Transparency

How I Make Money As An Artist

Kicking things off real quick with a gouache painting I made in January using a reference photo from @nev.in.color on Instagram:

Happy tax season to all those who begrudgingly participate! In honor of this financial exercise as well as my word of the year—authenticity—I’ve decided to be open and tell the internet how I make money as an Artist.

Firstly, I have to say that making money from art is not the only thing that makes you an Artist. I know full-time career Artists and I absolutely love cheering them on. These entrepreneurial creatives truly inspire me and maybe someday I will be one of them.

With some luck, my path has led me to seek out in-house creative positions that offer a salary and health care as well as co-workers. As an extrovert, I’ve found that the solitary freelance life is not for me. I love my healthy office environment and did not do well during the pandemic wfh days.

Zoom calls got better but sometimes they still feel bad.

I’ve struggled with giving myself permission to call myself an Artist ever since I started participating in capitalism. The mental hoops I have to jump through to validate myself is ridiculous sometimes… My job title is an in-house “Illustrator” and yet I still annoyingly vacillate around terms that define me. I know Artists in Portland and online who are baristas, waiters, tax consultants, Amazon drivers, architects, graphic designers, etc. If you make art regularly, you’re an Artist baby.

Still, it’s a fair question – If you call yourself an Artist, how are you paying your bills? How do you make it “work”? Because obviously if you have a job, you are spending a lot of time there. You also might have friends, a romantic partner, and—ohmygod—kids, that also require your invested time and attention (I do not have children and I honestly don’t know how y’all fit it all in). I guess one good thing about getting paid for art is incentive to prioritize the time spent making art. Things get serious… in a fun way. Also, it feels really good to get paid for my art.

Here’s my quick breakdown of income streams:

• I work a salaried 9-5 job as an in-house illustrator at a local game developing studio called Brainium. I’m usually in their beautiful downtown offices Tuesday through Thursday. This is where the majority of my income comes from as well as healthcare and other benefits.

• I teach a sketchbook class at Ulna studios twice a year which feels like nice bonus income (that also gets taxed).

• Sometimes I teach other in-person workshops (also taxed).

• If I’m lucky enough I get approached to work on illustration commissions (also taxed). Last year I submitted a couple 1099s.

• I sell prints through Crafted Prints and inPrint which provides a little bit of passive income but not much (yep, taxed).

• I participate in group/solo art shows in and around Portland with 20-50% of sale income going towards the gallery or curator (Happy Anyway, Ulna, Albina Press, etc.)

• I have an annual Studio Sale with artwork and prints priced to sell.

• Sometimes I figure model at Ulna and the Drawing Studio. I usually spend this money on a fancy date :)

So there you have it. I’m not very transparent online about having a 9-5 job—mostly I share gouache paintings, plein air studies, and pages from my more refined sketchbooks. I figured, just in case you were curious…. I know I’m not alone in wondering how other Artists make it “work”. Let me know in the comments :)

Here are some examples of digital art I illustrate at work:

Some backgrounds and card backs for the game Solitaire

Thanks for reading!

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Events:

• My Sketchbook class begins April 6! We meet for five sessions on Sunday mornings. I’ve heard from students that they love starting their Sundays with this class because it makes them feel inspired and creative for the rest of the day.

• I will be in the 10th Anniversary Nucleus Portland Coaster show – opening June 8th

Currently Reading:

• I’m reading the Earthsea series by local author Ursula K. LeGuin and I’m currently on book three! I’m going to motivate myself to finally get a library card to finish the six book series.

Me skiing Mt. Bachelor this season