I did what my parents wanted and went into Law. I hated it. Part of me died thinking I couldn’t do nor spend my time evolving something I love. I studied different things at uni for 4.5 years, lived with depression and felt like I had wasted my youth.
All I want to do is create. It’s what makes me happy and gives me purpose. So this year I’ve decided to go and study art and teaching hand in hand. So I can always be around the very thing I love, while helping those around me discover what they love.
I am building an art studio while selling my own work to pay for my studies and suddenly I feel like my life is going in the correct direction. I finally feel like me. So if someone said to me being an artist isn’t a job. Or I shouldn’t get paid. I would tell them how it is, Would you tell a baker he’s not getting paid for the work he did making bread? No. Should an inventor not be paid for their ideas? No… With out artists there is no change, there is no creation and if they are too ignorant to understand that, they’re not worth your time.
It is very frustrating when big publications ask to ‘use’ my photos but say they have no budget for photography. What I tell them is that if I give my work away, I am establishing that my work has ‘no value’. That usually results in them suddenly coming up with at least a modest budget amount to offer! Thank you so much for sharing your vast experience with the rest of us artists.
Hi everyone. I Just wanted to share my experience on this thread. I have a BFA in painting and I also have a family with two beautiful children and a stay at home wife. I had to re-examine what was important in life when things got tight after my first child was born and discovered for myself that as important and talented as I think I was as an artist, I was an even better father and husband. By making that choice to be so, I spend long hours in a job that I don’t necessarily enjoy but over the years now pays very well. There was a painful period in my young life when I transitioned to becoming what I am, and I believe it occurs in every adults life when we have to step out of ourselves and let go of something that we love in order to do what we believe is right. For some of you out there, do not be afraid to work in other professions, have families, experience life and pain. You will grow into a better person. Thanks,
thank you for bringing an adult voice to this to try to balance out the child sense of entitlement.
Love your article and I wanted to hold the pretty boy while you punched him.
I have a lot of friends who are artistic and creative in so many ways. They paint, sculpt, draw, digital work, felt, sew, cross stitch and I write.
I’ve sadly seen a few of these talented folks have their production and even their desire to create diminish as they were forced to work jobs that they hated to make ends meet. What I learned from them and my own bouts with scraping by is this:
Not being paid to create what you love + working 40 hour job that you hate = depression = sharp decline in joyous artistic expression = the rest of the world misses out on what said artists could have created.
I am HAPPY to pay for art, I love it, I envy those who are talented and create it, and I feel that paying for it helps to show the artist how much I appreciate all that they do for my enjoyment.
I liked your comment on the fact that when a person is working at something they are not happy with verses been paid for working at our art to which we where meant to be to be doing in the first place.
Kennerth C Young
was wonderful to find your blog and this post, i’m an artist trying to make a living at my art and to read your words made me feel better, but i deal with this idea everyday and struggle to find a way to sell what i make by my own two hands on the sewing machine……
I believe artists SHOULD be paid for art Hello, my name is Jack Frazier. I own a website called Holllajack Clothing Company found and hollajack.com ( http://www.hollajack.com ). We are looking for REAL art to display on our website. We are not contacting every artist we see, just the ones that amaze us. We want to showcase art that wows people, and makes them ask “where did you get that”? Which is why we are contacting you. We hope you might be interested in sharing your designs with the rest of the world while making a commission that you set (we recommend $1-$5 because it adds to the total cost of the product). We are just starting out and you would be taking a chance on us….but we hope you take that chance. We hope you Holla, and can’t wait to see your other work!
Well said Maria! I heard you on blogtalk and am now a new fan and follower. LOVE what you guys are doing/writing/sharing!
I am an artist who has never accepted payment for my work. Why? Because I’m in the exact conundrum you specify – I work a soul-sucking job to cover my basic needs so my time spent developing my talent is limited. I never went to art school – just pure God-given talent. Yet not enough to charge others for it and feel like I’m in integrity because my work is just not good enough yet.
The clincher is that I am literally bombarded with requests from other amateur or pro artists whom I know to support them and their art through purchases and contributions to their cause. Why should I pay the way for other people to not have to work and make art all day when I do not have that luxury myself? I see so many self-proclaimed artists who behave as if the world owes them a living – even when their talent is still yet grossly undeveloped. Can you speak to this phenomenon?
