By Jeffrey Spear
For most individuals, going to work is a dance that’s carried out to the rhythm of a 40-hour work week, accessorized with a properly furnished workspace, camaraderie of comrades, medical health insurance and, most significantly, a gentle paycheck. For full-time high quality artists, their lives swing to a wholly completely different beat. Many work in isolation, handle unpredictable schedules and discover the concept of a gentle paycheck extra of a dream than actuality. Whereas a profession in artwork may be rewarding, the challenges are fixed.
It’s a typical realization amongst artists that, though every part they wanted to find out about their craft was taught at college, they graduated with little understanding of gross sales, advertising and enterprise administration. Thankfully, they have a tendency to flock collectively, creating invaluable networks for mentoring and occupational assist.
This has definitely been vital to photographer Ally Brody and reduce paper artist Hiromi Moneyhun. For Brody, an rising artist working as each a industrial and high quality artwork photographer, her community has helped her higher perceive and embrace important enterprise practices. Whereas client-driven assignments vary in worth and maintain her in enterprise, it stays to be seen if high quality artwork images, at present promoting anyplace from $60 to $150, will turn out to be a bigger a part of her output. As her profession unfolds, she’s pursuing alternatives to publish and showcase her work each time potential.
Taking a significantly completely different method, life as an expert artist was by no means a part of the plan for Hiromi Moneyhun. In truth, she was reluctant to point out her work in any respect. With assist from the artwork neighborhood, her extremely detailed and fantastically conceived reduce paper creations discovered a following that has been rising since 2012. Though costs can vary from $1,000 to $10,000, gross sales are rare, particularly her bigger items. To assist complement her earnings, Moneyhun teaches reduce paper workshops at varied museums and produces comparatively cheap reduce paper ornaments for the vacations. The excellent news is that her mortgage is paid and he or she lives merely, and makes artwork daily with out fear.
After 20 years as a graphic designer, Jason Tetlak determined to vary path. For the final 4 years, he’s been working as a full-time muralist, creating daring and colourful items, many with progressive 3-D and interactive options. With commissions from $5,000 to $10,000, he’s discovered a profession path that’s significantly extra pleasurable and profitable. This being mentioned, he spends 80% of his time conducting analysis and digging round for brand spanking new alternatives. When requested about job safety, Tetlak remarks “It’s been exhausting, not understanding the place the following job will come from. Whereas I’ve discovered to anticipate gradual occasions, I fear this might crumble at any second.”
Most artists perceive that dangers and insecurities are constants. With this in thoughts, Jim Benedict, a maker of public sculptures, kinetic works and installations, is all the time looking out for brand spanking new tasks. Though awards for public installations can vary between $50,000 to $75,000, there’s a number of competitors and no ensures. After 23 years, Benedict attributes a lot of his success to an unwavering ardour for his work. “I by no means know for certain the place the following job will come from,” he says. “Each time I land a challenge, I’m extremely grateful.”
Recognizing there’s all the time extra to do when it comes to promotion and
publicity, Kathy Stark has nonetheless attracted appreciable recognition over the previous 20 years. Her fantastically rendered oil and watercolor work of North Florida’s wilderness, many giant format, can promote anyplace from $3,000 to $10,000. To accommodate consumers with restricted budgets, she additionally produces archival high quality artwork prints and posters with significantly smaller worth tags. Stark acknowledges the difficulties being a full-time artist and is modest about her achievements. “It’s rather a lot to juggle,” she admits. “Whereas I need to be within the studio and paint, there are many outdoors obligations. I’m making a dwelling however could by no means retire.”
Whereas life as a full-time artist has its challenges, it rewards are noteworthy, offering a manner for people to specific themselves freely and share their uniquely private imaginative and prescient with the world. For all of us right here in Jacksonville, these dynamics have made us, and our communities, that a lot richer.