We think the world needs more artists, more creatives and more folks unwilling to spend their days as a cog in a giant corporate machine. We don’t necessarily dislike cogs or machines but we think the world clearly needs more artists and creatives and so we wanted to try to figure out how more artists can make it work financially since this is one of the major obstacles blocking so many artists and creatives from pursuing their art full time. So, we asked folks who have been able to make a full time living through their creative work, how they did it.

Paul Golangco

I went headfirst into photography after the 2008 global financial crises. I had a good job with a software company when I wanted to pursue some overseas work. Due to the crises and a number of other factors, I was left without many employment options. Photography was the skill that I had been growing so I decided to jump right into wedding and portraiture photography. In Dallas, you can make a good living doing that type of work, but I almost went broke several times over the next few years. Part of that was that I was still learning how to run a business along with learning photography. But I really wasn’t passionate about what I was shooting. Read more>>

Matt Blum

When I began my journey to being a photographer, it was the beginning of the digital camera era. I had learned on film, and suddenly found myself learning a whole new system. I was fresh out of college, and like most, flat broke. I spent the good part of three years working multiple jobs to buy the equipment needed to start the business without overextending myself financially. After all, to succeed in “the big city” meant people knowing your work and your name in time before social media. Read more>>

Denise Duong

I recall when I was about 19, I started to sell work. I was passionate about creating and I was also passionate about living a wild and adventurous life! The key was to find a good balance and the vision. When I decided to quit my job at the flower shop, around 21 years old, and to focus on my art work, that changed everything. Coming home after a long day of hauling around 5 gallon buckets of water was exhausting and I wasn’t put my heart into my work. Within that year of completely dedicating myself to the studio and getting my work out there, I was able to make a comfortable living. Read more>>

Justin McKay

This is a tough one, and I think most creatives could agree. I have been a creative all of my life, but didn’t start getting paid for it until later into my career in retail management where my positions weren’t 100% creative, but I started to be recruited and sought after due to my skills & talents. Still, I was being paid a salary for much more work than I could humanly sustain, so I left and started my own business so I could manage my own life-work balance, and finally focus on what I love: creating! Read more>>

Julian Hanlan

I have been able to earn a full time living from my creative work for about 6-7 years now. I graduated college in 2013 and didn’t have a career waiting for me on the other side, so moving back to my Mom’s house, I decided to invest my time and efforts into my personal brand and company. I landed my first feature film in 2013 which was distributed throughout WalMart, Redbox, Netflix, and now Peacock. Simultaneously, our premier event the “2KPoolParty” also kept growing as we grew. We had an office space which was also our creative space and a hub for synergy, helping us brainstorm and execute ideas and opportunities for the present and the future. Read more>>

Liza Quin

I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work for 20 years. However, when aspiring artists ask me for advice when trying to quit their day job, I do let them know that it may change their relationship with their art. On occasion, if things were tough, I remember taking on jobs as a singer that felt like they were breaking my soul. I found myself going to “work” at times feeling like I was really unhappy to be there, and that felt awful. Prior to that, I had never considered my work a “job.” Read more>>

Kelcee Harwood

I am so blessed to be able to make my passion a full-time job. Could not have made it to where I am without the support of my family, friends and my incredible Fiancé! It honestly all starts with drive and networking and trying to meet the right people. Once you have one important person’s attention then it all kind of falls into place after that. Now, with that being said not all days are a breeze + you are going to hear a lot of “no’s”…but don’t let that discourage you. Read more>>

Luis Valle

Fortunately I have gotten to the point where I can survive off of my creative been able to survive off of my work full-time. It wasn’t always this way. I’ve done so many different jobs in my life just to get by as I was pursuing my career. My first job was selling newspaper subscriptions for the Miami Herald when I was only 15. I was mainly doing graffiti back then. Since that job I’ve worked at call centers, sold cellphones, chopped trees, washed dishes, worked as busboy, bar-back, waiter, bartender, worked for catering companies, hand modeled, video editor, art teacher, was a gallery assistant for many years, as well as a gallery director.  Read more>>

Cesar Giovani

Yes, I make a living through my creativity. I feel like this was something that just came naturally to me. I always have been a creative minded individual, and I just needed to really take the risk on using my creativity to make a living out of it. I started super early; in grade school I was already drawing on every surface I can find. I even took some multimedia classes that jump started a lot of things for me. Even had an internship out of High School with a video production company. All this while I was DJing at my house since I was 15. So, it isn’t “traditional” path by any means. I dipped into the world of graphics by designing my own flyers for my events back in 2007 and it kind of snow balled into art and seeing the limits I could really push all of this. And seems to be working fine, I couldn’t be happier. Read more>>

Nicholas Ivins

It took about ten years of doing shows, festivals, and street fairs to reach a point where I could make a significant income from my art. My beginnings were very humble – the first show was in the corner of a night club and I made about $150 that night. From there I just jumped in and did every event I could find while continually producing new work and trying all sorts of new things along the way. Most of the events I did were not profitable and the majority of the art I’ve made has not sold well, but it takes time and work to find the gems. Trial and error is the part of any success story and is something that can’t (or shouldn’t) be avoided. Read more>>

Nelia Span

I’ve made a full-time living from my work as a creative since 2017, and I continue to earn more opportunities to earn a better living as I grow. Hair braiding has been my greatest passion since I was a child and has always been something I’ve actively pursued. Once I moved to Dallas, TX from Indiana, I put a strong effort into learning social media, the demographics of my area, and what people were looking for in Black hairstyles. I can remember using breaks at my day job to answer texts and emails for potential new clients, leaving at 5p to get my then 7 year old son, going to my salon suite to take new clients until 1a or 2a, and then turn around and do it all again the next day. I would pack my son’s dinner and bag with entertainment and books so that he was comfortable while I worked at growing my business. Read more>>

