Most artists earn only a small proportion of their income directly from their art. Earning a living off the sale of artworks, exhibitions and commissions is a reality for very few people.

An image of an artist run workshop
An artist led workshop

Many earn nothing at all from being an artist. There are lots of different ways to finance your career.

Some artists get work unrelated to the art world. Artists might use creative skills as web designers, commercial photographers or project managers.  Other artists have jobs as press officers, technicians, educators or invigilators in galleries.

Balancing time earning money with time spent on practice is an important part of being an artist. It can also be helpful to think about other benefits how you earn money can bring to your practice.

Listen to this presentation by artists Hunt and Darton. In it they talk about how they approached earning in a way that made sense with their work.

Exploiting your assets

Instead, many artists could benefit by exploiting other assets that they have.

By ‘asset’ we mean anything you have that you can sell. This might be

  • artwork
  • specialist skills
  • consultancy or advice
  • experiences of being an artist
  • spare rooms in your property or studio
  • equipment rental
  • ideas or projects. 

It needn’t just be objects, and it needn’t be an outright sale. Some of these, including your ideas, images and projects, you can license for a regular income without selling.

Some possible assets that an artist might have include:

Asset ExamplePotential
Physical
  • Property
  • Equipment
  • Studio
  • Subletting studio or part of studio (check your contract allows this) to offset some of your costs
  • If you have a parking space outside you studio you could let it out
  • Renting specialist or rare equipment when you’re not using it (make sure it’s insured and that these costs are covered in your rental costs)
Intellectual
  • Patent
  • License
Social
  • Networks
  • Mailing list
  • Promote third-party products and services in return for a fee (make sure your list knows you’re going to send this before you begin)
Technical
  • Skills
  • Teaching
  • Socially engaged practice
  • Teaching in primary, secondary or higher education
  • Private art classes
  • Gallery education
  • Film or video editing
  • Web development
  • Graphic design
  • Project management
  • Consultancy
  • Fundraising
Reputation/ brand
  • Your reputation as an artist
  • Smaller art classes with higher fees drawing on your reputation as an artist

Once you’ve identified your assets, look after them.

  • Keep knowledge and skills up to date
  • Insure valuable equipment
  • Protect intellectual property
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