An article about professional artists

Please note, I did not write this.

They Work Hard to Earn Your Business and Respect – Please Give It to Them

In the public’s eye, there seems to be two distinct notions of artists; the starving artist as a vestige of Van Gogh’s inability to sell his work to anyone but his brother and the celebrity artist as characterized by the current hype surrounding Damien Hirst. The facts are neither of these extreme examples epitomizes the life of most professional artists. Perhaps because Van Gogh’s work created the rare feat of being wildly popular with both the hoi polloi and art cognoscenti and because Hirst’s ability to publicize and promote himself and his work creates a seeming black hole of media coverage for other contemporary visual artists.

For most artists who pay the bills by the fruit of their creative output, life is neither living destitute upon the goodwill of their relatives nor living large in an endless stream of openings, events and parties. For them, it is a daily struggle to balance managing their creative abilities and efforts to generate a steady flow of work against working at the business of art. This is not to pity them, as to a degree, it describes the experience of any other small businessperson, especially one who creates and markets a product.

Andy Warhol, never at loss for words is quoted as saying: “Why do people think artists are special? It’s just another job.” However harsh, he has a point. What many art buyers and collectors may fail to realize is the extent of how difficult the job is. Most of us do not do jobs where the result of our work, which is a reflection of our creative vision, is put forth for public consumption and criticism. We toil away quietly hoping for the occasional atta boy slap on the back when a supervisor recognizes a job well done. Our worst fears are we’ll be recognized for failing to do a job putting a career in jeopardy.

Artists by comparison quite often labor in solitude without the camaraderie and support found for most of us when on “the job.” Then the work goes public and the artist is thrust in the public eye open to praise and criticism with too much of either being damaging. Further, while many artists would prefer to stay working and creating, they are forced by circumstances to be thinking of how this completed work will get to market and how many more like need to be made and marketed to keep the bills paid. It’s a stressful situation for anyone, but when it comes to selling what one makes, it’s harder yet.

To begin, an artist has to learn how to talk about what she or he has made in terms that heighten awareness and interest in themselves and their work. Again, while it is difficult for most of us to learn and put into practice how to do “job interview speak,” at least we can drop it once we are hired. This is not so for artists, they need a resume and artist statement. They need to rattle these things off with gusto along with the names of recognizable people who own their art and prestigious places where it is proudly on display. However shy or introverted, artists need to find ways to effectively and positively communicate, but without braggadocio, as they talk about their work and themselves.

Learning to do those things is the first step in creating that public persona crucial to establishing their credibility as an artist whose work is worth owning. Once mastered, these things must be honed and repeatedly presented to gallery owners, collectors, curators, media types and others. Savvy ones learn to replicate these efforts through the burgeoning plethora of available digital media such as Web sites, blogs, social media, social networking, social marketing, discussion boards and more. They learn to talk knowledgably with journalists, broadcasters, bloggers and other media types, and do so in a way that surreptitiously and yet pointedly helps them promote their art. These things take time and talent away from the point of creating art, but are a necessary part of the professional artist’s career.

It is the rare artist that manages to do these things as well as they paint or sculpt. It’s a demanding business. Speaking of business, the public and most buyers, and probably many collectors too, don’t realize how the art dollar pie is cut. One might think the artist being the creative engine behind the work would garner the lion’s share of the retail dollar. In cases where the artist sells directly to a buyer, that may be true, but not guaranteed to be true. And, very few artists make their living through direct sales online.

For most artists, creating the work is the first step to having it generate income when finally sold at retail. In the process and pipeline are all manner of other hands that become necessary in the traditional artist-gallery relationship. Most galleries pay an artist 50% of the retail price when the art is on consignment. Consignment means the artist takes the risk and expense of creating, framing, shipping and insuring a piece to get it ready to be sold at retail. The gallery takes the risk in rent, promotion and marketing to facilitate the sale. So, neither enjoy anywhere near a 50% margin after costs are factored.

For the artist, in addition to time, which has its own value, there is the cost of materials; canvas, paints and brushes are just the start. Mortgage or rent on a space to create art is included as well as the fixed monthly fees required to maintain such a space. There quite often is payroll for helpers in the gallery or in the office to generate marketing efforts and make sales. Even for an artist working part-time off the kitchen table, there is considerable expense to making art and creating awareness for the artist.

Camera equipment and other digital and technology expenses are common. Maintaining a Web site, newsletter, direct mail list and blog are necessary time and money consuming components of the successful art career these days. A commission-based art rep can command 20% – 25% of an artist’s wholesale cut. If the artist is publishing works with a publisher, he or she can expect to earn anywhere from 8 – 15% of the net wholesale price. It is common for an artist to make less than $1.00 from the retail sale of a $40 poster.

Given the difficulties of doing the work to begin and the challenges of making an art career successful enough to pay the bills, much less make a name for the artist, one could wonder why artists bother. Certainly working at the bank or for the city or state in some cushy government job with great benefits would be an easier path for most. The thing is, I believe art chooses artists as much as artists choose art. Most I have known are compelled to create their art and in doing so express themselves in ways that don’t allow them to contemplate the path well taken. They are driven by determination to provide creation and to add a voice, albeit visual, to the conversation of life, of being alive and what it means to them and to us who appreciate their work.

The point of this essay is not to pity the artist, not to belabor the difficulty of the work nor the sweat involved in creating art and an art career. The point is to celebrate the artists you find a connection with, to honor them with not just your vocal appreciation of what they have done, but to put your money where your accolades are and buy their work. This Absolute Arts site is a shining testament to the abilities, hopes, creativity and determination of artists from all over the globe. Your one job as a visitor here is to take time to explore the site, to find a gem of an artist, to discover a piece of art that resonates like a finely tapped tuning fork in your heart and brain and to reach out and bring that art home.

I’ve attempted to elaborate a perspective of the artist’s life that I think most who surf this site and others like it rarely see or know. It is done to provide a deeper appreciation for what artists go through on a daily basis. Potential patrons need to know how much artists need their support to merely keep bread on the table.

It’s my fondest desire that by providing collectors with this knowledge and perspective more will be motivated to purchase the art that piques their interest, feeds their soul and resonates in their being. If by knowing these things it makes owning a special piece, or any piece, of art that much sweeter, so much the better for collectors and artists alike. Surely, for artists, nothing can be sweeter than knowing their art has been purchased and taken to a place where it will be displayed and treasured.

–Barney Davey