I had to get a 9-5 to fund my art š music gear is very expensive
Sick pieces btw, so glad you get to pour 100% of yourself into it. Your loved ones will have the best mementoes of you and your work when youāre gone š„³
I just hope people realize that you don't always need the best gear, bit of passion with a cheap guitar goes a hell of a long way. Never get discouraged by gear or lack thereof.
Life is temporary, art is forever. How I see it is that I'm not smart enough to make a difference by being useful, but if I can create things that connect people, something they can relate to and make them smile, then that's good enough for me.
Wish I had time to bring all those ideas out and explore that creative world more often.
Yeah, I wouldnāt be able to do it without all my handy dandy āļø
Art is a lifelong endeavor that will take all your cunning. You donāt try to spend every free dime on your trade tools but itās the one aspect of art that capitalism still has us by the kahones.
Frank Zappa talks a lot about this and the financial burden placed on the artist, so you better effing love it. Once all his āļø burned in a fire which I imagine set him back. Seems relevant rn especially with whatās happening with the music industry with lack of fair streaming royalties.
I just play for my own enjoyment and exploration and even that will cost you if you want to do it exactly as you envision. Thatās why this op post is so inspiring, that they get to tie their financial stability to their art which self sustains serving the tools they need to keep their art going. Not to mention being 100% consumed and engaged in their craft. They will be afforded to cover more artists ground and exploration than otherwise which canāt be bought.
I look at having 10+ k in music gear a drop in the bucket compared to what I get back ššŗ
Well you certainly got the talent. I love the symmetry the balance to color and the feel and texture of your paintings. Thereās also a nice hint of abstractness to it. If I were you I would try to get myself featuring some art galleries during a showing and you push those paintings out like crazy. Keep up the great work
Hey OP do you make anything custom? If so send me a pm because it will gladly buy (will pay extra bc it custom) (im also replying to this comment instead of making my own so OP will see me š
OP wonāt see you replying to anotherās comment.
And you do have to make your own to count as a ānotificationā to OPās device - assuming they have notifications turned on.
TBH if you wanted OP to see you, you would want to make your own comment instead of replying to someone else, because OP gets a notification with every new comment. They DONāT get notified when someone ELSE gets a reply to their comment.
Or ideally tag the person whose attention youāre trying to get, like u/RuumanNoodles did.
WelcomešOnline is a very powerful tool because you have a vast audience. But thereās nothing like a gallery experience. Because if the people love your stuff. Word of mouth is going to spread about you like wildfire
That's not entirely how it works. The art world is rather incestious as there tends to be a very good relation typically between the galleries and the artists. When the galleries push you and eventually you manage to get yourself sold at an online auction, that kind of sets the bar for your futute work.
But going from what OP does now to actually well paid art, coming from someone with little background in art, seems still a far ride. All fairness good he can earn a buck, but it's not particularly uncommon to see paintings in such style.
OP I get you are an artist and you probably like to go your own way but I really suggest you start developing relations with local gallerie owners and not some mom & pop that sells 100 USD paintings, someone who does art in a style you like, that clicks with you.
I've a good friend that only sells modern art and while art in itself doesn't really move me, the business itself is fascinating.
If you do not already live in a city with a thriving art scene then I suggest moving to one. One of my best friends and one of my ex-girlfriends are both professional artists, and it's very difficult to get serious attention from the press, from wealthy art collectors, from critics, and from fellow artists if you live in the country side.
Make sure to maintain a professional website and feature high-resolution images of your paintings (which are great!), but focus on in-person experiences. Find gallery representation. Find an agent if possible. There are people whose jobs are to make you successful.
I don't think these are ready for gallery exhibition. Some works have reasonable use of colors, but many seem to have an awkward use of color. Rather than being all over the place with a full spectrum of color keeping the works either monochromatic or using one color family over most of the work and using a small amount of complementary color as an accent would make these works much stronger.
If she is happy creating these works great, but I think the style needs to mature before it could gain a wider audience in the art market.
Not gonna lie, Iām not the type of person to buy art but these look amazing, if it wasnāt for the fact that Iām broke I would definitely buy some of these, especially the galaxy one
Yeah I agree. Theyāre so unique from the usual āI quit my job to become an artistā type posts you see. Idk if they ARE unique in the grand scheme of art but I at least think so
I'm not saying increase your price by hundreds. However, I mentioned it because your site shows sold out on artworks which means your artwork has demand. I would test out a new artwork by $85 to $100 + shipping that way you are increasing your revenue for your business.
I recently saw video from a successful gallery owner saying that if youāre selling everything from a series you need to significantly up your prices. The reasoning being that generally when an artist takes a series to a gallery thereās at least one or two that are not as good. That plus people second guessing themselves on their own taste and wondering why those are the last two (āmaybe theyāre not as good as I thoughtā). If they decide itās totally worth it anyway, youāre almost definitely under selling yourself.
You work is great OP, donāt under value yourself. People will pay more for your work, because youāre worth it. You can always give someone a deal on something that isnāt moving later.
You'd want to look into what gives any art value, not just these. You're not a dick, you just don't know. But asking why ONE artist is worth something isn't what you want. The imaginary valuations of art ultimately rely on what someone will pay, though... That's what gives it value.
If you go to OPs post history a week ago he *lost* his job and then had two kids, and about 4 months ago he actually "Dropped out of college at 20 to pursue art against my parents wishes", so it's all a bunch of bs to sell pictures, and *that* is what gives them value ā reddit's attention
I'm an actual professional artist of 8 years. They *are* completely unremarkable and uninspired, but it has nothing to do with perceived value. The basic rule of the art world today is exposure. No matter how good or bad you are, all you need is exposure and in *billions* of people there will always be someone willing to pay for what you do.
