I have never been able to consistently make a full time living from my art BUT, I’m working on changing that. At the beginning of August, I launched my new business/website – LINDA CHIDO ART which includes my artworks, a Family Gallery Shop and my soon to be launched Art Academy. Instead of just being me and my art, the Gallery Shop includes original artworks and prints from my entire family. All four of my kids and my husband are artists. My house is literally bursting with art. My intension is to continue to build upon my individual art career, help my kiddos emerge into their chosen art fields, offer on-line art project courses to generate passive income, and grow a successful art business. Once all the pieces are in place, which will be really soon, I’m confident I will be able to answer your question with a resounding, YES! I do earn a full-time living from my creative work. You’ll have to check back with me in a few months to see how I’m doing.

As for advice, I would say just keep making your art. Only you make your unique art. Then I would say, try on different business models and different ways to sell until you find the one that works for you and your art. The art world is a big place. There’s no one way. And there is room for all of us. Don’t give up!

I love art and I have devoted my life to art – studying it, teaching it, and making it.

For over two decades I have been a professional artist and for most of that time I was also caring for and homeschooling my four children. After my solo show this past spring, my kids, all artists in their own right, wanted to sell their art too. So, I launched LINDA CHIDO ART Family Gallery to offer their artworks and help them launch their art careers. In the coming weeks, I will be launching LINDA CHIDO ART Academy. In the Academy, I will be offering step by step instructions to the art projects I brought to my kiddos over our 15 year homeschooling journey.

Through LINDA CHIDO ART, I can offer any potential client a variety of artworks from sculpture to paintings, abstract to figurative, low art to very fine art, at a variety of price points, from any of the members of my family. In addition to original artworks, I also offer art prints and fine art prints, and commissions from me, Ron, and my oldest daughter, Mona who is emerging into her art career. On top of all of that, I am really excited to launch my Academy very soon.

The biggest pivot I have made in my art career was after I found out I was pregnant with my first child. At the time, my husband and I were living in NYC and were very involved in our art careers. Weeks after I had a major three woman show in Manhattan, we found out we were pregnant. My chosen medium oil paint, is not child friendly. So, after she was born, I packed up my studio and turned my art focus to the fiber arts. I taught myself how to crochet, knit, weave, sew, and how to make quilts and dolls. My children have been the major benefactors of, and the inspiration for, many of the items I have made.

As our family grew and we had children with special needs, having an art form that I could take with me to doctor and therapy appointments was an unexpected gift. Once they got into their school years and we were homeschooling, I pivoted again and started developing art projects that we could do together to enhance our lessons. For example: when we studied the Greeks, we made mosaics; during our Egyptian studies we made papyrus (with papyrus leaves ordered from Egypt!); the Middle Ages gave us projects in stained glass and illuminated pages; and the Renaissance gave us a fresco painting. From ancient to modern, we explored history one art project at a time. Of course we also studied all of the important dates, major players, wars and movements. Though the most striking thing to me, and the lesson I emphasize to my kids all the time is, that no matter what atrocity humans have lived through, they have always made art. To me, that’s phenomenal and says something about the spiritual nature of what it means to be human and an artist.

Now that my kids are teens, I have returned to my beloved oil paints and am currently working on a new body of work. I still work in the fiber arts, I’ve launched my business, and we are still homeschooling making lots of art together.

I think non-creatives struggle to understand artists in general. Of course we make beautiful artworks but in order to be a professional artist, one has to do a lot outside of making beautiful art. We have to be our own marketing specialist, branding specialist, accountant and bookkeeper, archivist, photographer, promoter, supply manager, copywriter, website developer, business manager, graphic designer, shipping specialist, social media expert, time manager, and an expert on legal paperwork and taxes. It takes hours and a heaping dose of grit to learn all of those skills. In addition to learning all those business skills, it may take years to develop your creative skill set, your craft, your mindset, and your voice as an artist.

There is also this misconception that artists are these solitary creatures toiling away in their studios. Granted, solitary studio time is important and I take mine when I can get it! Though, it truly takes a whole village worth of support to be a successful artist. Art suppliers, photographers, digital services, printers, framers, shippers, gallery owners, lawyers, CPAs, coaches, mentors, publications, a community of other artists, and our beloved collectors, all play a role in the success of an artist. I am so grateful for all of the talented support I have, and have had, surrounding me.

I believe that if non-creatives had a greater understanding of all of the aspects of being a professional artist they would have an even greater appreciation for the artworks produced AND maybe not bemoan how expensive art is to purchase.