The world needs artists and creatives. Unfortunately, being needed doesn’t often easily translate into financial stability. The struggle is real for so many incredibly talented artists and creatives and so we think it’s important to hear from creatives who have made it work – there is so much to learn from the folks we’ve featured below.

Sam Solino Mazahery

Well, as you might already know, this is a very common question for both the people outside the creative world, and people who are contemplating getting into the world of art: will I be able to earn a living. And I think the short answer is yes. As in any other field, there are many ways to earn money in the world of art. And as any other field, there are many factors other than your hard work and talent that contribute to how successful you are in the field and for this question specifically, to make money from creative work. Read more>>

Shari Mocheit

Graduating college I really only had one goal in mind, and that was to make a full-time living as a performer. I never wanted to be famous or a rich celebrity or anything along those lines, but I love to perform and I feel so grateful that for the last 20 years I have been able to do just that. Making people feel something, smile, forget their troubles for a while, or experience our connection and humanity is so important to me. Read more>>

Hannah Burke

When I started my business, it was part-time building one client at a time. To supplement that, I worked in Food and Beverage to bring in enough income to live independently. Read more>>

Abi Wall

It’s definitely a goal of mine to make a living creatively. I started out believing I needed to go to college for something reasonable, so I put myself on the business track. After life shook me up a bit, and I had to leave college in California, I realized I couldn’t go back to school for anything less than my passion. I ended up majoring in Creative Writing, which gave me permission to work on the projects that light me up inside. Read more>>

Bev Johnson

One piece of advice for earning a living through your art is to be versatile and adaptable! I credit my ability to earn a living to my ability to work in a variety of styles and genres, from colorful children’s books to more moody and intense art. Also, as a character designer, it’s useful to be able to design a variety of characters – kids, old people, monsters, fairies, animals. Read more>>

La Lulu

I decided to be a full time musician when I was about 19. I was sitting at a cafe in the west village with one of my best friends who at the time was an aspiring movie director. I told him that I wanted to be a musician full time. He told me ” after today, theres no turning back. You are going to be walking and creating your own spiral. It only gets bigger when you walk.” Read more>>

Adrienne Rose White

I’m a big believer that creatives need an equity stake in their work, meaning that they need to own at least part of it. I’m happy to say that I earned a full-time living for my creative work, and it is part of my mission to help other creatives do the same. Read more>>

Doug

Music, is how I make my money. In one way or another, it’s the only thing I know. I work hard everyday to achieve my goals, and it’s so rewarding seeing it come to life. Read more>>

Jared Cohn

I’ve been able to earn a full time living from creative work through nonstop grinding, and sacrifice. Major sacrifice of everything, the hardest part is your soul hurts after years. Read more>>

Krushan Naik

I moved to the United States in 2019 to pursue my passion for film and television production by enrolling in an MFA in Film and Television Production at Loyola Marymount University. I specialized in Editing, a field that I found particularly fascinating and, with time, got good at. I was fortunate to work as a Teacher’s Assistant for post-production courses such as Editing, Visual Effects, and Digital Imaging Technician (DIT). Read more>>

Erika Plum

Yes, I have been able to create a full-time business for myself I would say. While I would say I am still in the humble beginnings of my full-time company, it has been a great blessing to my family and continues to have limitless potential for future growth. Read more>>

Brianna Garrett

In the past year I have been able to make a full-time living from my creative work, but it certainly didn’t happen over night and it is still navigating a unique lifestyle. It really took a leap of faith to do what I love full-time, quitting my corporate job and dedicating my full attention and investment into the business. I’m grateful that other flow artists saw my passion and talent and recommended me for jobs and connections that have made a huge impact on my business. Read more>>

Danessa Pedroso

Navigating through my first year in the creative business has been quite the journey – a mix of highs and lows in the ever-fluctuating realm of income. Making it a full-time gig has been a challenge, but hey, not an insurmountable one. Read more>>

Victor Romero

Yes! I do make living tattooing ,selling clothes and prints. My journey of how I made it? To have made it would mean past tense. I believe it’s neither past or present. Although having foresight is a good tool. Being an artist would be just that! (Being). Waking up every morning and ((making)) it happen! Read more>>

