Source: Career Prospects in Virginia

• What do they do? Fine artists create works of art like paintings, sculptures, & photographs
• Specializations include: Kinds of art work, like painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, & many others
• Preferred education: Art school training to bachelor’s degree
• Certification & licensing: None
• Getting ahead: Get ahead by gaining recognition & selling more at higher prices
• Skills: Artistic talent, creativity, patience & persistence, self-promotion
• Where they work: Art studios
• Job outlook: Competitive
• Earnings: Low

What Do They Do?

It may move us, disgust us, or leave us baffled, but that’s partly the point.
Art is about communication, and fine artists hope to convey a range of ideas, thoughts and impressions in the work they create for museums, galleries, sculpture parks, public spaces, and even for our own homes.

Using a variety of methods and a wide assortment of materials, including oils, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, pencils, pen and ink, plaster, clay, video and computers, artists create unique and highly personal visions that are meant to reflect the world we see around us, as well as propose alternative ways of seeing and understanding this world.

The most successful of artists can present a vision so compelling that their work immediately grabs the attention of national museums, commercial art galleries, big corporations looking to fill out their corporate collections, and important private collectors. Most artists, however, fall somewhere short of this ideal. In fact, the mental picture we have of artists as starving bohemians, working in unrecognized genius in empty factory buildings on the wrong side of town, is partly true. Most artists cannot make a living from selling their artwork alone. Instead, they must work in full and part-time jobs to earn an income and carve out time for their art on the side. Many elect to take arts-related jobs as art teachers in schools, community organizations, colleges and universities.

Others work in jobs completely unrelated to the arts. Most, even the very best of the lot, work in relative obscurity in low-cost studios or in their own homes, and few ever command huge sums of money for their art.While a strong personal vision is generally necessary for the success of any artist, the truth is that many prominent and celebrated artists became that way not just through excellent work, but because of a well-honed business sense. Because artists are self-employed and paid separately for each piece of work they sell, they must be good at marketing.

Part of an artist’s job requires that they systematically seek out exposure by sending slides to galleries, updating mailing lists, calling potential buyers, taking photographs of new work, organizing shows and applying for various grants and fellowships. This aspect of the business is often the most onerous since most artists prefer spending their time in the studio, making art. Specific tasks include:

• Creating art works
• Researching ideas and themes for new art
• Procuring supplies, such as paint, clay, and canvas for making art
• Sending out slides of work to galleries and museums
• Taking photographs of new artwork
• Arranging studio visits for prospective buyers, gallery owners and museum curators
• Updating mailing lists, sending out notices of new exhibitions, applying for grants
• Visiting galleries and museums to see what colleagues and peers are doing

Some Areas of Specialization

• Painters work in watercolors, oils, acrylics, and a wide variety of other media
• Sculptors mold, carve, cut and join a wide variety of materials from clay to glass to create 3-dimensional works or mixed-media works
• Printmakers use either computers or designs cut or etched into wood, stone, or metal to create printed images
• Video artists use video and film to create short films and installations
• Sketch artists create likenesses of subjects using pencil, charcoal or pastels
• Performance artists perform various acts before an audience as a way of conveying themes and ideas.
• Environmental artists create artwork by manipulating natural phenomenon in open, public spaces.
• Photographers work with cameras and film to create fine art photographs

Education, Certification & Licensing

Many artists have at least a college degree in the arts, either from a regular 4-year college or a specialized art school, but there are no formal educational requirements for success in the field. Rather, success depends on a combination of talent, luck, and good contacts. Some knowledge of business is an asset, since selling one’s art is primarily a commercial rather than an artistic activity.

Getting Ahead

Advancement for painters and sculptors lies in gaining recognition, creating greater demand for their work, and earning more money from their work. Since artists are generally self-employed, they must be self-promoters. Beginning artists may enter their work in contests and juried art shows, show it to gallery owners, seek alternative spaces to exhibit it like public libraries or bank lobbies, travel to various art festivals, and set up web sites featuring their art. As their reputation grows, artists begin exhibiting at more prestigious galleries and sell their work at higher prices. Top artists also earn commissions from art dealers, galleries, private collectors, corporations, and government agencies.

Since few artists make a living from their work, they often have day jobs. Teaching painting or sculpture is a common source of income for practicing artists. Those who teach in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools follow the same path for advancement as other teachers.

Skills, Abilities & Personal Characteristics

• Creativity
• Artistic ability
• Patience and persistence
• Perceiving visual detail
• Presenting work to others for criticism and evaluation
• Withstanding frequent rejection
• Self-promotion and marketing
• Business sense
• Being self-motivated and working without supervision or direction
• Organizational abilities

Where They Work

Artists work in studios, though this may simply be a section of their garage or a small room at home. Artists may be hired by others to work on a commission basis. Commissions may involve painting someone's portrait, creating a painting or sculpture to decorate a home or public building, or completing a certain number of works for a gallery to sell.Some artists also teach art in public and private schools, colleges and universities, or schools or art. Others work for arts councils or other public and private organizations that promote the arts.

Outlook

Fine artists, those who are purely artistic and creative, mostly work on a commission basis and usually find it impossible to earn a living by selling their artwork alone. Only the most successful of fine artists receive major commissions for their work, and these commissions are much easier to come by in boom times than during a recession. Many artists benefited from the boom economy of the 1990s, but are now finding things more difficult. Regardless of the state of the economy, though, fine art is and will always be highly competitive. Artists must be entrepreneurs who are able to successfully market their work to the public and galleries. There are large numbers of artists competing for the privilege of being shown in a gallery and many artists vying for grants from private foundations and state and local arts councils. In short, there are many more people who want to be artists than can live by their art, and the more success artists have, the more others are drawn in to compete with them.

Earnings

Earnings for self-employed artists vary widely, from the struggling artist whose sales don't add up to minimum wage, to the well-established best-seller. In general however, it's not wise to start out in this field without also having another more profitable occupation to sustain you through the dry spells.

For More Information

The National Association of Fine Artists, www.nafa.com

Virginia Commission for the Arts Lewis House, 2nd Floor, 223 Governor St, Richmond, VA 23219, www.arts.state.va.us/

National Association of Independent Artists, www.naia-artists.org

National Endowment for the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20506, www.arts.endow.gov

New York Foundation for the Arts, 155 Avenue of the Americas, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10013-1507, www.nyfa.org

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, www.vmfa.state.va.us/