We’ve seen way too many talented creatives quit because they couldn’t make it work financially. No doubt, the financial challenges of pursuing a creative or artistic career are daunting, but we felt there wasn’t enough discussion around how to make it work.  So, we connected with artists and creatives who’ve been able to earn a full time living from their creative work and asked them to share their stories with our readers.

Sweet (Dave) the Banana

Back in ‘05 I was workin on Yo Mamma (tv show with Fez) and it was kinda cool cause it was tv, but I didn’t move to NY to do tv, I wanted to play music. Read more>>

Bruce Kirkwood

Yes, I’m grateful to be able to say that I have! Although I’ve been playing the violin since age 6, I didn’t perform for my first paid gig until my freshmen year in high school. Locals would reach out to our orchestra instructors in high school, and they would pull from some of the most talented students to assemble ensembles for these clients. Read more>>

José Antonio Cubela

Yes, I have been able to earn a full-time living as a musician and teacher. I began teaching piano privately while I was still in high school, working out of a small studio my parents built behind our home in Miami. That little space had two upright pianos side by side, and it served as a wonderful teaching environment for many years. Read more>>

Winnie Wong

In whether or not I have been able to earning a full-time living from creative work I believe it will depend on ones definition of ‘full-time earning’. I am able to provide for myself and to contribute financially to family of 4 (with 2 children) however I can not say that it would be in the amount of what other’s might consider a ‘full-time earning’. Read more>>

Tristan Green

Yes, I have reached a point of being able to earn a full time living from creating things and doing what I love..(which was not an easy feat). Read more>>

Rotimi (Timi) Ibidapo

Yes, I earn a full-time living from my creative work today, but it definitely didn’t start out that way. In fact, my journey looked less like a straight line and more like a GPS that kept saying “recalculating,” but somehow still got me to the right destination. Read more>>

Michael Cote

I’ve been involved with in the entertainment industry for over 50 years. My love of theater/performing and all that goes along with it began in high school, I was not encouraged (in fact, I was discouraged) not to follow my passion in college, so it took a back seat for awhile. Read more>>

Rachel Barclay

I’ve worked in the film industry in some capacity for almost 15 years. For the past four, I’ve been producing both commercial and narrative work; before that, I spent years as a full-time film programmer for festivals and streamers—places like TIFF, Whistler, and the Toronto Outdoor Picture Show. Read more>>

Kari Ann Chea

I started my professional creative journey as a photographer right out of high school. I was shooting the wedding of every cousin and family friend who got married while I worked retail and started putting myself through college. Read more>>

Raphaelle Granger

Yes, I have been earning a full-time living from my creative work since the very beginning. In 2016, I took a leap of faith, left my photography job, and decided to start my own business with no safety net. I was young, determined, and very aware that if I wanted this career to work, I had to commit to it completely. Read more>>

Laurie Maves

Earning a full time living as a fine artist can often be challenging. But if you keep evolving as a creative, you can find ways to build on your business. Even though I wanted to be a professional artist right out of college, the idea, although lofty, is not actually reasonable. I believe most creatives run into this issue from time to time. Read more>>

Wayne Flint

This is a question I love getting, because the journey to a full-time creative life is rarely a straight line. The short answer is **yes, I am now able to earn a full-time living from my art,** but it was absolutely not like that from day one. The path was a mosaic of passion, persistence, and strategic pivots. Read more>>

Brandon Stosuy

At this point I do make a full-time living from my creative work– that said, it took years of juggling multiple jobs until this came together.
I grew up solidly working class in a small farming town in the Pine Barrens (population 800) where I got my first job, picking blueberries, when I was 13. We were paid by how much we picked, not hourly. This taught me a lot, really. I learned you didn’t get paid for just standing around… you had to be useful and you had to keep going. Read more>>

Robin Treybig

Overall, I have been able to earn a full-time living from my career as a professional cellist. I define “full-time living” as having the financial capacity to pay for my cost-of-living while still affording my career as a musician. The latter encompasses financing a professional-level cello, instrument maintenance (repairs, string replacement, bow rehairs, etc), travel expenses to auditions (flights, paying for a seat for the cello, mileage, hotels, meals) and travelling all over the place for gigs. That said, earning enough money to support myself and sustain my career was not at all on my mind when the “muse of music” took over my soul at the age of 15. Read more>>

Kate LaPietra

Yes, It was always my intention to prove that I could make a living off of creative work which is why I’ve put so much focus on the business side of things. I knew I didn’t have to be the best, most creative florist. I just had had to be the smartest! Read more>>

Dj Kickz

Right now, yes! I’m able to make a full-time living from my creative work as a DJ but it definitely wasn’t like that from day one. I started out DJing at small events and teen parties, really just trying to get my foot in the door and build experience. The real turning point came when I stopped comparing myself to others and started focusing on my own path that shift in mindset helped me grow more than anything else honestly. Once I locked in, opportunities started to come my way. I began getting calls from promoters in strip clubs, meeting more artists in the industry, and booking private events. Read more>>