We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Janet Fagan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Janet below.
Janet, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
Earning a living as a full-time studio artist has been my dream ever since I entered art school at age 18. This dream led me to become a sole proprietor as I sold my art in galleries in the early years of my career. I soon realized that I also needed to supplement my painting income by teaching art and the solution for this need happened organically while I was still in undergrad and was offered my first art teaching job in Philadelphia. I loved working with struggling inner city youth and using art as a portal for them to access their identities and self-expression while building skills. Over the years teaching became the “plan B” for me that gave me the consistent income I needed as I continued to exhibit and sell my work. I loved my teaching work. It opened many doors for me and led to rich experiences and connections in both the private and public realms. Despite my appreciation of these partnerships I never lost the dream of relying only on my painting for my income, but it wasn’t until I was well into my career that Covid gave me the push that I needed to finally make the leap. When Covid happened, my long-term teaching contracts with museums in Seattle suddenly ended. I needed to pivot and do my very best to make the sales of my work more abundant. I have learned so much over the past four years and I am so grateful that I have been able to make the most of unexpected change by diving into marketing practices, self-directed sales via social media, and richer gallery partnerships. I also have a different relationship to teaching now that my studio practice is humming along – I no longer feel the need to say “yes” to every teaching opportunity and accepting contracts is driven not by necessity, but by love of the work. That is a very good feeling.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Growing up I loved to spend as much time as possible outside. Our family owned a small cinderblock home on the Florida Gulf Coast surrounded by pristine wilderness. The layers of wild land included the ocean in front of us, the bay behind us, and the pine forest dotted with fresh water lakes opening onto giant white sand-dunes that stood watch over the always changing Gulf of Mexico. This was the land that shaped my deep love of the big world outside and still informs my work today. I live across the country now in a little valley tucked into the North Cascade Mountains of Washington State. And once again, nature is all around me and I spend a great deal of time in the woods, mountains, and meadows looking, listening and just being. My artistic practice is driven by my love of these times in nature and my desire to communicate the importance of being outside for us all through the lens of my heart, mind and imagination. The other important piece of my history is that my mother lived her life as a career artist and I witnessed her hard work and dedication to her chosen path. I decided early that living as an artist was what felt best for me too and to that end I pursued my BFA and MFA – receiving those from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, The University of Pennsylvania, and the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. I have been a sole proprietor for my entire adult life and my primary goals have been to maintain a consistent presence in my studio creating work while finding opportunities to have my work seen. I paint to communicate and when my work moves from my studio into a home or business I see a call and response happening and relationships forming. I also actively search out ways to share my inspiration and knowledge with others and have had the honor of teaching art in many different situations for a diverse range of audiences over the years. I am pleased, as I look back over the years of my practice and ahead into what comes next, that I have never let go of my dream to live as an artist and that I have kept the heart-focus in both my work and teaching. I continually ask myself if the decisions I am making as an artist and business woman feel good to my heart – am I giving back in meaningful ways, is my work financially accessible for as many people as possible, is my inspiration moving forward in meaningful ways as the conversations around conservation, climate change and access evolve? If I stay clear in my heart and centered in a desire to give back with gratitude for what I receive then I feel I am succeeding even when the work is hard.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
There are many rewards to being self employed and working as an artist, but what I find repeatedly gratifying are the connections and surprises that happen when someone responds to my work. This might mean hearing a collector explain why they have a connection to a theme and are choosing certain pieces or hearing the story behind a request for a special commission. When people share from their hearts in response to what I have put into the world, or trust me with a meaningful project, a call and response relationship forms between us. The trust that it takes between two people to be vulnerable and share from their hearts – that is what happens through art. It could be the surprise of hearing from someone who I’ve never met who has an opportunity for me, or waking up to the news that a significant competition has turned in my favor. The beautiful thing about being an artist is that there is always room for growth, new connections, new stories, new opportunities. I have learned that these beautiful moments happen most when I am actively working the hardest to discover and create. This is not to say that the rejections and “no thankyous” are not happening as well – they are, but they matter less and less in the big picture over time and really are simply a by-product of consistent effort.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Just like any job, being an artist can be super mysterious to those who are not artists. I enjoy explaining my day to day to non-artists to give them a glimpse into how similar being an artist is to any other career in that it takes a whole lot of behind the scenes time and effort to make the public view shine. People often ask me how many hours a week I paint. This varies depending on upcoming goals but it is only part of the picture. A large part of each day is spent researching or responding to opportunities, following up on sales, sending invoices, tracking and assessing budgets, managing inventory or deliverables for contracts, or program management for workshops or exhibits. There is also prep time for substrates, keeping supplies ordered, and researching new ideas, materials and methods. I also allocate a certain amount of time to volunteering for several different arts organizations that I belong to. Perhaps the often overlooked but most important part of the time that goes into being an artist is also the “stare out the window” time. For me this down-time has to happen. I need to give my brain time to flow freely and dream. I often build this down time into time spent outdoors long distance trail running, skiing, or cycling. By taking this time for myself doing what I love and am inspired by, images, memories and inspiration seep into my subconscious. I feed my imagination, well of imagery, and ideas with this downtime. I use it to keep myself relaxed so that when I am behind the easel I feel good and ready to create. When I am asked how much I paint – I just say I work full time, but I am really working all the time because every minute of my day informs my practice.
Contact Info:
- Website: JanetFagan.com
- Instagram: @Janet_Fagan_Artist
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JanetFaganArtist/
Image Credits
All photos taken by the artist