I had a friend who as an artist did a sidewalk sale and one of his pieces sold for only $25. Some overweight and smug business type walked up to him, looked at his painting and asked: Is that your best price? My friend assured him it was not and then turned to him and replied, The $25 is YOUR best price. MY best price is $500.
I’ve always loved art, but when I was in middle school I had a bad experience with my art teacher. He would make me change my artwork to suit him and if I did not he gave me a failing grade. It hurt me to the point I stopped taking art. because I believe my vision was to be my own and my grade should not depend on pleasing him. I later took more art classes in college and again was in the same situation. I just up and quit. now the only art work I do is for and with my children.
Well Melissa I’m not sure what to think here. While I don’t believe there is only one way to make art at all, teaching it often comes down to teaching a technique only. I don’t think that is the best way to teach but maybe the only way your teacher knew to impart what they knew. Teaching is difficult. A good artist is not always a good teacher. I had teachers that painted on my work because they didn’t know a better way to explain what they were trying to teach. It really upset some of my fellow students to the point of tears. I was so hungry to learn I didn’t care, I was the student. My work at that point was trash anyway to me. You may need thicker skin. If you don’t like the teacher find another. You gave up too easily but it’s never too late to start again. Your not dead yet 😉
My point is it had to be changed or I got a failing grade. He would want the content totally changed, to the point it was no longer my work or vision but his own. His ideas were crap in my opinion. One of the projects was to make a poster add for join a Yacht Club. He wanted to me put those cheap plastic flag banners all over the top. How cheap and cheesy is that it’s a yacht Club not a used car lot. Second project draw/sketch how we see ourselves, now how can he tell me to change that? It’s insulting plain and simple. Not trying to be rude but he’s a jerk. I didn’t give up I moved on and I’m happy with my family and art will always be in my life. My daughter shares the same love for it as I do and I can explain things to her and let her know art is truly your own vision and expression. Even if someone tells you it is horrible if you love it do it.
“Being an Artist is not just a job neither a career; It is a blessing which help to live life to the fullest potential” ~~~ Me :))))
INTERESTING, I think your pretty boy thinks that if artists are a) unfulfilled in their work that they will produce better artwork b) unhappiness produces better work and c)that if the public like and buy your work it is not good – something in all this, but at the end of the day, it is up to the artist to a) VALUE what he/she produces aesthetically and emotionally and to put in as much into every piece – of course, not possible! We artists ALL produce pieces which are not FINE art but may appeal elsewhere as viable, accessible, beautiful pieces
Your pretty boy seems like a real dirtbag, but of course we don’t have his side of the story, nonetheless, I’m sure if I heard it from him, I would’ve punched him in the face til I made sure his nose would never look the same. Anyhow, if we applied his idea, we should start by hanging politicians who rob us, put dirty police officers who abuse their powers in front of firing squads, and give the profit of companies to the employees intead of the employer. But we live in an insane world where the few powerful get to torture the rest like ants. Fuck our lives, I don’t want to create art, human beings depress me and take my inspiration away, why would I want to inspire those who make me grieve!?
I TOTALLY agree with you. Wonderful post, Maria!
Well said; If I could hug you I would – You made me feel better today after months of feeling numb. I have done a lot of commissions; been ripped off; people who want you to work for next to nothing; it makes you feel worthless and can be soul destroying without the support. The encouragement is there for me to keep going but I work so damned hard as well as caring for my 3 children; earning very little money and I feel a burden. I sometimes think I should get a low paid job just to make finances easier; but then I would have no time to learn; paint and draw; and above all be who I am. I cannot stop wanting to create new work; I love the work of other artists and I myself would be very very unhappy in a world that had no art. So, I also want to know WHY ? WHY are artists undervalued. It has to change.
Maria – AWESOME article. I think people like “pretty boy” are the same people that make fun of or scoff at anyone that is different, or things and people they don’t understand. Small minds… and as unevolved as this thinking is, there are those people out there that think art and beauty is not essential. To survival? Perhaps not on the basest level … but to thrive and grow? Absolutely!! I am one of those that spent years in an office producing four and five paintings a year; not anymore. I took a leap of faith and it certainly has cost me financially, but I wouldn’t trade the evolution of my art, the learning curve and quality of life for anything! Happiness is… doing what you love!!!
