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.

Jen Angle

Being a full time wood flower florist was actually never part of my plan. I always thought I’d just do it as a part time side gig; after all, many teachers have side hustles! I thought a few weddings here and there, mostly on my summers off would be fun, but within my first year in business things started to really take off. As a teacher for 20 years, I had developed many skills that inadvertently made me a great small business owner, such as being an effective communicator and collaborator, creative and tech savvy, great at setting goals and action steps, strong problem solving skills plus continually learning. Read more>>

Theo Brown

I think, from most of the conversations I’ve been able to chat with others about, is that the moment where we get to earn a living from doing creative work often times feels like a quiet, subtle thing. Before, I assumed that it would be some grand form of getting “the” job that would pivot me into a new direction, but in actuality, it was looking up from the work and realizing that I’d been directing and producing projects that were sustaining me. Read more>>

Dan Policar

I think the only way to earn a full time living from creative work is literally to not be able to do anything else. You have to diversify within the scope of the work that you’re doing. I work as a creative performing music for world tours and high end private events(weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs). I also work as a composer making music for artists that you’ve heard of like Sean Paul, Fabolous, Raekwon and others. Read more>>

Paulina Sanchez

I am a self-taught Abstract Artist based in Los Angeles, California. Before venturing into the art world, I navigated the realm of Corporate America. However, the corporate environment left me unsatisfied. Opting for a major career shift, I left behind my corporate life to pursue my true passion. Throughout this transformative journey, though challenging, I discovered a newfound purpose in creating abstract art. As a child, I loved creating art. This hobby was nurtured by my great-grandmother. Read more>>

Tom Waltz

Making a full-time living from music has been a rewarding journey filled with many twist, and turns, challenges, and surprises. I’ve always seen myself more as a music enthusiast, or fan, more than a business person, so the initial hurdle was figuring out how to turn my passion into a sustainable career that can be financially viable. Read more>>

Nathan Moody

full-time living off my music creative work is one of the most fulfilling and and difficult things i’ve ever done. Although you’re not always directly working you’re always on the clock. Always thinking about the contrast of playing because i love to and playing and practicing because i know its the right thing to do. From day one it started mostly from me doing part time work bartending/serving and doing as much music as i possibly could. Read more>>

Lauren Light

Yes, I’ve been able to make a full-time living from my work in sync music, and it’s been a journey that’s both challenging and rewarding. My career began in the live music scene, where I spent years touring. I’ve played over a thousand shows everywhere, from college campuses to festivals, and at various venues across the U.S. Those days were filled with hard work, constant travel, and the exhilarating thrill of performing live. There’s something truly magical about connecting with an audience face-to-face, and I absolutely loved it. Read more>>

Shiyuan Xu

Making a living solely from artwork is quite challenging. I consider myself both an artist and an educator so that a better way to balance and maintain my studio practice. I spent most of my time between studio hours creating my work and in classroom sharing knowledge with students. As an artist, my focus revolves around developing my work and building a strong portfolio. This portfolio serves as a presentation tool for galleries and supports my applications for open call exhibitions and competitions. Read more>>

Mbuotidem Victor Ori-Nja

Mbuotidem Victor Ori-Nja from Cross river state, Nigeria, popularly known Victor Nja, a fashion stylist, creative director, fashion designer and cofounder of Tuff World. I now like to be known as an Image & Brand Architect as I don’t just style and design, I build personal brands & businesses.  Read more>>

Frewin Hu

I am a professional Concept Artist and 3D Generalist who has 5 years of experience working within the AAA gaming industry and Movie industry. After five years of navigating this competitive and constantly evolving field, I’ve gathered some insights that may help other fellow artists turn their passion into a sustainable full-time profession. Here are some key pieces of advice to consider: Read more>>

Charlotte Smith

I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. It took some time to get here, consistency was key. I got out of college in 2012 and the job market still wasn’t great from the 2007/2008 housing crisis. I also knew it would be a challenge finding work I was interested in with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Sculpture. While I was looking for work, I got a membership at a clay studio to keep me busy. I liked it so much, I purchased a wheel and began working from my apartment.  Read more>>