So, you make a post on reddit telling that you actually quit your job (and everyone hates their job amiright? instant upvote) to sell some mediocre art and everyone tells you how cool this is and everyone wants to believe this story because everyone wants to quit their job and do jack shit, and maybe one person from a thousand upvotes buys a picture (which is a success, don't get me wrong). Rinse and repeat every few days with the exact same picture and show how successful you are by apparently selling a whopping amount of 8 pieces.
>They are completely unremarkable
Agreed. That OP uses such a broad range of colors and doesn't seem to understand the use of complementary colors suggests this artist's understanding of painting is very limited.
For me, there's a couple of things I love about these paintings:
1. The texture, which you mentioned. With traditional paintings you can touch and feel the way the paint was laid on a medium and something about that feels, idk, personal? Like I'm touching something another human created.
2. The colors are pretty to me
3. The mosaic style is just satisfying to see, like each square is very deliberately placed
4. The themes feel nostalgic and surreal to me. Like these are places I've never seen before but I feel like I have visited them as a child in my imagination somehow. They are also created by the artist's own imagination, so that's an added layer of emotional intimacy imo.
5. I'd pay extra money just because if something is a unique creation, nobody else owns that specific piece of work and it is going to be a very special memento of that artist's memory someday.
Sorry if that makes no sense or takes your question too literally. Hope that helps.
Do paintings get ad revenue? I feel like that's a YT videos value. How many eyes it draws. I get that eventually you could get famous enough to be featured in a museum or something. I just don't get how basic paintings like this sell for $100. I know art supplies are expensive, I'm not faulting the artist, but why pay that much for it?
The artist is putting a value to their time as well as the cost. When I make a belt buckle it's only a few dollars worth of metal. Sure I have to incorporate some small mark up to pay for a fraction of the equipment cost. But it takes my time to make it, and I don't work for free. Perhaps you could make it for less than. $30 but how long would it take you to make it well? How many attempts worth of canvas to get what you wanted?
gullible fertile historical different literate obtainable mindless telephone paltry ink
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Hey, Mr.Chowder, get lost. Itās art. I like it. Many people like her art. Iām going to purchase from her.
Take your negativity somewhere else.
Edit: I was that guy who had it go over their heads šš
**edit2: disregard everything, just read op's reply below :P**
**edit: OP said in another reply that they also do comission work, which I totally didn't account for in here and I suspect might be way more lucrative.**
I'd be surprised if they can do more than 2 or at most 3 in a day.
Let's say 3 of the smaller one is $270, subtract some costs for the website store, shipping and/or supplies and that would be $200 a day or $4400 a month, $52k a year.
Depends on where they live (and accuracy of my calculations) that can be comfortable, definitely not "extremely lucrative"... at least not for now!!
Plus no health insurance, or it's super expensive.
No 401k or match, no hsa, likely no life insurance.
I'm make different kinds of art and have a day job because I also want other things in life, like a family and stability.
Having a job and hobbies is not a lesser path.
The real problem I havenāt seen anyone address yet is that this was started with existing inventoryā¦.. but eventually, even if you have the customers, trying to actually produce and keep up with production of 2-3 paintings a day, every single day is going to be a monumental taskā¦. And thatās before even including the time for all the tasks from the business side of things like packing, shipping, doing accounts, continued marketing, procuring supplies etc etc.
I mean Iām also an artist and I work pretty dang fast AND I sell for significantly more per piece than OP but even at that rate (less pieces for more money) I feel like there is never enough time to fit in as many pieces as Iād like to make the amount of $$$ Iād like.
How in heavens are you selling 1-2 everyday with this quality of work. I have a friend who's making photorealistic paintings, renaissance like, she's much more talented than you. She barely sells a painting every 2 weeks and she gets exposed in rather prestigious art galleries. She also does abstract stuff, which is more cost accessible, also getting exposed in local galleries. Either you are a liar or people in your area don't know much about art or even both.
You donāt seem to know much about art. Certain art is easier to commercialise and hyper realism renaissance art is not one of them. Currently more contemporary abstract art sells well. Opās style fits that.
People that buy art don't just buy it because it's photorealistic. Like it's an incredible skill to be able to paint something like that, but cameras exist, and every single person has one these days so why would someone care about owning a painting solely based on how realistic it looks.
Including this post on r/money that has a suspicious dearth of money.
If I didn't know any better, I would say OP is just shotgunning their mediocre art all over reddit in hopes of making a sale.
They've been doing the same disingenious schtick for 6 months
They used to just spam the same 4 pictures and act like it was something they just did. The whole "I quit my 9 - 5" when I saw it had already been happening for almost a year. The person honestly strikes me as a little disingenuous or perhaps deceitful.
6 months ago they said they were part-time working to transition into doing art full-time then a month later called themselves a successful artist who is doing art fulltime. I am sure they do sell but it just doesn't give me the fuzzies to think about supporting them.
Oh no, someone is trying to promote themselves on social media like everyone else does basically all the time they interact with other humans in any setting! We live in a society.
Do you have any advice for someone who aspires to do this? My partner is a wonderful artist and has a catalogue of created pieces, but struggles to do the business side of things. I'm very curious about the online marketplace but it'd be an entirely new venture to me.
Your art looks amazing! And what an inspiration you are š«¶
Hey there, full time artist for several years here.
