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

Nicholas, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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?

It took about ten years of doing shows, festivals, and street fairs to reach a point where I could make a significant income from my art. My beginnings were very humble – the first show was in the corner of a night club and I made about $150 that night. From there I just jumped in and did every event I could find while continually producing new work and trying all sorts of new things along the way. Most of the events I did were not profitable and the majority of the art I’ve made has not sold well, but it takes time and work to find the gems. Trial and error is the part of any success story and is something that can’t (or shouldn’t) be avoided. I’d say most kernels of knowledge that I’ve gained were born out of a misstep I made along the way. If I went back in time and told myself not to do a certain event or not bother trying to sell a certain piece, it would be a short term gain at the expense of long term wisdom.

Nicholas, 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’m an artist, illustrator, and designer native to San Diego. I’ve drawn for as long as I can remember and always knew that I wanted to do it for a living. My main professional focus for the past 10 years has been the art festival/street fair event circuit. I observed other artists taking their work to the streets and something about the approach drew me in so I started doing it.

I’ve always done Day of the Dead artwork, and in the past couple years I’ve focused on a series of dogs and cats in a sugar skull “calaca” style. The work has really resonated with people, which isn’t surprising given our strong feelings about our furry friends. But I’m always struck whenever someone includes my art in the altars for their departed friends. Day of the Dead is about celebrating life, and I’m glad that people include my creations in that celebration and that they perhaps help them deal with their loss.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

People can of course buy art and help economically support individual artists. But supporting art and helping creativity flourish is a society-wide issue and it needs to be dealt with at that scale. Like improving healthcare or protecting the environment, having a creative ecosystem is a huge project that requires government funding. The United States spends a pitiful amount of money to fund the arts in comparison to other developed nations. You can always follow the dollars to see a person’s or organization’s priorities. An artistic and creative society is a more humane and thoughtful one, and it reflects a culture that gives people the free time and comfort to pursue such endeavors. A country that allows its ruling class to hoard their wealth while asking everyone else to sacrifice the tiny bit of money they have, as well as their mental and emotional health, is not a supportive environment for art. Electing officials who will fight income inequality is the answer to many of society’s problem’s including art.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the adjustments I’ve had to make as an artist was to regard my creations as products, not my precious babies. It’s something I still struggle with, but as a professional artist, I have to make business-focused decisions. If a piece doesn’t sell well with the public, then I have to cut it like I would any unsuccessful product. I’ve had to discontinue several creations over the years that I was very proud of, but didn’t resonate with customers. It can be disappointing as an artist, but as a professional it’s useful product research and consumer reporting.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nicholasivins.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/nicholasivins
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicholasivinsart
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NicholasIvins