Malik Johnson

I remember the first time I made money from my art, after months of doing several free student films and short films I got booked for a Dr Pepper commercial. We filmed it in the middle of the summer heat in August at Fair Park in Dallas. The theme for the commercial was a football tailgate, imagine drinking dark soda on a hot Texas day in fall attire. It was brutal but the cast/crew were amazing, how any of them managed to actually drink that much soda on set is beyond me. I got tons of camera time and was picked for solo scenes in the commercial. It wasn’t much maybe $200 but being paid to do what I loved felt really liberating, Read more>>

Joshua Pass

Over the last year I have been transitioning from running my studio from part-time 25-30 hrs a week while also working a full-time job 40+ hrs a week to being just a full-time studio artist. As I am settling into the roll of a full-time studio artist it is amazing to live “the dream life” but there is so much to it that you typically don’t learn in art school. Things like controlling your schedule and being in the studio are so amazing. But the other side, the business of running a studio can feel like climbing Mt. Everest. You know there is a mountain to climb but you don’t know how far that you have to go, Read more>>

Amelia Jackson

Before Covid I was enjoying being a flight attendant and working my photography part-time. I guess you can say I was having my cake and eating it too. I was enjoying my travels around the world while enjoying my passion at the same time. There were many times I toiled with the idea of quitting my airline job of twenty-three years to make my part-time my full-time. However, the “what ifs” always corrupted my thoughts. “What if I can’t make enough money to pay my bills?” What if I can’t maintain my clientele?” “What if I fail?”. Those “what ifs” were my fears. Read more>>

Francis Dominguez

Ever since I started Architecture School (a few years ago), I’ve always enjoyed helping family and friends with their projects, from picking paint colors, to coming up with layouts for different spaces, to picking out furniture, I was always there giving my advice, and also learning from the process. I got my first “real” project back in 2013; renovating my parent’s kitchen, and thanks to this project I learned that there’s much more that goes into it other than the Design Proposal, there’s also picking out finishes, placing orders, dealing with delays, working alongside contractor(s) and other trades, troubleshooting everyday problems, and much much more! But once this project was completed, I knew that one day I wanted to do this full time and have my own Architectural + Interior Design Firm. Read more>>

Lindsay Ambrosio

This has to be one of the hardest things to do when it comes to makeup artistry. Building a clientelle is very difficult. Artistry is very subjective. Most clients do not know exactly what they want when it comes to makeup but most know what they do not like. It is very important as a artist to be very diverse. Knowing how to do every skin color and textures. I see the same makeup artist doing the same makeup artistry they do on themselves on other people, which does not work. You must study different faces shapes and eye shapes. As far as the grind, it is a every day thing. Read more>>

Sandhya Garg

Earning a full time living didn’t happen from the first day. It has been a process of constant learning, creating and evolving. Some major milestones were first of realizing what exactly I wanted and then how could I achieve it. There were a lot of Ahaaa moments. I think clarity of self, and goals is the most important aspect of being an entrepreneur. Read more>>

Heather Mullins

I now earn a full-time living from my creative work. My business, Après Ski Jewelry has become my “bread and butter” and I teach one college level class at MSU Denver. It used to be that my teaching and other jobs were my main gig and my business was on the side but now my business has grown so things have switched. It definitely has not been this way from day one, I have gradually gotten to this point over about five years. It started off with building furniture, I call that part of my business Relevant ReUse. Every time I got a furniture commission, I would buy a new tool. I gradually built my wood shop. Read more>>

Melanie Oliva

For my entire career, I’ve earned a living from creative work in one form or another. I was fortunate to earn a BFA in graphic design from Miami of Ohio, which led to a successful career in advertising. I worked in Chicago full-time as a Creative Director until 2014, when my husband and I decided to move to Miami. I took the move as an opportunity to make a career out of my true passion – painting. Read more>>

Terry Wise

artist”? Well, that’s the way it is sometimes in this field. It’s either feast or famine. Especially during the covid shut downs of 2020 and 21. Im fortunate to have a skill set that is unique (in the kind of artwork I do) and in demand. It all started years ago when I was invited to do A-Kon in Dallas. I was offered a free booth at the con if I was willing to teach a leather crafting class that lasted 45 minutes. I was working full time at Leather Masters in Dallas, so I knew a thing or two about leather. Read more>>

Fatima Donaldson

When I first began my creative career decades ago, you could earn a living by doing just one thing. Today, it’s more challenging and competitive; therefore, you have to do several things. Fortunately, my career started in graphic design learning Photoshop when it first was released. Those skills helped me evolve into marketing and advertising where I spent 20 years as a creative director for Fortune 100 companies as well as creative consultant. Until I decided to reconnect to my love and passion with photography. Read more>>

Rebecca Vaudreuil

My journey to being a gainfully employed full-time creative was a beautiful process fueled by passion for music, dedication of using music as a vehicle for change, and commitment to the clients that I have served and continue to serve in music therapy. From early in my formative years, I identified as an artist and it was not long after that that I discovered music therapy as a profession that I wanted to engage in, grow with, and expand the reach of. Music therapy is the use of music to assist clients in non-musical goals, for example, in physiological, psychological, and social areas. Read more>>

Leonard “Graffiti” Johnson

My last actual “job” was working part time at the Apple store in 2012. Since then I have been working for myself as a full time creative. I have always had an entrepreneurial, hustler’s spirit and have never really fit in with the routine flow of corporate America. After leaving Apple I decided the only way I would truly feel fulfilled in life would be to follow my own path and build my career my way. The initial decision to pursue self employment was scary, and still is even after all these years. When you don’t have a consistent paycheck guaranteed to you every week it makes you have to literally work for every dollar. Read more>>