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.

Shalonda Smith

Yes, I have been able to make a full-time living from my creative work as a service provider. How I am making it happen is by knowing what I need and desire so that I can illustrate my life to do just that. Read more>>

Grace Daly

While I work as a graphic designer for a company and freelance on the side, I consider myself primarily an artist. Outside of graphic design, I enjoy creating my own graphic art, which I’ve exhibited in shows and galleries. Read more>>

Zak Duff

When I was a kid, I was on a vacation with my parents one summer when they took me to a farmers’ market. I don’t really remember if I was excited about going (odds are I was less than enthused, being an angsty pre-teen with my own agenda), but I am glad that I did, because it would have a profound impact on the rest of my life. Read more>>

Valeria Pesce

Living off art is not easy and never has been. I often feel like a tightrope walker, finding a precarious balance between difficulties of life, but, on the other hand, art gives me the freedom to organize my life as I prefer. Read more>>

Kris Dew

Often times when creatives become full time the people around them can think of it as an “overnight success”, as if taking the risk and quitting your day job is all that it took to be full time as a creative when that’s the furthest from the truth. Read more>>

Maria Angelica Caruso

As a professor and chair of the La Roche University Performing Arts Department, I spend a great deal of time teaching my students about the importance of diversification in their creative portfolios. Read more>>

Delita Martin

I have been living as a full-time artist since 2014. It was a difficult but rewarding journey. It took me approximately a year and a half to figure out not just a routine for a career that does not have a set path but also to figure out how to structure a visual arts career that is sustainable. Read more>>

Nash Daniels

I live and travel full time in a 2005 Chevy Suburban. I’ve play solo acoustic shows at breweries, wineries, dive bars and the occasional ticketed venue for the last 5 years. Read more>>

Cj Washington

Yeah I have been able to earn a full time living from performing live around my city. It started out really slow but I just took every opportunity I was given and through word of mouth I was able to make a name for myself. Read more>>

Márcia Sequeira

I’m a fashion designer and for me fashion is like a form of expression. With my brand, I bring issues that society constantly prefers to leave in the dark. Read more>>

Hunter Hanna Yox

I wish I could be a model as my full time job! Who doesn’t wish they were as creative full time? But unfortunately, that’s not very realistic to a lot of creatives. Read more>>

Chris Sebastian

This has evolved over the years. This is where learning and practicing a range of different skills has its benefits. throughout my career I have earned, and am an earning revenue from releasing music, writing, recoding and producing for other artists and companies, sync, performing live. Read more>>

Ryan Henry Ward

I made the decision to be a full-time artist after an accident. I made a dozen paintings and built a portfolio to bring around to find a gallery. After finding a gallery I bought a truck for 300 dollars and a friend gave me a camper for it. Read more>>

Brendan Kramp

I worked in the fundraising and corporate development field for 17 years in a few different countries (UK, France, and USA) before I was able to build up my creative painting practice to the level where I could live on it. Read more>>

Les Panchyshyn

My day begins with morning rituals. Coffee, a trip to the workshop, reviewing your sketches. then I start working on large canvases, the main thing is to set small and large goals, then it is easier to move forward and develop. Read more>>

Holly Taylor

Musicians, Writers, Actors and Artists are usually among the top of society’s list of ‘hopeful dreamers’ when it comes to making a full time career of their talents. Read more>>

Simon Levin

My journey to become a full time creative has always been characterized by an uncompromising desire to keep studio work unaffected by outside influences. Read more>>

Brittany Gabey

I am often asked how I earn a living as a fully self employed artist. The answer may be surprising, as one may expect it to be along the lines of having the most superlative portfolio or being the best at a particular style or unique rendering effect. Read more>>

Tia Simone

I have been able to earn a full-time living for my creative work! absolutely! The journey has not been easy of course but the journey has been a success! Read more>>

Sarah Peacock

Earning a sustainable living as a creative is not exactly an easy thing to do. For starters, our economic system is a gig economy. Read more>>

John McGrath

Yes, I have been earning a full-time living from my creative work for over a decade. It’s had it’s ups and downs, but this journey has been very rewarding. Read more>>

Amos Mackie

I went to school for welding and also metal fabrication. I started my career happily working on large industrial projects in large fabrication shops. Read more>>

Zashery

I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. A lot of the jobs I’ve had were relevant to my skills and interests. Read more>>

Walter Thoma

When you decide what you want to do in life, you’re faced with challenges and sacrifices. At the same time, becoming a full-time sound designer is all about negotiation, collaboration, and compromise. Read more>>

Yi Qu

Transitioning to a full-time career in film editing and digital imaging has been a journey of growth, learning, and perseverance. Read more>>

Audrey Pearson

I am so grateful to be making a full-time living as a musician, audio engineer and private music lessons instructor! Read more>>

Chelsea Liefer

When choosing my career path, I promised myself that I would love my work. Despite the time it took, the money I’d make, what was popular, or what other people were telling me–I had to love it. Read more>>

Natalie Hope McDonald

I always knew that I wanted to be an artist. I think maybe a lot of kids will tell you that, but for me it always felt different. I could spend hours and hours alone with my art supplies. Read more>>

Peter Walls

I do and always have earned my living as a full time creative, but not how I had thought I would. After receiving my MFA from LSU in Baton Rouge I believed I was on track to be a University professor and I did teach adjunct for 3 years before leaving Louisiana and heading back to New England. Read more>>

Lindsay Benay

Yes, I am currently making a full-time living as an entrepreneur/creative. It’s an interesting and exciting and sometimes anxiety provoking lifestyle. Read more>>

Valerie Ingram

While it hasn’t always been easy to make a living through creative work, I will say that it has been the most rewarding endeavor to pursue. Read more>>

Eremy Arndt & Nancy Grzeszak

At the moment, we are in our 13th year of carving out our creative path together. I (Jeremy) am in my 15th year of living as an artist. Read more>>

Darian Jerard

I’ve always considered my day job as my part-time job, and what I do in the night scene as my full time gig. I’m an Administrator with the School District of Philadelphia, and I have a Security Personnel Company(DJ Securities) where I provide security for private events, celebrations, parties, and underground sunrise fundraisers. Read more>>

Javier Busquet

As a full-time musician earning a living from only music it can feel like juggling many roles and schedules. For the past couple of months I’ve had three steady schedules teaching music at three different schools in the East LA area, as well as having private students at home and online. Read more>>

Valeria Oropeza

In the whirlwind of my graphic design journey, I initially found stability in a corporate job, only to be cast adrift when circumstances changed. Read more>>

T.Can Surmen

Besides the beginning of my career, yes I’ve been able to earn my full time living. My journey started at age 14 when I watched 12 year old Tony Royster Jr.’s drum solo. Read more>>

Jason Walsmith

I think if you think of my creative work as my life as a whole then the answer is yes. I have had a continued sustained career as a musician. Read more>>

Brooke Johnson

You know, being an entrepreneur is like being on a rollercoaster. There are times when things are moving so fast, it feels like I’m just barely hanging on. Read more>>