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When Art And Business Collide: A Strategy For Profit
Earning a living from selling your artwork.
Our youngest son turned 21 last month. He’s owned his own art business since graduating from high school in 2020. After working out of our previous home’s pole shed-wood shop, he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, and worked out of the two-bedroom apartment he shared with his girlfriend there. When that became too congested, he rented a studio space in St. Paul. The studio has worked well for him to paint and produce his art for over a year now.
But running an art business is more than painting. He told us last month that he was down to having only 15 hours a week to paint due to all the other aspects of running a business. For him, this mainly includes managing his website, making contacts, following up on DM’s, and securing commissions. It also includes printing orders and packaging and shipping them to those who bought his art. In addition, some time has to be spent on shopping for supplies — both paint, brushes, canvas, paper, and mailing tubes.
There’s a lot to do when you own a business!
My husband and I can sympathize. While we did not earn a living from our art, we both had artistic pursuits. I make handcrafted jewelry and have participated in art shows, and gallery events, host open houses and have had…
