We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hannah Greene a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Becoming a full time artist, the main question and emphasis quite often lie in the keyword “Full Time”. When the general public hear that I am a full time artist, their immediate concerns fall in the field of “struggling artist”. But how funny and great it is that those statements are merely my own insecurities. They were at least, when I first started out as a full time artist.

The craft of hand painted items and custom portraits is, in my opinion, an untouchable field; and seems to be growing in value by the day. When it comes to my business, I often get asked what inspires me. For me, my inspiration lies in my client base. I’m inspired by what makes YOU happy, what you love, what you want and prefer. The area of custom work is one that I’ve been able to find a significant place in, and truly have never looked back.

While I strive to have a couple pieces of my own work, everything I create is influenced by not only my personal preference and vision, but what I’m seeing around me; the trends, the design choices in people’s homes. I believe in being a full time artist, one of the niches to make you most successful is staying relevant. That means working outside of your comfort zone, in order to not only see what else is out there but what people are leaning towards and loving!

My biggest seller and one of my favorites to create is actually the reason I was able to become full time: my pet portraits. Custom work to me, means painting a tribute to the very things that hold the most place in your heart. For so many of us that’s our pets. Being able to create portraits for my client base has given me a name for myself, my business, and helped spread my craft and name throughout the art-loving community.

When it comes to making a living full time with my creative work, my biggest piece of advice is PATIENCE and HOPE. Any job that relies on commission understands the fluctuations. I’ll have my busy seasons of holidays, and lull periods all the same. In having patience and hope, I’m able to take those lull periods and focus on my personal work, responding to trends, like my popular seller “Santa’s Little Helper” of Santa popping a champagne bottle.

Additionally in those lull periods, social media is a huge help. By posting my past works, it helps get my followers’ creative juices flowing in what THEY are wanting, or finally thinking of the perfect gift for that someone special.

Having the hope that more commissions will always come, helps to drive me in creating new and continuous pieces, pushing social media and my own marketing, and most importantly, creating these special pieces that others see and are gifted to grow my loyal and incredible clientele.

Hannah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a full time artist that focuses on commission-based, custom work. My work includes watercolor portraits, (often times landscapes, pet portraits, architecture), acrylic portraits and abstract, (detailed pet and human portraits) and custom painted items such as my popular painted Veuve Clicquot champagne bottles, denim jackets, and seasonal holiday ornaments.

Upon graduating with a communications degree, I put all of my focus into my artwork during the trying times of the Covid-19 Pandemic. While the world shut down, I found it to be the perfect time to grow my craft and the client base followed.

Creating custom pieces has been the specific industry that has excited me the most, as there’s always a need for it and I love working one on one with clients, creating something unique and original to them. The custom work I create brings such a timeless value for peoples’ homes, gifts, and heirlooms.

Working with clients is an area I find so inspiring, as I’m able to bring to life their ideas and memories. I’m able to get a feel for who they are, what would look best in their home based on their personalities, or what their very dear friend would love most based on what they tell me about them. Being able to work on making others’ dreams come true is truly what has led me to want to make this my full time job.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Social Media! The creative space online is so important in today’s creative journey. Not only to spread your personal marketing and business, but to grow relationships with other creatives. Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook all have been incredibly beneficial to me. I love seeing others works and what clients are responding to. I love getting to see similar industries that I am in, to gain inspiration and grow my own understanding in the field. There is always room to grow as a creative and being able to see others grow along side of you and cheer each other on is so beneficial and crucial.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Honestly I don’t think the building of your audience on social media ever stops. The first advice I’d have for anyone trying to start out as a creative in social media is to drop the fear and worry of what others may think. Leading with confidence and optimism only invites more confidence and optimism! In other news, fake it til’ you make it. People are on social media for a reason. They want to be inspired, they want to see new things. I have loved building an audience on social media and sharing a small portion of my life. I intertwine my work with my personal life very closely and love being able to merge the two on social media. To me, it makes me feel I’m coming across more down to earth and real. People can relate to that.

Once you have a healthy mindset to grow in the area of social media, posting content that’s relevant and eye catching is important. What’s more important however, that will significantly come across in your online presence, is your passion. You should WANT to post, you should want to be present on socials. I set up one or two content shoots every month to get new head shots, professional shots of my past works, and photos of me working in my space. I love doing this. And I believe it comes across that I do! It’s as simple as setting up a camera and tripod. The main thing that people pick up on is your passion and optimistic energy in this field. That comes across!

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.hannahgreeneart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannah_greene_art/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannahgreeneart
• Other: Tiktok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMR8sQhmG/ Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/HannahGreeneArt