If You Want to Make $100 a Day With Your Art...
Even as artists, we often have goals and ambitions that extend beyond just "freedom to create."
Some years ago, I was fairly close friends with a glassblower in Austin, Texas who became quite successful at "making a living" with his art.
Matthew's success was in large part due to the fact that he showed up, virtually every single day, for twenty-five years!
One of the things we talked about was the whole (and usually quite rare) business of artists being successful was the reality that a lot of artists dream of being successful, but they have little concrete idea of what that means.
As Matthew once observed, "if you want to make $100 from your art, first you have to show up and CREATE at least $100 worth of art, every day... after expenses!"
If you don't have the goods, how can you sell the goods?
Part of my own current campaign to make my work a little more consistently income producing revolves around the same principle: If I don't have the goods available to sell, I can't very well expect to see my bank account grow!
So I have to "show up" every day... in a way not dissimilar from the way we often talk about "success on Hive" being a matter of showing up every day.
Of course, I "get it" that not every artist is interested in the commercial end of what they are doing... and that's totally OK, as long as you're at peace with the fact that sporadic effort is only likely to generate sporadic income.
I want to make a consistent weekly income with my art, so I must take the appropriate steps in order for that to be possible.
What Makes You Think You Can do That with Painted Stones?
Of course, many people are skeptical of the idea that painted stones could be popular enough to create consistent sales, leading to an income.
"Isn't that a bit too niche to be realistic?
Not really. At least three of four of my stone painting colleagues — who got their start at pretty much the same time as I — are very successful. One woman just "announces" her new work just once a month, and is usually sold out within 24 hours of the new items going on her web site.
And most of her painted stones are $150-$400 each!
The first step is to figure out what you want, and set your intention. And then? Then, you have to show up every day, and do the actual work in support of what you intend to accomplish.
Without that crucial step, you'll just end up with a handful of unfulfilled dreams.
Thanks for stopping by and reading; Do leave me a comment if you feel so inspired — interaction and engagement are always welcome!
If you enjoy painted rocks, do check out The Hive Rocks Project and help spread the word about Hive, while also being creative!
Because I am trying to make some semblance of income — a part time living, even — I now add this footer to all my posts, in the hope that someone, somewhere, might decide to take a further look at my work, and perhaps consider supporting independent art.
Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!
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Alchemy Stones web site and blog
Regardless, your upvotes and comments are always appreciated!
Thank you for supporting independent art!
2022.10.28 AS-TXT-129/097
Thank you for your blog post. The thing about making your art looks worth 100$ dollars to sell it for 100$ is something that should be obivious to everyone but is sometimes we artist forgot and this has become a reminder for me that I should continue learning my craft if I want to achieve the value I want onthers to perceive in me.
Sadly, many artists tend to undervalue their talent, work and time. You have to find a price level that is realistic, but you're not giving things away!
That is very true. The right way is to find the perfect balance where we do not undervalue nor overvalue our work. Thank you for these valuable insights!💚