Year Two - Becoming a “Professional Artist”
As I begin my second year as a full-time artist, I thought it would be a good time to reflect and share some of my experiences. One of the most common questions I get while I’m working is: “Are you a professional artist?” and I’ve always found it a bit hard to answer. Usually, I respond with something like, “I’m working on it!” which tends to get a chuckle—and, in a way, it’s the truth. But at this point, I can confidently say that, yes, I am a professional artist, in that it’s what I do full-time. That doesn’t mean I spend 40+ hours a week drawing; much of my time goes to behind-the-scenes work that I sometimes wish I had an assistant for!
When I first decided to pursue art as more than a hobby, my goal was simple: find a way to sell my work so I could keep creating. Sounds straightforward, right? My first step was familiar territory—putting framed pieces in local galleries. I had done this before with watercolors and had some success. This time, I put forth more of an effort to not only sell art but trying to connect with fellow artists and build friendships along the way.
The next step was introducing prints. This opened the door to a new group of buyers and gave me plenty of inventory for art festivals. Last year, I did three festivals—one small and two large. All were successful, with sales of large originals and many prints. While the festivals were a lot of work (and not just for me!), they were absolutely worth it. That said, I don't plan to do them full-time. (I may write a separate post about my festival experiences at some point!)
After that came my Etsy shop (https://happyaccidentsbychad.etsy.com) which has been... decent? It was slow to get started, and even a year later, most of its sales still come directly from social media posts rather than Etsy itself. The platform is easy to use though, and I like how simple it is to run promotions. There may be better platforms for selling art, but I went with what I knew.
The last, and most crucial, piece of the puzzle for me has been social media. I mainly post on TikTok and Facebook, with occasional posts to Reddit and Instagram. Instagram has yielded no sales and very little engagement, but TikTok and Reddit have been game-changers. I know the internet can be a harsh place, but my experience has been overwhelmingly positive, aside from a few scams here and there that are generally pretty easy to spot. (NO I DON’T SELL NFTS!!!)
I realized pretty early on that I would need to reach beyond the small but lovely town of Paducah Kentucky if I wanted to take things beyond a hobby. I debated on what social media platform to focus on, with Instagram and YouTube being obvious options. I really enjoy the fun and quirky side of TikTok though, so that is ultimately what I decided on. When I first started, I was absolutely paralyzed by overthinking everything—what songs to use, whether I should be in the video, if I should talk, what hashtags to use, and so on. It took me a long time to get comfortable with posting, even though the feedback was all positive. But a year later, I’ve grown my TikTok following to around 5,000 followers, which I honestly didn’t expect to happen so quickly.
Timelapse of "The Boy who Cried Wolf"
Going LIVE on TikTok nearly a year later felt like starting over. I imagined that my 5,000 followers would pop in and say hello, but that’s not really how it works. I had to build a new audience for my live streams. I’ve experimented with ways to keep viewers’ attention, but what works best for me is just being my goofy self, playing chill music, and letting people decide if they vibe with that. To my surprise, many people do. Since I started going live a little over a month ago, it’s directly led to 25 Etsy sales, one sizable commission, and five sales of original artwork—all without leaving my studio. There’s no greater feeling than selling a piece that’s still in progress without anyone seeing it in person. It’s truly exhilarating.
Another unexpected benefit has been gaining subscribers! On a whim, I set up the option for people to subscribe to my TikTok, and now I have five amazing supporters who contribute a small amount each month. I’m already brainstorming rewards for different subscription tiers.
I spoke with a young man who was an aspiring artist himself while I was working at a local gallery this past weekend. He was taken with my work and after speaking with him for a while about everything I do he asked “So, you think someone could make a living at it?” and this is what I told him: even though things are going incredibly well, after costs, I’ll probably stand to make around $10,000 this year from selling art, which is an amazing number for me—but it’s not a livable wage. Granted, I’m early in my new career; I can see a path that could get me there, but that’s one reason why you don’t see a lot of people pursuing art full-time. It takes time to build your skills, and it’s hard to find that time if you have a full-time job, a family, and other responsibilities. You have to make time for art, but if you do, I believe it will reward you in the end.