Hi Maria,
I just want to thank you for your postings. I, too, have been living by my paintbrush since I was a teenager and I can’t tell you how much your writings affect me emotionally. I, too, came from a horribly abusive background (and from Santa Cruz, to boot). The old childhood tapes pop up alot. You are such an inspiration and sweetheart. You give all us former street kids a good shot of self esteem. Your blog has really hit home. I start off my day reading your articles just to keep the art and money train going. You and Drew have become incredibly important in my life. Peace & Good Times- A.V. Apostle
“Pretty boy” comments do not bother me. They used to when I was new. I disagree with him for all the reasons you mentioned in your fab post, but it doesn’t bother me that he disagrees. I think I would more easily be able to get my point across to him when I am not angry AND I can also keep my blood pressure at a healthy level. If he doesn’t agree, then I quit wasting time thinking about it.
I by no means create enough art to support myself, but I have sold a few pieces, and I am happy that I did. Besides, I would rather buy things from other creative people who make stuff by hand rather than paying for something mass produced.
Wow, you hit the nail on the head….you said exactly what I’ve been thinking. I, too, find it an extreme insult for anyone to suggest an artist shouldn’t be paid. Great post!
AMEN!
Just getting started, officially. Your articles are priceless, never learned this stuff in school.
only one complaint here. dont call a photographer an artist . Its a regular job.
We, by that I mean Artists used to have something like a union it was called a guild. When someone needed a resipe for how much milk or eggs were needed for the body of a paint someone would have likely known how much the egg yolk to say iron oxide was required to adhere the pigment to the panel at times the egg tempra was added to the plaster to slow the drying process of a mural or help adhere the pigment to a dome. Leonard made a mistake in judgement when he painted a fresco with walnut oil adding too much oil to the paint body the entire painting separated and melted. Had he attempted this on a test patch or had asked some one who had used it before He might have mixed it differently. Don’t think for a moment that the Flemish guys didn’t compare prices. This is a remarkably healthy system that has developed (a sort of tribal system) I still rather like the term Guild. of course if we want to make it really/truly (I can never remember which is correct) egocentric we could call it a movement. In fact I like that. Not that I want to do a hostile Take over but putting artists in the drivers seat gives me a bit of what the kids call a buzz. Every one except us works with contractual agreements. Doctors are also professionals and they have need to contract with a Guild called a hospital. They don’t seem to have a problem with charging. I think we all have to grow up and get a life. GM and International harvester have never Had to divest parts of their infrastructure to survive, these are tough times. Ford layed off six thousand people to use a euphamism to down size. The CIA uses the term sanction, with much the same effect. I believe it might have been the Odd fellows (really they called them selves that) “Ifit is to be done, it needs to be done by me.” We are in a monitary plight as bad in some ways as the great depression. Now there is an oxi-moron what was so great about it. Entropenuers, not giveaways are needed for Us to become healthy again. Maria I salute you as a true patriot who is a help in bringing around. How better a time than the day after the forth to do so?
I’ve just stumbled across your blog. Great posts so far.
This idea that artists shouldn’t get paid for our work is pure bull. Maybe it’s some dumb variation of the Protestant work ethic? 🙂 The idea that if it’s fun, it can’t be work.
Or maybe it’s just that in this materialstic society, it’s easy to devalue things that aren’t necessary for survival? “You may not need art to live, but you need it to feel alive.”
Pretty boy…Y U NO have a clue??
Lets give him the benefit of the doubt.and suppose he is familiar with the difficulties artists face getting paid fairly. Well the world has not been easy on the music industry in many ways despite the fact that they are more well organized the industry of late has been turned on it’s ear. The internet has been a game changer. Record sales have changed to free albums, piracy, digital downloads and costly concerts. The how of making a living has changed dramatically. The same is true on a different scale for the visual arts.
In the past there have been those who may have pointed an alternative way for artists to make their way. I’m in no way suggesting that all should follow in the footsteps of Wyland but it has worked rather well for him to give away murals as a way to gain notoriety and make a living on other smaller imagery, prints, reproductions, etc. I’m at present on the cover of a local magazine. It was and is a big deal for me. I was not paid for being on that cover but got a small write-up inside. It will be sent to the upper income homes in my community giving me very high visibility with my target demographic, potential art collectors. While I do not believe I will always make such deals I think it a fair trade right now and gives me both a sales tool for selling to other potential clients and the kind of reassurance to the client wavering and unsure that I am a professional. It’s a bit of delayed gratification for me at this stage. The magazine is happy and I get great exposure. Maybe it’s more like bartering than being paid at this juncture. I doubt I would be on the cover if I had demanded to be paid at this stage in my career.