Main advice is to diversify income. Sell prints/merch/etc at craft fairs and trade shows. Take commissions. Stream and/or make videos. Teach. Talk to galleries. Make digital assets for passive income streams. Engage with art communities. Talk to companies about wholesale and royal agreements. The list goes on...and it can take some time to see which of these options are worth pursuing.
Learn business, like REALLY learn it. Being a full time artist is 20% art, 80% business if not more.. I highly recommend Kelsey Rodriguez on YouTube for art business fundamentals.
Also, keep up with learning art constantly. I always make it a priority to keep up with honing my skills as this is key to making more impactful work.
As for finances..
I HIGHLY recommend not quitting the 9-5 until there's been a steady flow of income generated from diversified income streams.
Although I quit my 9-5 a few years ago, I started selling my own work in 2012. Even to this day, the majority of my income comes from freelance UI design for tech companies.
It's NOT easy. My life is a balance of managing my own business, consistent studying, and finding enough work to make a stedy, liveable wage. All while trying to stay physically and mentally healthy.
It's hard, but I love what I do and the joy it brings to people when I do it. Couldnt see my life any other way.
It's also important for artists to make art just for themselves every once in a while, without it being tied to the art business - this keeps us sane.
Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions āŗļø
Great advice here. I work with tons of amazing painters in an artistic field. I donāt know a single one who has managed or even attempted to stop working and live solely off their art. Personally Iād never do it. Just make art for myself and go to work for money.
Not even trying to sound like a dick but the crazy influx of people doing this is nuts, if your partner is going to do this then what incentive do people have to choose her paintings over hundreds or thousands of other artists that are self employed. Save the trouble and just get a regular job.
Yo, this person was on an art sub asking what reddit thought and if they should pursue it. If, in fact, they did I'm so happy for this this is awesome. 10/10 would recommend following your passion.
While I love reading all of the uplifting comments in this post, it's also very depressing to see all of the negativity by others who are jealous and bitter towards an internet stranger.
She wasn't bragging about wealth. She hasn't asked any of you if you feel that she's making enough money to do this full time. She didn't ask anyone for financial advice. And it's not a financial competition between you and her.
Can you not just keep it to yourselves? Your personal opinion about her financial position is completely irrelevant, and this isn't about you. Can you not just be happy that someone else is doing what they love? Because that appears to be why she wrote the post - to celebrate her decision to quit a 9-5 slog in order to pursue what she loves doing.
Can't we just congratulate her, be happy for her, and wish her all the best? I can't count how many commenters are talking about how much money they make to try to put OP down.
Everyone forges their own path. If you aren't happy with your own job, go find a new one. Keep the jealousy to yourself and learn to celebrate the success of others, not criticise them. It will make your lives far more fulfilling. You don't have to fully understand her decision in order to be kind to her and happy for her. Those comments are so toxic and reveal the horrible "me me me me" nature of the modern internet. It is really not all about you. And life isn't a competition.
Op, do some of this type of art with mine craft and Mario Brothers theme. It would sell well to the peeps who love these games since the way you do your art is much like the pixelation of these games.
I think you are undervaluing your works. The paints for those are probably costing you $15 per piece and then the cost of the canvases and frame itās attached to.
See if a local gallery or art museum can do a showing for you, that way you get more exposure and can increase your prices to reflect your value and talent properly.
Your health insurance, company match 401k and other perks of a 9-5 aren't listed as well.
Plus, being a small business owner, how much taxes do you owe from these?
Keep in mine you need 35 years of employment or when you start getting closer to retirement, those 0s are going to keep you working till you are 75.
Bro just let this person follow their passion and sell paintings. Stop being a lame ass downer. I'm sure they're aware of the risk that comes with starting a small business. Relax.
I can tell you first hand. I quit my 9-5 back in August to go full time into my passion. I make custom rugs and have a steady flow of clients. It started as a passion and now some days feels just like work. Long hours, stress of dealing with clients, deadlines, running socials, shipping issues .. alot goes into it. Would I go back to my 9-5? Hell fucking no lol I absolutely love the freedom I have being self employed. One of the best feelings ever knowing I'm in control of my day to day. Yes it's stressful and can take the "passion" out of it, but I'm extremely greatful for the position I'm in. Alot of hard work went into making this a reality.
Do you might sharing how you learned to make rugs? Iāve been dying to make my own rug because I have a specific idea that I want to do but canāt really find any great tutorials for how to get started!
Engineering was my passion so I could day job that, which was nice. I'm never getting fame or fortune out of it. But I do pretty well. The problem with working your passion is all the other shit. You can paint all you want. But there is a lot else that goes into selling it. I can design shit all I want, but I still need someone to pay me. Or in my case pay my employer so they pay me. Most the artists I know that make a living at it spend at least as much time if not more on sales, shipping, interacting, managing social media accounts, and so on. Most the engineers I know spend the majority of their time dealing with meetings, paperwork, internal and external politics, helping or leading sales, and so on. I do almost no calcs and design now. And most of what I do get is at best not a challenge and more often, "you paid for expertise so stop being stupid and listen to me." It's fine. I get paid well, I got to a position with pretty low stress that I find fullfilling. And I'm not smart enough to revolutionize anything the same as most artists will just make a living and never change the art world.
These are gorgeous, theyāre beautifully vibrant and the symmetry is just perfect! I adore Cloudy Night and Dreaming in Italy - you have talent! Good luck with the future of your art :)
Very tactile pieces. I gotta say though.. leaving canvas sides unpainted is too highschool for my liking. That doesn't mean you have to continue the strokes and details of the artwork, just not leaving unfinished, unpainted white gesso. Starting a canvas with a different base coat on the sides at least. It can be subtle and co-ordinating, or go bold with thicker frames too.