Kortney Kassler

The biggest risk I ever took was going on my own as a Creative/Business Owner. I was a hard working, single mother. I had the benefits, the salary, all the creature comforts a single income mother could afford. At best, we were barely keeping afloat, but I was guaranteed a paycheck as long as I showed up to work. As a struggling, single-parent, sometimes a guarantee is the most exciting gift you can receive. I knew it wasn’t what I was destined for though. I wanted to be back home with my children again. Read more>>

Louie Foxx

When I was a teenager in the early 1990’s I knew some magic tricks and needed a place to perform as I had already burnt all of my material with my friends and classmates. We didn’t have much money, so I built a little table I could do magic tricks on from some scrap wood I found (in retrospect, I probably stole the wood from a scrap pile in someone’s yard). I then rode a bus for about a hour into downtown Seattle and went to the historic Pike Place Market to try my hand at busking. Read more>>

Calley O’Neill

When told by a professor at my Alma mater, Pratt: Institute You have two options. ,You must decide whether you are going to get a job and ‘be a Sunday painter ora full-time artist? and potentially struggle. For me, there was never a question about my dedication to be a full-time dedicated public artist doing work for the land and the people to make as profound a positive difference in the world as I can. Read more>>

Dakota Cox

I wish I would have taken a chance on myself sooner. I’ve been doing drag for 8 years. I worked as a shift manager in customer service and would do drag full time. As I was growing in my drag career it started to affect my 9-5. I was well into my 6th year in drag trying to balance both knowing where my passion really lied. I decided after coming back from the hiatus of the pandemic it was time to really focus on my craft. Read more>>

Richie Cunning

I’m not there yet. I’ve been working on it while working for someone else for almost 20 years now. I’ve gone through periods of “I can do it” and periods of “It’s not for me”, back and forth, many, many times. Read more>>

Emily Choy

Yes, I have been able to make a full-time living from my creative work. I was able to step away from my full time career as an occupational therapist to pursue photography, and have exceeded my income. My journey has been characterized by continuous learning, significant investments in education, and a commitment to pushing my boundaries and comfort zones. Read more>>

Daniel Young

Earning a full-time living from your creative work is difficult. A lot of folks who have “made it” will most likely agree that the road to success wasn’t easy. I do music music in one way or another full-time now, mostly. I run a recording studio, engineer albums, play shows around town, tour here and there and I work part-time, remotely for a company that is not music-related. So, to make ends meet I have a few different jobs to make it all work, but I am enjoying what I am doing, so it makes it worth it. Read more>>

Kristine Kay Larsen

Earning a full-time living from your craft is every artist dream. I think actors are misunderstood in this point because they don’t want to be famous, they just don’t want to do anything but acting. I got so fortunate that after filming my first feature “The Trockmorton Revelations” I was able to live off of acting. It’s a big turning point in an artist life when you get to live of your craft. Before I was working my safety job for 8 hours a day and when I got off work I would do 5 selftapes everyday, go to bed, wake up and do it all over again. Read more>>

Victoria Fernandez

When I started working at the salon, it was a whole new world for me. Transitioning from weekend weddings, production sets, and a medical spa, despite my four years in the beauty industry and cosmetology school, meant starting from the bottom. A few months before graduating, I took an assistant stylist position at a prominent Miami salon, driven by my strong work ethic and eagerness to learn. Read more>>

Cedric Marsh

After four years of teaching elementary art, I quit the profession to purse a career as a full time artist. Creatively, I always used oil painting as a means of expression, but with the free time that I gained from not working a typical 9-5, I began experimenting with other mediums such as clothing design and tattooing. Read more>>

Sean Ricks

This is as good a place as any to start. I’ve been making a full time living with my art, and my art adjacent works for many years now. It’s always been easy for me to do anything creative, and, since I’m also a fantastic salesperson, I’ve learned unique ways to monetize my work. I wanted to sell more original paintings… so I wrote a novel. Now you might be asking yourself, how in the world do the two correlate? I wrote the novel so I could create the card game, I created the card game so I could put my original paintings on it and get more exposure for my work. Read more>>