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

Hi John , 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?

Yes, I have been very fortunate to earn a full-time living from my artwork. Earning an income from my work started back in October, 2016 when I was drawing on thick, watercolor paper with pens. I had a commission opportunity to make a good bit of money from a drawing and I was so excited that I quit my job delivering major appliances and started drawing full-time. It went really well for a short period of time, but it wasn’t going the way I wanted it to go. I went back to working a full-time job in January 2017 and ended up doing art on the side, spending a lot of time searching for ANYONE who would commission me to do a drawing and also trying to sell drawings that I had already created. By the beginning of 2018, I quit drawing and took up painting for the first time, which completely changed everything for me. I ended up selling my second painting, and after creating my third and fourth, I was accepted into Anna Sweet Gallery in Key West, FL. The owner, Anna, and the gallery director, Connie, helped me to develop my craft and watched me grow as an artist. Being a part of this gallery eventually led me to be able to quit my full-time job so that I could focus solely on creating again. From there, I kept developing my work and finding myself as a painter. I’d experiment with different concepts that I had that forced me outside of my comfort zone. And in doing that, I was able to attract countless opportunities that I didn’t even imagine were possible…including being able to earn a full-time living while doing what I love to do most. One of the major steps that I have noted on my journey that allowed me to make a full-time living from my work is that I had to develop my work to a certain point in order to see some type of real monetary gain. I had to sort of master what I was doing, and that took a lot of time and a lot of intent on getting better. One of my mantras when it comes to creating is to “do better than I did the last time I created” so that I am always growing. I was fortunate to find a love for drawing and creating at 9 years old and took up portraiture at 10, so I’ve spent a lot of my life developing my craft just out of the love of doing it.
I don’t think that I could have sped up the process somehow knowing what I know now (and I don’t think that I would have anyway). I believe that everything that has led up to this moment is what brought me to where I am, and I wouldn’t know what I know if I didn’t go through everything that I have been through.

John , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Well, my name is John L. Hill and I am a 28 year old portrait artist. I have been creating consistently since 9 years old and I started with portraiture at 10. My father was an artist before me and he also loved creating portraits, so my love for it started because of him. Since then, I have expressed an interest in drawing with pencils, pens, graphite, doing tattoos, and painting. My current focus is painting portraits of iconic figures on large canvases, but I eventually plan on branching out into new avenues as I continue to grow as an artist. My work is really fun, loving, energetic and overall positive and I strive to bring joy to anyone who connects with my paintings. I got into the art industry simply by posting my work on instagram. Social media is a miracle worker when it comes to putting your work in front of faces from all over the world. Personally, I am most proud of myself for finding one of my major gifts in life, finding a love for it, cultivating it, growing with it, and putting it back into the world for everyone else to see and love. What I have been able to create for myself, my wife and daughter, for the ones close to me, ones who collect my work, and everyone who views my work is unbelievable and a dream come true. I have come further than I would have ever expected, and I am only getting started!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The main mission that is driving my creative journey is my family! Being able to provide for them and to give them a life that is worth living is everything to me. And to be able to do this through my work, through what I love to do is beyond words. I am forever grateful for that.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I have built my audience on social media with a few different steps. When I create, I ALWAYS create my best work, or it’s not worth doing. Then I put it out there into the world. I post whatever I create! That’s the only way to build any type of presence. And by doing the first two steps consistently, I began to build and audience that began to trust in me and what I put out. My consistency allowed everyone to expect great work every time I post. From there, opportunities started to come to me and my following grew.

So this is the advice I would give to someone just starting to build their presence on social media: 1) Develop your work and always create your best work, every time. 2) POST!!! 3) Be consistent and trust the process. 4) Don’t be afraid to gift your services out, especially to those who have influenced you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jlhillart.com/
• Instagram: @JLHill_Art
• Facebook: @JLHill_Art
• Twitter: @JLHill_Art
• Other: TikTok: @JLHill_Art

Image Credits
John L. Hill