We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelly Sparrman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelly below.

Kelly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Up until the pandemic hit, which was for about six years, I was working full-time as an art model for universities, video game companies, animation studios, and for individual artists. As I’ve entered my 30’s however, my chronic illness has made working full-time hours much more difficult and painful, so now I do it as often as I can on top of my costuming job at Universal. I feel like the start of this whole pursuit moved rather quickly, but if I could do it again I might take things a bit slower. I don’t know if it would have made a difference for what my body can handle now, but a few more massages and Epsom salt baths probably would have helped a bit with longevity.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

When I first started art modeling, I dove in headfirst. I didn’t know much about it if I’m honest, but I knew that I needed to be doing something more creatively fulfilling than working as a server. Since I didn’t have any connections in the industry, I spent hours looking online for local schools, ateliers, and even individual artists who would potentially be interested in hiring art models. I just sent all of them emails with my experience and photos, and honestly, just hoped for the best. I ended up booking my first session within about two weeks, and within the first six months was already working more than full-time hours at dozens of locations all over Los Angeles. I have done a lot of work and research to know as much as I can about art, which has allowed me to communicate better with my artists as a whole. If I am scheduled for a beginner class, I normally avoid intense foreshortening with my poses. If I’m sitting for a portraiture session, I try to find a pose that gives my artists interesting angles and shading on my face. I am definitely proud of the work I’ve been able to help facilitate, and having such an acute understanding of my body and what it can do has definitely helped with providing interesting poses and angles that give my artists a lot to play with.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think the best example would be the conversation of compensation, which can always be a bit awkward. When I first started, I needed the experience to put on a resume and was willing to accept much lower rates than I should have. After having met artists and other art models who educated me on what my value really was, I began only accepting jobs that were willing to pay that amount. The resilience aspect came into play a lot when I started selling reference photos. I did a lot of research and spoke to people I trusted to come up with the amount I charged, but many artists (who I usually did not know) would try to haggle down the price. I had to be firm, and I’m glad I was. If one of us accepts less than we should, then it can be really harmful for other art models who are asking for a fair amount because they are seen as “overcharging.” We all have to be on the same page, and we have to know our worth.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Honestly, be very cautious about everything that’s happening with AI. Thousands of artists who have been working so hard for so many years are potentially going to be put out of a job because of it, but society doesn’t seem to be phased, or at least not nearly enough. If you need a logo, hire a graphic designer. If you want a painting done of your family, hire a painter. If you need headshots, find a good headshot photographer instead of running your photos through a filter. The creative industry is so important, and choosing to use artificially generated “art” instead of hiring real living, breathing artists is only ever going to be detrimental. Also, buy your art from living artists. The ones who have passed on don’t need your money to survive.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Ksparr

Image Credits

Steve Meier