It's ironic that the criticism toward making visual art for a living is looked down upon by the corporate world when it is the corporate world that looks to the visual arts as their means to hold and transfer their own wealth via investing into it.

Very interesting, your art is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! I'm a performing musician, a fusion classical/flamenco guitarist, all instrumental, and I can tell you from experience, it's TOUGH because, on average, to play clubs & restaurants, they want you to play covers, which will include music you may not like & sing, so it can be way harder than an artist because of biass, & some of these people can be unreasonablly rude!!! That's why you have to really work hard, not only on your skill, but also on selling yourself, a never ending process. I've been very Blessed & fortunate to have been gigging full time & part time & make money, over 25yrs with my wife managing ( been playing 50yrs) but it is no simple walk, it's a fluctuating income & you gotta watch your money, be careful how you spend it!!! But it is a passion, and so is art, your art is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL as I said, & your advice on having multiple streams of income is the secret to succeeding in it, thanks for your Inspiration, I subbed to your channel and will support, Keep Creating, Rock On & God Bless.

A lot of what you have said is absolutely right. You are making good content keep it up.

Age 54, just painted my first canvas in March 2023. I'm a little different because my husband is the major income while I always took care of aging or sick family. His parents were both artist (his mother a teacher, his father an architect but still did oil paintings on the side). First thing they said, "There is no money in art... So don't even start.... Just stick to a 9-5... " Again, his mother was an art teacher... 😐 They both have passed. I never asked them anything about art because they said if you ever do it just do it for fun... I was always discouraged. Everyone shot down every dream I had of trying art. Started a spiritual awakening a few years ago. Negative people removed. My mother passed last year I am now "finding myself" without the harsh voices around me. I think I am an intuitive artist... Never plan anything prior... Don't know how I am doing what I am doing but I just tap into my higher self and flow... My guides show me what is there...😄 Really enjoyed your advice and completely agree that with the internet, I see many artists reaching audiences that they never could without it. Thank you again! Best to you! 🙏

One tip that might be useful. Don't get involved with marketing your work until you have enough finished pieces and your'e honest with yourself that you are ready to produce enough marketable art to make it worth your time and funds spent in setting up and running the marketing end of things. You need more good pieces to keep the show going, after selling a number of pieces. Staying focused while painting for 8-12 hrs per day after day after weeks and weeks is not something you want to assume or imagine about. You must first actually do it and see if that is the life you want. If you just want to be a hobby artist that sells a few great pieces every so often, then a different marking plan for that. Or if you create less time involved quantity of mediocre pieces, a different marking plan. At some point during this process you must test the waters to see where your art stands in the market. It would not be fair to society for you to hold many great works of art, just because you hate sales and marketing. Never sell yourself short during this process of testing the waters. Be willing to invest and loose at marketing the same as investing time and materials in the many pieces that turned out fails. Just because a certain great piece doesn't sell when you first put it out there, does not mean that a right buyer won't come along. One bad art showing does not mean all bad art showings. Buyers can be very undetermined when or where they will show up and purchase art. Many times they will leave a show kicking themselves for not having purchased a piece they liked. When artist drop their price to dump a piece, they are also devaluing themselves, their name. It is important to study the market and be as correct as you can while pricing your work. Rather than dropping the price, take it off the market, sell it to a friend for cheap or simply hold it for a long period and then put it back on the market at a readjusted price.

Do you happen to have any tips on getting into teaching? It's a revenue stream I'd be interested in, but I always look at my painting process and I just...have no idea how I could teach anyone my process. It's not out of the oridinary or anything, it just always feels like a "just pick at it until it looks right" type of ordeal, you know?