Ruben Blades started out in the mailroom at Fania Records, college degree and all ….

So many entry level jobs in “glamour” industries pay peanuts because so many people want those jobs – but at least it’s a way in the door. Yesterday I heard of a really good Italian photographer who would not take an entry level photography job years ago at the best-known Italian newspaper – “salary too low for my experience” – where is he now? Assistant Manager of a pinball-machine-rental company in Central America… makes you wonder …

While the examples you gave do not thrill me, most art that is considered “great” today, that was made post-patronage/ post-Renaissance (the work of Monet, Picasso, DeBuffet, Turner, O’Keefe, MaGritte to namea few) was considered fringe and only accepted by the “out there” factions at first. Today it is among the most collectible and valuable in the world.

Someday Kostabi and that artist who paints the saccharin mansions of “light”, which people love, are considered to have zeitgeist, and are highly saleable, but will probabaly disapper into the annals as popular but poor art. Whether they will hold any monetary value long term remians to be seen.

If you are looking at it form the point of view of a collector, not an artist, the innovative and out there work that symbolizes an era is still the best long term investment. Mexico accepts artwork from artists as a legitmate payment of taxes, based on the artist’s market rate at the time. In doing this, they have built up, over time, a priceless collection of works by artists who went on to major success. But they cannot sell the work unitl the artist dies, as it would mean a tax refund! This system encourages artists to continue making art.

Instead, it should read, Do what you love, and you might just be happy. Every artist should have a back-up skill for income.

I am on my third career. Fashion- did great, but quit after visiting the factories in HongKong as it made me sick. The fashion industry is parasitic. And it pushes disposability and insecurity.

Advertising/publishing. Yes, you CAN make good money as a graphic designer or art director, or a creative director. In NYC. At a top place. I was one of the lucky ones, made a lot, and worked 12-14 hours days. I know how rare my job was. I quit to teach- missed my family.

Now I teach. The art teachers around me are making a lot as they stay longer, and will have a pension. I would be in much better shape financially has I started teaching from the get-go. BUT, I would not have enjoyed the successes I had, and the adrenaline.

OH! And I paint. When I tell people m paintings have been noted in the NY Times, and Newsday, and that I have had a 60 piece one person show in a LI museum, and that every opening I have is attended by about 90 people…they think I make money with my painting. Nope! Critical acclaim and publicity do not equal income. Some commissions, yes, but I was a single mom then, and speculative income was not for me. I paint for joy. not money.

But to illustrate what I really think- please watch Harlan Ellison’s “Dreams with Sharp Teeth.” He is a character, and uses profanity, but he is brilliant, and on the money with this. People giving their art away for free undercuts professionals, and lowers the level of professionalism overall. The graphic design industry destroyed itself with every young kid who would work long hours for peanuts because it was cool. Now design wages are in the toilet.

Bloggers work for free, and writers post novels for free, or self publish, and now writing income is in the toilet.

YouTube is free, and now we are stuck with theaters having 3-D movies to compete. UGH!!

THANK YOU, Trent, for being the first one to really dive into this issue publicly. I wish I would have read this back when I was going to college for graphic design.

Now, I’m middle-aged and in college AGAIN to earn an entirely different degree (Accounting) because I learned the hard way that graphic design/art does NOT pay and it is highly unlikely one can make a living off of it alone. The jobs in the art/design field are few, and many of them are minimum wage. The people fortunate to land a creative job that pays a real living wage ($35,000/yr or above) are like musicians that happen to make it big (like your Metallica example). For every Metallica out there, there are 1,000 no-name bands that never made it. For every graphic designer or artist out there who ‘made it’ and can earn a good living off their art, there are 1,000 more who are working retail jobs or flipping burgers because they cannot make a living off art alone.

Anyway, this is a well-written and much needed post. Hopefully, other financial blogs will link to it.

I wrote a novel that I think is great, tried for a year to get it published, and then gave up.

I have a comedy troupe that is successful in popularity and to date has not made a dime.

I conduct photo shoots and have shows all over town, and have sold a total of 2 pieces in the past seven years. What I made from those sales covered roughly one photo shoot.

What this blog made me realize is I don’t want to make money, I want to make art. Maybe when I’m retired– in 35 years– I’ll put more “work” into these projects, but for now I am perfectly satisfied creating without financial profit while I financially profit (without much creating) in my office job. Bills are getting paid, and I’m making art. Pretty much the goal here, isn’t it?

I wouldn’t say she lives off of her art exactly, but she has an incredibly good head for business and has been able to leverage that into a good living. She started out slow, taking seemingly unrelated jobs that could feed her passion of making jewelry. She got involved as a salesgirl at one store, and when one of the owners later wanted to sell her 40% share, she bought her out with the money she had slowly but surely stashed away.

She now works in the store, makes jewelry while she’s there (customers love seeing pieces “in progress”), sells her things alongside other artists, and continues doing art shows/fairs outside of that.

I’m excited to see where she’ll go next, quite honestly.

The way I put it has been that I am a “kept woman” – kept by my work (which is not particularly glamorous), able to do the art that I do.

I figured that out early, because my particular forms of art do. not. pay. Poetry? Like, full time? not for people who want to eat.

Thanks for stating it in such a clear and easy-to-share-with-aspiring-artists way!