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My philosophy on art-making and work in general.  If you make art only when you feel like it, or only when inspiration strikes, you are a different type of artist than I am.  I turn and burn.  I express myself through my art, I love the art that I make, I am proud of it all, but my goal is to create pieces that people like enough to want to buy.  If I didn’t I would have hundreds of pieces sitting around my office collecting dust.  Remember this, a production artist produces art to sell, and that’s what I wanted to write to you about.

If you are a part-time hustling artist ask yourself, “who am I, as an artist?”  This is a question that vexed me for years.  Was I an artist because I wanted to make art and show it to people?  Do I try to display and sell my art in the traditional way, galleries art shows, etcetera?  Or do I attack this new grassroots opportunity in art, and try to sell art at a smaller guerilla approach and make a little bit of money while I’m at it.  For me the choice was obvious, but for others, it may not be as easy of a choice.  Here is how I made the decision to do what I do.

1. What type of art do I make?

   1. Fine art, traditional paintings, drawings, sculpture: Higher sales amount, harder to break into the traditional gallery system, smaller market, higher-priced clientele

      1. Art festivals

      2. Galleries

      3. Fine art shows that are juried or non-juried

   2. Photographer: Print-based, lower sale amount, low production cost, good market, affordable for customers

      1. Art festivals

      2. Galleries

      3. Fine Art shows

      4. Online sales like Etsy

   3. Graphic, Pop cultural, Kitchy, niche: print-based with some original art sales, a lower price point for prints and originals, many options for commission work, affordable for customers

      1.  Art festivals

      2. Fine Art shows

      3. Online sales like Etsy

      4. Cons, flea markets, grassroots artist shows, pop-up shows

2. What is my goal?

   1. Make a name for myself in the art-world

   2. Sell less, big money items

   3. Sell more, small-ticket items

   4. Just to produce art for myself and my friends and have fun.

3. What can I do as an artist? BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF!!!

   1. What’s my style?

   2. What’s my level or ability?

   3. How does it translate to all the different avenues in the art world?

Once I evaluated myself and my options, as I saw them, I made the choice and put together a plan on how I was going to pull off my decision. But that’s another blog for another day.

Until then, keep hustling!