We were lucky to catch up with J. Adam McGalliard recently and have shared our conversation below.

J. Adam, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you 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?

Earning a living solely from creative work as an artist is not easy, but it is possible for those that pursue it with focused determination. To be successful financially, an artist must juggle many different roles that are generally at odds with one another. It has taken me many years to fully accept the fact that being an artist is a business. The hard truth is that it’s simply not enough to create and then wait for people to knock on your studio door. Artists must fill the role of the Visionary, CEO, CFO, R & D, Production, and the entire Marketing Department.

In my experience, the most challenging aspect of achieving financial stability from creative work is finding the appropriate balance of time, energy, and capitol that you give to each of these different roles. Most artists are naturally strong in one or two of these, but unless they can recruit others that they trust to pick up the slack, they will not find much success or financial stability. Finding others to join your team is necessary at a certain stage, but just like any startup, you first must have something viable enough to compel them to invest their own time, energy, and capitol.

J. Adam, 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 have been a professional, internationally exhibiting artist for over 20 years. I received an MFA in Painting from the New York Academy of Art in 2003 and spent the next decade living and working in NYC. For nearly four years I worked behind the scenes as an Artist Assistant for world-renowned artist Jeff Koons and has taught painting and drawing courses at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York. I am currently teaching Drawing at the University of North Florida and working in my studio to create a new series of paintings.

My paintings and drawings have been featured in exhibitions at the Museo de la Cuidad de Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico, the Cameron Museum of Art, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Forbes, Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, Winterrundgang der SpinnereiGalerien in Leipzig, Germany, HDLU Ring Gallery in Zagreb, Croatia and Stolen Space in London, England. My work has been sold in auction houses including Sotheby’s and Phillips de Pury.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I was in art school, the focus of my education was almost entirely on the development of technique, style and theory, but I received very little in the way of business advice or practical approaches to making a financially viable career. More schools are now offering classes that focus on this aspect of an artistic career and I hope more and more future artists take advantage of this opportunity.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being able to see my ideas become reality, leave the confines of my studio and make their way out into the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mcgalliard.net
• Instagram: @adammcgalliard
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jadammcgalliard
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/j-adam-mcgalliard/