How to Make Money From Your Art (Blog)

[Savage]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

How to Make Money From Your Art

[skinnyninja]

I make money from my art by working harder at it than what I worked at my day job.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Great piece of art, Steve. Thanks for shedding some light on how to make money from it. I've been struggling on the money side, at least when it comes from my art. To be honest, I haven't been earning anything from my writing or my stand-up comedy...why? Because I haven't really been committed. This is a wake up call for me, or just a friendly reminder. I've been getting a lot of reminders lately about what it is I feel I should be doing with my life, but for some reason, I'm finding it hard to commit to anything. The only thing I've committed to whatsoever is my job, working night shift.

I find myself entertaining the people I work with on a regular basis, but it's not getting me paid for it. I have an opportunity coming up in December to perform onstage for as long as I want. I just have to start seizing the moments I have. It's just very hard work and it isn't always easy, and I just have to accept that and keep going. I haven't performed much in over a year and it's just that maybe I'm using my disabilities as an excuse and that if I really wanted it, I would overcome all of this.

I'm going to make a solid commitment right now to really try my best to make some kind of income from what I'm doing creatively, if not just for myself, because working nights is starting to get rough.

[neilarthur]

Heard a story about Salvidor Dali and money.

Apparently when he wrote checks he would scribble a drawing on them and now there are hundreds of unpresented checks because people kept them thinking they would be worth more later.

Mind you he was already famous.

[Ken Benjamin]

Really great article, Steve. One of your best in a long time, I'd say.

Maybe that's because it resonates so strongly with what I'm doing.

I launched WisdomWebsite.com just two months ago, though I've been working on it for some months longer, and despite many years starting and running several small computer businesses, this artistic endeavor is a new experience.

For the first time in my life, I'm creating something for which I cannot be sure I will have customers. Now I know what it feels like to be an artist.

I'm truly following my bliss and, I believe, providing strong value for my readers that will translate into customers longer term but the process of putting your heart into an unknown is exciting and terrifying at the same time. I wrote about that here: Is This Hell? The Danger Of Following Your Bliss

It is little wonder that so many people fail to up their game to succeed. So much easier to allow someone else to make the decisions for you, to pass responsibility to a "higher power" in the form of a boss, religion, societal "norms," or ignorance.

Thank you, Steve, for doing what you do. You're an inspiration and while you may not yet count me as a customer, you certainly can count me as a fan (since 2007).

[Ken Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Ken Benjamin

Thank you, Steve, for doing what you do. You're an inspiration and while you may not yet count me as a customer, you certainly can count me as a fan (since 2007).

Oops, I forgot. I've purchased two copies of his book. I guess you can count me as a customer AND a fan.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

Great piece of art, Steve. Thanks for shedding some light on how to make money from it. I've been struggling on the money side, at least when it comes from my art. To be honest, I haven't been earning anything from my writing or my stand-up comedy...why? Because I haven't really been committed. This is a wake up call for me, or just a friendly reminder. I've been getting a lot of reminders lately about what it is I feel I should be doing with my life, but for some reason, I'm finding it hard to commit to anything. The only thing I've committed to whatsoever is my job, working night shift.

I find myself entertaining the people I work with on a regular basis, but it's not getting me paid for it. I have an opportunity coming up in December to perform onstage for as long as I want. I just have to start seizing the moments I have. It's just very hard work and it isn't always easy, and I just have to accept that and keep going. I haven't performed much in over a year and it's just that maybe I'm using my disabilities as an excuse and that if I really wanted it, I would overcome all of this.

I'm going to make a solid commitment right now to really try my best to make some kind of income from what I'm doing creatively, if not just for myself, because working nights is starting to get rough.

I think I need to make this same commitment now. I have had the same issue with not being committed to what I love, which is art, and it's making me miserable.

I know I can make some sort of income selling the blooming vulva birds, and already have 3 people who have ordered one, so I just need to get going with that.

Making painting a daily habit, and drawing as well as card readings, I think I can get this off the ground...I just have not been the best at committing to it. That needs to change.

[Ken Benjamin]

Originally Posted by elucidate

I think I need to make this same commitment now. I have had the same issue with not being committed to what I love, which is art, and it's making me miserable.

I know I can make some sort of income selling the blooming vulva birds, and already have 3 people who have ordered one, so I just need to get going with that.

Making painting a daily habit, and drawing as well as card readings, I think I can get this off the ground...I just have not been the best at committing to it. That needs to change.

Where would I go if I wanted to see your art?

Assuming your profile photo is your art, I'd love to see more.

