Earning that first dollar is incredibly special and a moment many never forget. We asked some very talented creatives from the community to tell us the story of the first dollar they earned from their creative works.

Cristian Ramirez

The first time I earned a dollar through a creative medium was on a drone project. I purchased a drone first as a hobby – specifically to create a drone video of my hometown of Bakersfield, CA. I uploaded the video online, and was contacted by several members of the community for small drone projects. The first of those, was a drone video of a local church. It made me realize how much potential there is to earn an income off creativity. The payment I received was small since I did not know how to price my work, but that did not matter. I was extremely happy that someone wanted to pay me to create. Read more>>

Avin Hannahsmith

The first time that I touched a dollar as a professional artist I was as young as twenty-three. I was attending the Fine Arts program at Kent State University at the time. I did not feel as much as an artist then as I do now. It clicked for me when I was able to learn and show myself that my artistic techniques, terminology, and understanding increased to meet deadlines, produce substantial work, and develop my artistic career. This led me to be accepted into the annual GAR Foundation show in 2017. Read more>>

Terry Campbell

Around 2005 I had just finished my undergraduate degree. I was broke and barely scraping by working as part time teacher. I was hungry and trying to show my work anywhere I could in the Denver Metro area. At a group show I met a man by the name of Gordan. To not expose his identity, I will be calling him Gordan. He told me he loved my work and wanted to commission me to create an original work of art at his ranch. I could tell he was loaded by the car he drove up in and he had two much younger attractive dates with him. He really stood out. He must have walked in by accident. Read more>>