Of all the arts, the visual ones are probably the most difficult in terms of making money doing what you love. Don't get me wrong – it is pretty easy to get a gig as a visual artist if you are willing to do more design oriented stuff. Graphic designers are always in demand, and even people without a formal graphic design background can get gigs if they have a good portfolio to show off. Succeeding as a fine artist, on the other hand, is extremely difficult. There is a lot of money in the art world, but most of it only goes to a few people – those who have been picked up on by the collectors and whose works can sell for unbelievable amounts of money.
Of course, the key to becoming one of the few is art shows. Although few art gallery shows are truly lucrative, it is amazing how quickly the buzz can spread if you get the eye of someone in the know. Secretly, everyone with an art show dreams of catching the admiring eyes of a patron.
It is important to realize that there are some people who do quite well with art shows that cater to popular tastes, but this can be a tough life. You see, a lot goes into organizing an art show. Each individual piece can take anywhere from minutes to hours to complete, depending on the process used and the needs of the project. Add to all those hours of work the costs of organizing an art show, the time it takes to network with curators, art patrons, and other folks, the transportation costs, and all the rest, and you have a pretty risky proposition. It isn't that art shows costs a lot of money for artists – they don't. It is just that they represent a tremendous amount of work, so it is important to maximize on that work.
A lot of people make the mistake of assuming that the best artists get the best art shows. This is not exactly how it works. As a matter of fact, art shows have a lot to do with networking. Like any other area of human endeavor, it is all about the connections you make. As an artist, take the time to go around to different galleries, observing which ones exhibit art in a similar vein to your own. Talk to those galleries patrons, and don't be afraid to ask if they would consider organizing an art show for you. Remember, it never hurts to ask.
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