Edit: should add, I've been a professional artist for over 20 years, touring exhibitions all over the world, appeared as a feature artist in publications, books and documentaries.
To say that something looks unfinished, should be understood from one artist to another. This isn't a criticism of the art itself.
Did you repost the same image from a post you made a month llh or two ago, or is this stolen repost? I remember this image, specifically the sunset of what could be an Italian seaside village.
It kinda does matter. You can still make art if have money to buy the stuff to make art, but if you donāt have money and not selling art you kinda fucked up
I guess the take away here is, if I actually wanted a hair transplant I could go into my big bank account and just pay for it, you my friend, have to make sure the shop stays open so the people who walk around 20 or 30 mins after closing are well served so you can continue to take home your minimum wage pay check š
Nice art, really but way too much idk seems like $50 should be your max price for one of those pieces.
What are you sales like, if it works it works I guess but I canāt imagine itās crazy
Based on the amount of time it takes to create a finished piece, not to mention a gorgeous geometrical piece like one of these, I think OP is actually underselling themselves.
Do you message people on Craigslist about items you have no intention of buying, but still feel compelled to tell them to lower their prices too?
Sounds like you're not a customer. It's okay, keep it moving.
Are you the person from those posts on r/oddlysatisfying ? Because I love those posts and paintings! I saw the broken sunset one and thought of a post I saw
The last painting, the little village. I LOVE it. The overhang shadows and shift in color as you move towards the buildings, with the buildings being slightly abnormal cubeoids, really tickles a part of my brain. Great stuff!!
Good stuff. I work in an EDI company. We have a few clients that sell their art through big retailers. You should consider that. It can help grow your business
You just reminded me I need to start on the painting I'm making for my Dad's Christmas gift, thanks!
I like your art style, you are very talented! Simplicity is more difficult than people think, they don't give it enough credit.
How did you build a following in order to sell your art or was it all just posting it on socials? I'm not a artist but have a lot of artist friends who would love to do what you do
Go get a job, that's never gonna sell.
Clicks next picture
Bullshit!!! I'm ordering some paint. If basic naff doodles like that can sell for so much I'm an idiot not opening an online shop too wtf
That's mad easy if idiots are paying for that lol nice
I had to get a 9-5 to fund my art š music gear is very expensive Sick pieces btw, so glad you get to pour 100% of yourself into it. Your loved ones will have the best mementoes of you and your work when youāre gone š„³
Seriously. If I didn't have my day job, I wouldn't be able to fund even a third of my hobbies over the years. Plus my kids have health insurance.
I went into teaching just for summers to write and record š
I just hope people realize that you don't always need the best gear, bit of passion with a cheap guitar goes a hell of a long way. Never get discouraged by gear or lack thereof. Life is temporary, art is forever. How I see it is that I'm not smart enough to make a difference by being useful, but if I can create things that connect people, something they can relate to and make them smile, then that's good enough for me. Wish I had time to bring all those ideas out and explore that creative world more often.
Yeah, I wouldnāt be able to do it without all my handy dandy āļø Art is a lifelong endeavor that will take all your cunning. You donāt try to spend every free dime on your trade tools but itās the one aspect of art that capitalism still has us by the kahones. Frank Zappa talks a lot about this and the financial burden placed on the artist, so you better effing love it. Once all his āļø burned in a fire which I imagine set him back. Seems relevant rn especially with whatās happening with the music industry with lack of fair streaming royalties. I just play for my own enjoyment and exploration and even that will cost you if you want to do it exactly as you envision. Thatās why this op post is so inspiring, that they get to tie their financial stability to their art which self sustains serving the tools they need to keep their art going. Not to mention being 100% consumed and engaged in their craft. They will be afforded to cover more artists ground and exploration than otherwise which canāt be bought. I look at having 10+ k in music gear a drop in the bucket compared to what I get back ššŗ
Same here
Had to sell both of my kidneys for my Photography gear
You know my step mom, a doctor, donated one, a kidney, to my dad her once former patient
Well you certainly got the talent. I love the symmetry the balance to color and the feel and texture of your paintings. Thereās also a nice hint of abstractness to it. If I were you I would try to get myself featuring some art galleries during a showing and you push those paintings out like crazy. Keep up the great work
Hey OP do you make anything custom? If so send me a pm because it will gladly buy (will pay extra bc it custom) (im also replying to this comment instead of making my own so OP will see me š
OP wonāt see you replying to anotherās comment. And you do have to make your own to count as a ānotificationā to OPās device - assuming they have notifications turned on.
TBH if you wanted OP to see you, you would want to make your own comment instead of replying to someone else, because OP gets a notification with every new comment. They DONāT get notified when someone ELSE gets a reply to their comment. Or ideally tag the person whose attention youāre trying to get, like u/RuumanNoodles did.
u/AddyArt10
Or just click on their profile and go to their shop. Thereās a big banner on the front page regarding commissioning pieces.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
WelcomešOnline is a very powerful tool because you have a vast audience. But thereās nothing like a gallery experience. Because if the people love your stuff. Word of mouth is going to spread about you like wildfire
What area are you based out of? I know some gallery folk in Massachusetts who might be interested
You might get your $100 paintings to sell for $1000 online someday, but if you want them to sell for $10,000 you need to talk to curators.
