Making a living as an artist is not easy and many artists maintain a Day Job to be financially secure. The important aspect to keep in mind is how much energy your day job will contribute to your creative life or take away from it. Some day jobs can increase our creativity by providing us with ideas to express while others become emotionally and physically draining. Day jobs can drain us of the energy we need to create ideas, painting, or sketches.
Day jobs are often an evil necessity, which we use to help pay the bills, provide us with medical insurance, and savings. Day jobs can provide us with positive experiences including contacts, which may lead to other contacts, art shows, or a chance to teach a class on the weekends. Artist can use them as a branch in their networking system.
If you are a salesperson, waiter, server, or a house painter, find out what your customers their profession is, and what their creative needs are, and what they participate in during their spare time. Perhaps, in a causal conversation while building a relationship with your customer you will find a hidden lead to a new gallery, a new job, or an art show. Building a relationship is like putting money in the bank, the more you build, the more you can count on or withdraw from when you need to market and sell your work. Carefully listening to the people around you will help you build positive relationships and build contacts.
If you work in a creative field during the day, your inner well can fill up with ideas for your own art while you are creating work for them. You may be able to receive discounts on art supplies, graphic art projects, brochures, business cards, or other printing needs.
When you choose your day job take a piece of paper, divide it in half, and write the pluses on one side and the negatives on the other side. When the pluses out number the negatives then you may have found the right day job for you. I hope you can cut back on the hours you spend at your day job in a few years and invest more time in your creative life.
If you are looking for a Creativity Coach to help you brainstorm, increase your self-confidence to approach publishers or galleries then email me at terricreativity.com for a discount price during September 2008. Act now before it is too late for a discount.
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August 20, 2007 at 3:13 am
Austin
I was told by my doctor that when it comes to my artwork I’m at an advantage. I sell my stuff at lower prices because I want people of all income brackets to afford it. He told me usually artists need to ask high prices because they depend on the money for everything. I get a disability check and what little I get from sales supplements that SSDI. For the first time I saw a gift I could give because I’m of low income. Yes, I need the money from art sales but I’m at an advantage because if I do not sell anything my rent is still paid. I still get to eat. For those who depend upon sales for livelihood they do not have the option of lowering prices for a cause other than making ends meet. Funny how a limitation like fixed income can turn out to be a gift for others. That’s the whole concept of my pricing system. Art for all, big and small, rich or poor all prices for every walk of life. It took someone on the outside to show me one benefit of a fixed income and my artwork.
thanks for visiting my blog. (The Sundrip Journals Art Collection)
Austin of Sundrip