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.

James Shrimpton

It’s 1982. With 4 years of visual communications and arts under my belt, I was ready to showcase my well-honed critical thinking, graphic design and illustration skills. That same year the economy nose-dived, and with it most career building opportunities disappeared. Post Secondary arts school failed to prepare me for real world application. Read more>>

Nina Vicious

My journey into creative freelancing was sort of always bound to happen. I’ve always been a musician, however I didn’t have the courage to pursue it full time until I was in my early 30s and by that point, as you can imagine, the majority of my experience was in 9 to 5 work. Read more>>

Maty Young

Basically, yes I’ve been able to earn a full time living from my creative work. Sometimes it feels like it was a very organic journey growing the business to what it is today. I was a trained musician my whole life, going on to study at one of Australias premier music conservatories and making a living performing in bands for a few years. Read more>>

Ezra Vancil

I’ve had two distinct periods in my life when I relied primarily on my original music to make a living. The first time I stumbled into a living in music, the second time was a clear choice. Each of these periods lasted for two to three years, after which I returned to a more conventional job. Read more>>

Kerry Ann Lindo

The idea of designing and installing accent walls with wood trim came to us back in 2018. We’d moved from NYC to Houston and use to spend our free time touring models homes, looking for ideas. We loved how they would transform the space by highlighting the walls. We asked how we could do that to our homes, but the answers were always vague and it seems inaccessible. Read more>>

Carolina Sephra Reyes

As of right now, I am working towards earning a living as a full-time artist; I currently work as a Case Manager for Individuals with Disabilities during the week and as a Gallery Manager at a retail shop called The Hood New Mexico on weekends. Read more>>

Franz Hilberath

As of 2022, I am making a full-time living from my work. As recent as 2021, I had no regular income and grossed less than $10k the entire year. How did we get here? Hard work. Read more>>

Diny Kim

When I first started dancing 10+ years ago, the job of a “choreographer” didn’t exist quite yet as a career choice. I was working full time in the finance-tech industry as Senior Finance Manager. But because I loved dance so much, it naturally became quite a serious hobby, and a daily part of my life. Read more>>

Alicia Reason

Before resigning from corporate I saved up 1 year worth of savings, should I fail at finding roller skating and dance gig for a whole year. My savings was accomplished through my side gig as a part time skate coach. I have been working as a full time creative for 1 year and 11 months successfully. Read more>>

Jon Finney

I have been a full time artist just shy of six months. I had built a relationship with a number of venues coming out of the pandemic. My daughter was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer at the end of 2020, so I began taking any and every show I could to offset some medical costs, at the time. Read more>>

James Joseph

Yes i have been blessed to earn a full time living doing what I love. It was a long process to get here. I did so many free tattoos and made hundreds of mistakes before getting to this point. My clients apparently saw something in me that I didn’t see at the time. I started getting booked for shows out of town and magazine interviews out of no where. At that point I knew that I had to keep going. Read more>>

Alexandra Gilliam

It’s no secret that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, performing artists were some of the hardest hit demographics in all regards: economically, emotionally, and physically, as horror stories emerged about the virus mercilessly sinking its claws into choirs and performance ensembles. Read more>>

Marcy Ellis

This year I will be celebrating 4 years as a full time artist. It has been an amazingly liberating and wild ride! I’ve been really motivated to sell my art and crafty things since I was a kid. I went to Art School and double majored in Art Education and Studio Art at the University of Arizona. Read more>>

Chris Trueman

I have been making a full time living from my artwork since shortly after leaving Claremont Graduate School in 2010 but the journey of getting there has been a lengthy one with many twists and turns. I had been making and showing paintings since I was a teenager. Read more>>

Sabrina Stabs

My first year tattooing, I was a college student, and worked a few jobs to sustain myself. Early in the morning I worked as a welder, and late at night I bartended. As time went by I became more determined to make it as an artist, I dropped out of college, went from 3 jobs to 2, then 1, to side gigs. Read more>>

Emmitt James

For the last 2 and a half years I have been making a living off of my art. What I like to tell people is that I am a full-time artist on a very independent level. So money is made from playing shows, sometimes producing said shows, selling merch at shows and online. Over the last year or so, touring has been a big part of that. Read more>>

Manuela Guillen

Ever since I can remember, I have had an unwavering passion for creating art. I pursued this dream by studying Fine Arts in school and gaining experience as an intern and assistant for various art organizations. Read more>>

Morai Elise

Earning a full-time livable income with my art was a shock for me in the beginning. As artists, it’s not uncommon to hear the stigma of being a “starving artist”. I had just quit my almost 10 year career with a company shortly after I had the courage to step out on faith with my art. Read more>>

Rebecca Beyer

Yes I have! I’ve been self employed since 2016 and make a full time living from my businesses as a teacher of Earthskills (things like herbalism, basket making, Appalachian folk medicine), tattooing as well as authoring books about witchcraft and Appalachian folkways. Read more>>

Eli Portman

It took a lot of trial and error to make a living as an artist. I started by just throwing myself out there. I had no savings to back me up, and a hefty rent. I rented a small art space in a retail shop/art collective and made myself always be visible, working there during full business hours. Always creating new work, presenting what i made and selling as best i could. Read more>>

Rachel King

I was always told “it’s too difficult” or “impossible” to earn a full-time living from being a creative. When I went to school for my BFA in Photography, I always had to prove myself to be taken seriously. People have a lot of opinions about those who go into non-traditional and creative fields, but I’m here to tell you that it is not only possible, but realistic to have a full career as a creative. Read more>>

Dinnia Quiros

As a professional photographer who is now doing it full time, I can share my journey and how I made it happen. Read more>>

Paul (PJ) Dufour

I am extremely grateful that I am able to support my family handcrafting products that I truly love to build. I have been a avid angler for decades and with a professional background in the trades and educational background in fine art, crafting bamboo fly rods and wood landing nets was a natural progression for me. Read more>>

Taylor Cohen

I have always been doing photos, honestly I feel like since I was a little kid taking my Kodak images to Walgreens. I ended up falling into the career of photography by complete accident. A dear friend of mine Heather Goodman was a known photographer around Arizona and I always modeled for her to promote her services. Read more>>

Puck Kroonsberg

Creating a full-time living from my creative work did not happen overnight. It has been a journey the past 2 years with many ups and downs. But something inside of me told me to keep going in times of self-doubt or the doubts from the external world. Read more>>

Charlotte Hancey

I grew up in a family of amazing home cooks. I was drawn to the kitchen from an early age and loved helping out my mother and grandparents by doing the simplest cooking tasks. When I left home and began my own family, I found my talent and passion in the kitchen. Read more>>