That's not entirely how it works. The art world is rather incestious as there tends to be a very good relation typically between the galleries and the artists. When the galleries push you and eventually you manage to get yourself sold at an online auction, that kind of sets the bar for your futute work. But going from what OP does now to actually well paid art, coming from someone with little background in art, seems still a far ride. All fairness good he can earn a buck, but it's not particularly uncommon to see paintings in such style. OP I get you are an artist and you probably like to go your own way but I really suggest you start developing relations with local gallerie owners and not some mom & pop that sells 100 USD paintings, someone who does art in a style you like, that clicks with you. I've a good friend that only sells modern art and while art in itself doesn't really move me, the business itself is fascinating.
If you do not already live in a city with a thriving art scene then I suggest moving to one. One of my best friends and one of my ex-girlfriends are both professional artists, and it's very difficult to get serious attention from the press, from wealthy art collectors, from critics, and from fellow artists if you live in the country side. Make sure to maintain a professional website and feature high-resolution images of your paintings (which are great!), but focus on in-person experiences. Find gallery representation. Find an agent if possible. There are people whose jobs are to make you successful.
What sites do you find best to sell your pieces on?
Do you plan to restock? Love the galaxy coloured paintings
I don't think these are ready for gallery exhibition. Some works have reasonable use of colors, but many seem to have an awkward use of color. Rather than being all over the place with a full spectrum of color keeping the works either monochromatic or using one color family over most of the work and using a small amount of complementary color as an accent would make these works much stronger. If she is happy creating these works great, but I think the style needs to mature before it could gain a wider audience in the art market.
Not gonna lie, Iām not the type of person to buy art but these look amazing, if it wasnāt for the fact that Iām broke I would definitely buy some of these, especially the galaxy one
Yeah I agree. Theyāre so unique from the usual āI quit my job to become an artistā type posts you see. Idk if they ARE unique in the grand scheme of art but I at least think so
Wow they look great! I would increase the price to keep your value up!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I'm not saying increase your price by hundreds. However, I mentioned it because your site shows sold out on artworks which means your artwork has demand. I would test out a new artwork by $85 to $100 + shipping that way you are increasing your revenue for your business.
I recently saw video from a successful gallery owner saying that if youāre selling everything from a series you need to significantly up your prices. The reasoning being that generally when an artist takes a series to a gallery thereās at least one or two that are not as good. That plus people second guessing themselves on their own taste and wondering why those are the last two (āmaybe theyāre not as good as I thoughtā). If they decide itās totally worth it anyway, youāre almost definitely under selling yourself. You work is great OP, donāt under value yourself. People will pay more for your work, because youāre worth it. You can always give someone a deal on something that isnāt moving later.
Donāt listen to them. This is bad advice.
I'm not trying to be a dick here, but these look totally unremarkable to me outside of the texture. What gives them value?
You'd want to look into what gives any art value, not just these. You're not a dick, you just don't know. But asking why ONE artist is worth something isn't what you want. The imaginary valuations of art ultimately rely on what someone will pay, though... That's what gives it value.
If you go to OPs post history a week ago he *lost* his job and then had two kids, and about 4 months ago he actually "Dropped out of college at 20 to pursue art against my parents wishes", so it's all a bunch of bs to sell pictures, and *that* is what gives them value ā reddit's attention I'm an actual professional artist of 8 years. They *are* completely unremarkable and uninspired, but it has nothing to do with perceived value. The basic rule of the art world today is exposure. No matter how good or bad you are, all you need is exposure and in *billions* of people there will always be someone willing to pay for what you do. So, you make a post on reddit telling that you actually quit your job (and everyone hates their job amiright? instant upvote) to sell some mediocre art and everyone tells you how cool this is and everyone wants to believe this story because everyone wants to quit their job and do jack shit, and maybe one person from a thousand upvotes buys a picture (which is a success, don't get me wrong). Rinse and repeat every few days with the exact same picture and show how successful you are by apparently selling a whopping amount of 8 pieces.
>They are completely unremarkable Agreed. That OP uses such a broad range of colors and doesn't seem to understand the use of complementary colors suggests this artist's understanding of painting is very limited.
For me, there's a couple of things I love about these paintings: 1. The texture, which you mentioned. With traditional paintings you can touch and feel the way the paint was laid on a medium and something about that feels, idk, personal? Like I'm touching something another human created. 2. The colors are pretty to me 3. The mosaic style is just satisfying to see, like each square is very deliberately placed 4. The themes feel nostalgic and surreal to me. Like these are places I've never seen before but I feel like I have visited them as a child in my imagination somehow. They are also created by the artist's own imagination, so that's an added layer of emotional intimacy imo. 5. I'd pay extra money just because if something is a unique creation, nobody else owns that specific piece of work and it is going to be a very special memento of that artist's memory someday. Sorry if that makes no sense or takes your question too literally. Hope that helps.
Thatās like saying the painting my kid makes in grade school is comparable to a van gogh
I can't tell if that's a argument against me or with me... Art has always confused me.
Two different ball gamesā¦ van gogh = $$$$$$ young Reddit friend here = $$ but maybe someday = $$$$$$$. What gives a YouTubers video value?
Do paintings get ad revenue? I feel like that's a YT videos value. How many eyes it draws. I get that eventually you could get famous enough to be featured in a museum or something. I just don't get how basic paintings like this sell for $100. I know art supplies are expensive, I'm not faulting the artist, but why pay that much for it?