If you have a website, why not add a link to it in your signature here?

Maybe I'm mistaken but I think it would update on all of your past posts giving you quite good exposure.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by Ken Benjamin

Where would I go if I wanted to see your art?

Assuming your profile photo is your art, I'd love to see more.

If you have a website, why not add a link to it in your signature here?

Maybe I'm mistaken but I think it would update on all of your past posts giving you quite good exposure.

Hi.

Firstly, no...my avatar is not my own work...I wish!

Mine is mainly on canvas. You can actually see a few I put up in the "Your Art" thread in Fun and recreation if you like...

Thankyou for the suggestion.

What I have planned with the blooming vulva birds is more for a shop when they are ready...and just word of mouth with friends and at parties etc. I do also have some collages that I want to print onto t-shirts and sell through etsy, so that's one or two things I have in mind.

I'll show you one design that I intend to make into a t-shirt now if you like...I will put it up as my avatar.

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by elucidate

I know I can make some sort of income selling the blooming vulva birds

Where can see one? I love this sort of thing. Georgia O'Keefe and her erotic flowers enchant me, and the way Romans put phalluses on everything for luck, and sheela na gig figures... So blooming vulva birds sounds fantastic!

[edit] I see now that you already answered this. I'll go look in that thread, then.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by ButterflyWoman

Where can see one? I love this sort of thing. Georgia O'Keefe and her erotic flowers enchant me, and the way Romans put phalluses on everything for luck, and sheela na gig figures... So blooming vulva birds sounds fantastic!

[edit] I see now that you already answered this. I'll go look in that thread, then.

Oh hey. Wow, Sheela na gig...I haven't heard that name in a while now. Gotta love her.

I don't have an image of the birds in the fun section art thread, and I wasn't allowed to put it up as my avatar last time. I guess it's legal to put it up in the Art thread though, so it's there now if you wanna lookie.

[smartile]

Originally Posted by Savage

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

How to Make Money From Your Art

My favorite line from this blog post... "These beliefs are financially retarded."

In retrospect, I completely agree and laughed my ass off when I read it

[Starbuck]

Originally Posted by Savage

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

How to Make Money From Your Art

I wanted to write something very lengthy and intelligent in response to this post, but all I can say is: Thank you so much, Steve.

This post really 'came to me' at a time when I was feeling very down, confused and rather frustrated about the prospects of ever being able to live from my writing.

But you cleared up a lot of things for me and connected the last dots I needed to connect to understand what I was doing wrong. I have real faith that I will make progress now, and that is, as always, the real value of being privileged to benefit from the perspective and guidance from someone who has 'walked the path'.

Yeah, I know you probably get a zillion thank you's like this every week or so, and that you don't really hang around in the forums anymore. But if this message can add a little bit to your already excellent karma, to write this, then I wish it so!

Oh, and the next time you publish a product - like your awesome book, which I bought - and which can be enjoyed from a distance (i.e. if one lives outside the US) --- then I'll be the first in line to shop!

Don't want to be just a fan, y'know.

[ohTen]

As a musician who has been following you for several years, I was really happy to see this article. Currently trying to figure out my own path to financial success as a musician. I seem to be getting better at it (I paid last month's rent with money earned from playing music, the second time I've been able to do that in a year), but I've still got a way to go before it's my primary source of income. So thanks for this article - i'm really enjoying reading about your 30 day music trial as well!

[ellie]

I am an artist, and I have to say I just fell into my art, and to be honest I haven't had to work that hard at it all. I definitely haven't invested 10,000 hours and my art work is getting more exposure everyday without much effort and yes I make money from my art. I think I have the potential to be quite successful actually. I get lots of request for people to represent me. People think I have had years of training, but I haven't. In fact, I started my art purely as an experiment, for something else. I wasn't actually setting out to be an "artist", at all. If you would of told me I would be now illustrating a few years ago I would of said "no way". My art found me.

The only thing that got me here, was trying lots of things art, music, design, fashion, stock market, domain buying etc, experimenting and failing, not specifically setting out to be "one particular thing" (although at the time I thought I wanted to be that one particular thing). It was because I tried lots of things (and failed at most), that a path began to unravel. What happens, when you eradicate all the things that you tried and failed in, you can tick them off your list, and then don't go down that same path again. Eventually that path becomes shorter and more clearer.

So personally for me (or for personality types like me) you need to try a variety of things, and don't put pressure on yourself to be one this or that, eventually you will 'hit' the right note. When the right note hits, it should be pretty easy actually.

Or it could be that I am one of those luckily one that has natural talent...and finally found it