When I read the title my feathers were instantly ruffled and I thought “But you’ll pay how much for a stupid Beyonce ringtone!?!” Then I read the article… thank you. Seriously. I really wish people would understand how badly they take artists for granted.
My superior instructed us to look for web content that debate armer26p when i unintentionally uncovered your website and undergo ALIEN SPACESHIPS TO Attack EARTH IN NOVEMBER 2012!. I’m actually impressed with the amazing article!
Rather entertaining many many thanks, I believe your visitors could possibly want significantly more articles or blog posts similar to this carry on the superior do the job.
This post struck several chords with me! I worked at a job I hated and during that period had neither time nor inclination to create. Once I became an empty-nester, I returned to my love of photography and I enjoy what I do very much. Thank goodness I don’t have to rely on it to support myself because my sales are sporadic. I do what I do for the pleasure I derive from it. Would it be nice to earn a living from it? Sure! It’s not going to happen any time soon…
What is rampant and illustrative of “Pretty Boy’s” attitude towards artists is stealing and copyright infringement. Nobody thinks our art is worth anything – especially photography – when it can be copied off the internet, passed off as someone else’s work or even used for monetary gain. “I found it on Google” is the excuse and the proliferation of “sharing” sites makes the creator of the work invisible or irrelevant. After what I’ve experienced, I’m struck by how those who create nothing feel entitled to take, for free, from those who do. A sad commentary on the lack of respect for the rights of others and on the devaluation of artists in general.
PS. I’ve stopped adding my website’s url to public comments. I feel less vulnerable that way.
For me, as a paper cutting artist that spends sometimes 300 hours on a piece, and draws a crowd and gets the attention of quite a few newspapers and whatnot- I tend to draw a crowd that isn’t prepared to pay what I’m asking for the pieces, yet they no less then demand that I continue making and showing my work for their viewing pleasure. Yet, as you say, I have to pay the bills as they do, so I wonder, could they imagine the world they are paying for? That world is an artless one, because all the artists had to get jobs that guarantee an income. That is why I’ve decided to make a view changes and from now on will be charging admission to my view my work. All artists should go on strike and deprive the world of its free art it feels so entitled to be entertained by every weekend in every city. Maybe we should push for a law that forces all art galleries to charge admission? Libraries are paid for by taxpayers, the librarians and other library employees have rent and bills to pay – gallery visitors need to make the connection between paying taxes for libraries and paying admission to view art. Art shows should be seen more like entertainment, the experience of going in and viewing things people do not intend to buy, yet they get to see the art, to have the experience those pieces give, to socialize about the pieces and all the benefits and reasons people do in fact attend art shows. I say take it all away from them and see if they miss it. If we take it away and no one complains then there you go… but if they do beg for the art to come back, they will have to $how us they need it. We didn’t ask to be born into a world ran by money, but it is and so they shouldn’t get our time and skills as slavery.
You are so right. If people are willing to pay thousands of dollars to watch buffoons chase a football-even to the point that they’re willing to commit a crime of passion- why can’t they charge for artists??
Artists on strike and charging admission for viewing works at a gallery sound like great ideas! Yet, what a sad world it would be without art, without the beauty it brings into our lives and more importantly, without the fulfillment we get from creating it.
The local galleries where I exhibit my photographs charge a modest fee to hang the work. Most are open three or four days a week for a few hours. At first I was taken aback by that requirement but then I realized they have rent, utilities, insurance and other expenses to cover. When you factor in that few visitors to any opening actually buy art, it’s a wonder we even have people willing to run art galleries!
Quote:
“Soooooo”, I asked the pretty boy, my blood getting hot with frustration, “do you get paid for YOUR work?”
Of course, the answer was yes. “Does getting paid make your work less good?” I asked. “Well, no” he said. “That’s different.”
In a nutshell pretty boy is afraid of competition of other artist being better than he is, and is the type to stomp other people down because he wants to be on top.
I totally agree with your post Maria Brophy
I am finally making use of my talents at an older age.
cheers to all artist who feel their work is worth value and share with the world.
And another note,
Kardashian and Kanye West bought a golden toilet seat and paid $750,000 dollars for it then other artist should be able to make top dollar.
He probably has no talents, that is why he thinks that way. I am sure he has a job and has no idea what having a career means. Anyone can have a job but not anyone can contribute to society.
He should have more respect for people who risk and sacrifice all to actually be productive even if they can’t pay their bills because people like him devalue the time of an artist. We need art and have always needed it! This world don’t need more drugs need more artists. All kind of artists.