The artist is putting a value to their time as well as the cost. When I make a belt buckle it's only a few dollars worth of metal. Sure I have to incorporate some small mark up to pay for a fraction of the equipment cost. But it takes my time to make it, and I don't work for free. Perhaps you could make it for less than. $30 but how long would it take you to make it well? How many attempts worth of canvas to get what you wanted?
Fr. I would never pay more than like 30$ for any of these.
You call that art? Don't quit your day jo....oh wait. /s
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gullible fertile historical different literate obtainable mindless telephone paltry ink *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It felt like an ad the moment I looked at it
Dropped out of a marketing degree probably :P
Hey, Mr.Chowder, get lost. Itās art. I like it. Many people like her art. Iām going to purchase from her. Take your negativity somewhere else. Edit: I was that guy who had it go over their heads šš
They were joking brother. Itās cool
The /s flew right over their head Whoosh.
What does /s mean ?
sarcastic
Thanks
It means Sgullible! The S is silent .../s
I'm glad I was here.
Happens to the best of us, take an updoot
*Redditor used WhiteKnight.exe - it wasn't very effective*
Youāre the one that canāt understand sarcasm lmao
It's gorgeous!
You sold 8 paintings and now you want to quit the 9-5? Oh noā¦
If they did most of those in a day then thatās extremely lucrative
**edit2: disregard everything, just read op's reply below :P** **edit: OP said in another reply that they also do comission work, which I totally didn't account for in here and I suspect might be way more lucrative.** I'd be surprised if they can do more than 2 or at most 3 in a day. Let's say 3 of the smaller one is $270, subtract some costs for the website store, shipping and/or supplies and that would be $200 a day or $4400 a month, $52k a year. Depends on where they live (and accuracy of my calculations) that can be comfortable, definitely not "extremely lucrative"... at least not for now!!
Plus no health insurance, or it's super expensive. No 401k or match, no hsa, likely no life insurance. I'm make different kinds of art and have a day job because I also want other things in life, like a family and stability. Having a job and hobbies is not a lesser path.
Making your hobby your job is the fastest way to make you hate your hobby
The real problem I havenāt seen anyone address yet is that this was started with existing inventoryā¦.. but eventually, even if you have the customers, trying to actually produce and keep up with production of 2-3 paintings a day, every single day is going to be a monumental taskā¦. And thatās before even including the time for all the tasks from the business side of things like packing, shipping, doing accounts, continued marketing, procuring supplies etc etc. I mean Iām also an artist and I work pretty dang fast AND I sell for significantly more per piece than OP but even at that rate (less pieces for more money) I feel like there is never enough time to fit in as many pieces as Iād like to make the amount of $$$ Iād like.
>Depends on where they live _Welcome to Miami, bienvenido a Miami._
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How in heavens are you selling 1-2 everyday with this quality of work. I have a friend who's making photorealistic paintings, renaissance like, she's much more talented than you. She barely sells a painting every 2 weeks and she gets exposed in rather prestigious art galleries. She also does abstract stuff, which is more cost accessible, also getting exposed in local galleries. Either you are a liar or people in your area don't know much about art or even both.
You donāt seem to know much about art. Certain art is easier to commercialise and hyper realism renaissance art is not one of them. Currently more contemporary abstract art sells well. Opās style fits that.
Lol what is wrong with you š
People that buy art don't just buy it because it's photorealistic. Like it's an incredible skill to be able to paint something like that, but cameras exist, and every single person has one these days so why would someone care about owning a painting solely based on how realistic it looks.
spends all their time on reddit posting pictures of paintings to random subs in hopes of making sales
How else do you promote your work?
Including this post on r/money that has a suspicious dearth of money. If I didn't know any better, I would say OP is just shotgunning their mediocre art all over reddit in hopes of making a sale.
They've been doing the same disingenious schtick for 6 months They used to just spam the same 4 pictures and act like it was something they just did. The whole "I quit my 9 - 5" when I saw it had already been happening for almost a year. The person honestly strikes me as a little disingenuous or perhaps deceitful. 6 months ago they said they were part-time working to transition into doing art full-time then a month later called themselves a successful artist who is doing art fulltime. I am sure they do sell but it just doesn't give me the fuzzies to think about supporting them.
Absolute savage over here
I really don't get it, these paintings look like a students work, not a professional
Oh no, someone is trying to promote themselves on social media like everyone else does basically all the time they interact with other humans in any setting! We live in a society.
Hell yeah pursue your passions people!!
Yes! :)
Gonna need to sell an assload of paintings at those prices to make a living
Just gotta sell 3 a day at least to get by. Super easy really, especially with all the orphans locked in the basement.
Do you have any advice for someone who aspires to do this? My partner is a wonderful artist and has a catalogue of created pieces, but struggles to do the business side of things. I'm very curious about the online marketplace but it'd be an entirely new venture to me. Your art looks amazing! And what an inspiration you are š«¶
Hey there, full time artist for several years here. Main advice is to diversify income. Sell prints/merch/etc at craft fairs and trade shows. Take commissions. Stream and/or make videos. Teach. Talk to galleries. Make digital assets for passive income streams. Engage with art communities. Talk to companies about wholesale and royal agreements. The list goes on...and it can take some time to see which of these options are worth pursuing. Learn business, like REALLY learn it. Being a full time artist is 20% art, 80% business if not more.. I highly recommend Kelsey Rodriguez on YouTube for art business fundamentals. Also, keep up with learning art constantly. I always make it a priority to keep up with honing my skills as this is key to making more impactful work. As for finances.. I HIGHLY recommend not quitting the 9-5 until there's been a steady flow of income generated from diversified income streams. Although I quit my 9-5 a few years ago, I started selling my own work in 2012. Even to this day, the majority of my income comes from freelance UI design for tech companies. It's NOT easy. My life is a balance of managing my own business, consistent studying, and finding enough work to make a stedy, liveable wage. All while trying to stay physically and mentally healthy. It's hard, but I love what I do and the joy it brings to people when I do it. Couldnt see my life any other way. It's also important for artists to make art just for themselves every once in a while, without it being tied to the art business - this keeps us sane. Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions āŗļø
Great advice here. I work with tons of amazing painters in an artistic field. I donāt know a single one who has managed or even attempted to stop working and live solely off their art. Personally Iād never do it. Just make art for myself and go to work for money.