Lisa Fontanarosa

A keen editorial eye, a love of design, floral artistry, color and all that blooms inspired my journey. The first time I visited France in my early 20’s it was clear it was going to be a life-long love affair. My floral obsession began in Paris when I walked into a little flower shop and was instantly taken with the French style. A trip to Provence inspired my lavender field. Read more>>

Sederrick Raphiel

To make a full-time living from your creative work can be formulated into a simple equation: Passion + Discipline x Faith = Success. This is a delicate formula that if you don’t add just enough of each individual ingredient, you will never experience that euphoric sense of “wholeness” that creative people live for. I’ve had to learn that the hard way but I’m happy to say that formula has produced me success as I enter my 28th year of business. Read more>> 

Sean Arbabi

I have been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work for over 25 years. After graduating with a BA in Commercial Photography, I sent out 150 resumés with no job offers, so I started my own photography business. A couple months later I accepted a Studio Photographer/ Studio Manager position that filled my schedule three days a week, allowing me the other four days to focus on my commercial business. Read more>>

Greg Collister

I LOVE this topic because it has been one of my most frequently asked questions on my musical journey. “So this is all you do? Play drums?!” people ask me! With a smile I always reply yes and teach, and record as a session drummer, I add. All the meanwhile I’m thinking at the same time in my head how grateful I am to be able to do it! Read more>>

Hayes Griffin

I started playing music semi-professionally in college and grad school, eventually landing a full-time touring gig in 2012 with Canadian fiddler April Verch after graduating. Read more>>

Mark Aiello

I always had a passion for filmmaking and visual storytelling. I went to film school and although I was determined to make a career in the industry, I had no plan for where I was going. I spent my years out of college trying to figure out different paths, totally unsatisfied and miserable with all of them. Read more>>

Eric Bell

I am super fortunate to be able to make a living as a full time musician in Los Angeles. That has always been my dream since I started playing piano at age 12. I always told people my dream was “To play good music with good people and make good money.” Read more>>

Greg Watts

To describe the creative journey from the beginning of our idea concepts up to where we currently find our specialty food company, to explain it accurately, would first need some given history. I would like to paint a picture of how our company, GW Watts Sauce, was developed through an idea established long ago, through many decades and generations. Read more>>

Wordless Flight

What do you do when you’re already earning a full-time living from creative work, but you’re pursuing other creative work that doesn’t currently make money? As in transitioning from one unlikely career to an even more unlikely career? Think of an unlikely way to make a living. Okay. Small-time regional jazz pianist. Read more>>

Lucretia Torva

I currently make my living from my art. I became self-employed in 2000 basically because I was a difficult employee at my job and was asked to leave. I am not sure if I would have had the nerve to become self-employed without being thrown into it. It has been a roller coaster ride and I have taken some jobs in the process. I did not understand how much marketing would be involved. Read more>>

Shannon Corbett

It has truly been a blessing earning a full time living from my creative work as an actor. My first time working on a professional set was for a Twenty One Pilots music video called “Saturday”. A couple of months later, I booked a background role as MGM crew for Damien Chazelle’s movie “Babylon”. From that point on, I booked several roles back to back for television, movies, and music videos! Read more>>

Jenny Zigrino

I remember sitting with some family members years ago and they had expressed how their daughter was interested in drawing. I commented on how that was fantastic and asked if would they send her to art school. They scoffed and said “there is no career in the arts. I want a return on my investment”. This shocked me as someone who was currently in a full time creative career of their own making. Read more>>

Zach Nichols

Photography started out as a hobby for me when I purchased my first camera. My girlfriend at the time (who is now my wife) was a photographer and I loved hiking and backpacking and bought a camera to better capture the sights and adventures I would have when in the outdoors. It was not until a wedding photographer out of a nearby city asked me to be his second photographer for weddings that I realized it could become something more. Read more>>

Jorge Arellano

I’ve been cutting hair since the age of 12 since I moved to Texas. Around that time it was rare to find a good barber and it was a time where you would have to sit in a barbershop for at least a couple hours to get a haircut. During that time I found interest in hair because there were a few time where I got the best haircut I could see. Read more>>