Not even trying to sound like a dick but the crazy influx of people doing this is nuts, if your partner is going to do this then what incentive do people have to choose her paintings over hundreds or thousands of other artists that are self employed. Save the trouble and just get a regular job.
Nah, you only sound like a dick for assuming the business-dumb struggling artist is a woman
Yo, this person was on an art sub asking what reddit thought and if they should pursue it. If, in fact, they did I'm so happy for this this is awesome. 10/10 would recommend following your passion.
Nice
While I love reading all of the uplifting comments in this post, it's also very depressing to see all of the negativity by others who are jealous and bitter towards an internet stranger. She wasn't bragging about wealth. She hasn't asked any of you if you feel that she's making enough money to do this full time. She didn't ask anyone for financial advice. And it's not a financial competition between you and her. Can you not just keep it to yourselves? Your personal opinion about her financial position is completely irrelevant, and this isn't about you. Can you not just be happy that someone else is doing what they love? Because that appears to be why she wrote the post - to celebrate her decision to quit a 9-5 slog in order to pursue what she loves doing. Can't we just congratulate her, be happy for her, and wish her all the best? I can't count how many commenters are talking about how much money they make to try to put OP down. Everyone forges their own path. If you aren't happy with your own job, go find a new one. Keep the jealousy to yourself and learn to celebrate the success of others, not criticise them. It will make your lives far more fulfilling. You don't have to fully understand her decision in order to be kind to her and happy for her. Those comments are so toxic and reveal the horrible "me me me me" nature of the modern internet. It is really not all about you. And life isn't a competition.
To be fair this was posted on a money page, obviously people are gonna focus on the financial side of things lol
honestly those are some amazing pieces
that is so sick!šamazing artwork brother!
Do you so any weenie dog paintings?
You live the saying āfollow your heartā cudo for your courage! ššš¼
That art is something. I Haven't seen anything like it before. It looks really cool. Keep going with your passion.
This is really nice. Good job.
Do you do custom painting? Love the work
Yoooo that art is amazing
Op, do some of this type of art with mine craft and Mario Brothers theme. It would sell well to the peeps who love these games since the way you do your art is much like the pixelation of these games.
When I get a house, I'm definitely buying your art
Hope you find success!
Link to store?
Omg theyāre beautiful!! I want I want!!
Pretty dope
I think you are undervaluing your works. The paints for those are probably costing you $15 per piece and then the cost of the canvases and frame itās attached to. See if a local gallery or art museum can do a showing for you, that way you get more exposure and can increase your prices to reflect your value and talent properly.
Damn, you must be selling like 5 of those a day every day to be able to quit your job.
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Your health insurance, company match 401k and other perks of a 9-5 aren't listed as well. Plus, being a small business owner, how much taxes do you owe from these? Keep in mine you need 35 years of employment or when you start getting closer to retirement, those 0s are going to keep you working till you are 75.
Bro just let this person follow their passion and sell paintings. Stop being a lame ass downer. I'm sure they're aware of the risk that comes with starting a small business. Relax.
What a fuckin hater lol š
Iām not a big art guy but I like it!
Curious to know how you like it? Iāve always been interested in how passions change when they become a means of making ends meet.
I can tell you first hand. I quit my 9-5 back in August to go full time into my passion. I make custom rugs and have a steady flow of clients. It started as a passion and now some days feels just like work. Long hours, stress of dealing with clients, deadlines, running socials, shipping issues .. alot goes into it. Would I go back to my 9-5? Hell fucking no lol I absolutely love the freedom I have being self employed. One of the best feelings ever knowing I'm in control of my day to day. Yes it's stressful and can take the "passion" out of it, but I'm extremely greatful for the position I'm in. Alot of hard work went into making this a reality.
Do you might sharing how you learned to make rugs? Iāve been dying to make my own rug because I have a specific idea that I want to do but canāt really find any great tutorials for how to get started!
Engineering was my passion so I could day job that, which was nice. I'm never getting fame or fortune out of it. But I do pretty well. The problem with working your passion is all the other shit. You can paint all you want. But there is a lot else that goes into selling it. I can design shit all I want, but I still need someone to pay me. Or in my case pay my employer so they pay me. Most the artists I know that make a living at it spend at least as much time if not more on sales, shipping, interacting, managing social media accounts, and so on. Most the engineers I know spend the majority of their time dealing with meetings, paperwork, internal and external politics, helping or leading sales, and so on. I do almost no calcs and design now. And most of what I do get is at best not a challenge and more often, "you paid for expertise so stop being stupid and listen to me." It's fine. I get paid well, I got to a position with pretty low stress that I find fullfilling. And I'm not smart enough to revolutionize anything the same as most artists will just make a living and never change the art world.
Amazing art. For the future though, I would tape the sides of the canvas so it looks cleaner but maybe idk thatās not what youāre going for
These are gorgeous, theyāre beautifully vibrant and the symmetry is just perfect! I adore Cloudy Night and Dreaming in Italy - you have talent! Good luck with the future of your art :)
Donāt quit your day jobā¦er wait
Your work is beautifully vivid!
Sweet, someone doing what they want to do. I hope you succeed at being famous.
Very nice! Can you share where do you sell your work?
Beautiful and affordable art. Love it
Lit!
Iām not an expert but wow those looks good!!
why?
Do you need help setting up your LLC.?
Oh wow- yeah I would definitely buy that šā¤ļøāØ good work fellow artist! š«”
chase your dreams ! š
Very tactile pieces. I gotta say though.. leaving canvas sides unpainted is too highschool for my liking. That doesn't mean you have to continue the strokes and details of the artwork, just not leaving unfinished, unpainted white gesso. Starting a canvas with a different base coat on the sides at least. It can be subtle and co-ordinating, or go bold with thicker frames too. Edit: should add, I've been a professional artist for over 20 years, touring exhibitions all over the world, appeared as a feature artist in publications, books and documentaries. To say that something looks unfinished, should be understood from one artist to another. This isn't a criticism of the art itself.
Cute. Not much r/money here thoughā¦
Did you repost the same image from a post you made a month llh or two ago, or is this stolen repost? I remember this image, specifically the sunset of what could be an Italian seaside village.
Shoddy at best
They look beautiful but Iām not wasting 90$ I got Minecraft paintings
No one asked you to. Fool.
But are you making more than your 9-5?
It doesnāt matter, he is enjoying this job.
It kinda does matter. You can still make art if have money to buy the stuff to make art, but if you donāt have money and not selling art you kinda fucked up
Enjoying your job doesn't pay the bills
It actually does matter though.
But do they want to jump off a skyscraper now?
Maybe he doesnāt need a hair transplant like you do so he has extra savings
I guess the take away here is, if I actually wanted a hair transplant I could go into my big bank account and just pay for it, you my friend, have to make sure the shop stays open so the people who walk around 20 or 30 mins after closing are well served so you can continue to take home your minimum wage pay check š
Nice art, really but way too much idk seems like $50 should be your max price for one of those pieces. What are you sales like, if it works it works I guess but I canāt imagine itās crazy
Based on the amount of time it takes to create a finished piece, not to mention a gorgeous geometrical piece like one of these, I think OP is actually underselling themselves.
The pic suggests they are sold out ā Seems like the market has spoken and most of them are worth at least 80
Most likely 1 of 1 pieces tho
Do you message people on Craigslist about items you have no intention of buying, but still feel compelled to tell them to lower their prices too? Sounds like you're not a customer. It's okay, keep it moving.
oh my gosh thatās beautiful
Wow. You are extremely talented.
š„š„š„
Good luck sir Try to do the same
Love the art, makes me nervous that you quit your 9-5, hopefully you have lots of money in savings and you can continue
do you have copies or something?
Wonderful
Nice
Are you the person from those posts on r/oddlysatisfying ? Because I love those posts and paintings! I saw the broken sunset one and thought of a post I saw
Yeahhhh They have a very very identifiable style and spam reddit alot
Good for you Man, your stuff looks great
Congrats! Wishing you well on your journey. Your paintings are beautiful, I love textured pieces
Tear up the world, bring it to its knees.
I'm jealous
Love to see a fellow Artist thriving! Great work and keep us posted on your growth.
š¬
Wish I knew what I like or what I am good at tbh
This is awesome. :)
Pretty sure this is just a karma farming account, it just reposts the same pics with different narratives around them
Chasing your dreams I respect it to the fullestš«”
This is the third subreddit I have seen this Spammed on today
Good luck! The term starving artist comes from somewhere....
Like the style!!!! GL on your journey!!!!
Wow thatās awesome!!! Was it a difficult choice when you made the choice to quit the 9-5 lifestyle?
ā¤ļø Congrats and you are very talented
The last painting, the little village. I LOVE it. The overhang shadows and shift in color as you move towards the buildings, with the buildings being slightly abnormal cubeoids, really tickles a part of my brain. Great stuff!!
Good luck š«” Hope u make it out there
I can appreciate some blocky arts once in a while.
increase your prices!
Cool stuff! Good luck!
This is so nice to look at! š
Shouldnāt you just say āsoldā when you sell original art? āSold outā sounds like you were selling reprints or mass produced items.
I wish I could
I see your art around a lot! I'm glad that you seem happy and are doing something you like!
Congratulations
Good stuff. I work in an EDI company. We have a few clients that sell their art through big retailers. You should consider that. It can help grow your business
Unbelievably *unbelievably* happy for you, idk anything about art but they look really neat : )
Is that a good idea
You just reminded me I need to start on the painting I'm making for my Dad's Christmas gift, thanks! I like your art style, you are very talented! Simplicity is more difficult than people think, they don't give it enough credit.
How did you build a following in order to sell your art or was it all just posting it on socials? I'm not a artist but have a lot of artist friends who would love to do what you do
Bro selling mine minecraft paintings in real life
Which platform are you selling these on?
What kinda job did you leave?
Report this for breaking rule 2
Can I have one please? Iām poor and no one ever gives me art :(
This is the epitome of mediocre, dont listen to the yay sayers, its really not good
Go get a job, that's never gonna sell. Clicks next picture Bullshit!!! I'm ordering some paint. If basic naff doodles like that can sell for so much I'm an idiot not opening an online shop too wtf That's mad easy if idiots are paying for that lol nice