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Isn’t the satisfaction of creating art payment enough? After all, you don’t have to do real work for a living. At least that’s what many people think.
What amazes me the most is that it’s a universal belief that one can get creative services for free. It doesn’t matter what part of the world you live in. People think that what artists do is easy, stress-free, and that our work isn’t worth payment. Yet no one thinks twice about paying for non-creative services – regardless if it is easy to do.
Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but like any other profession, our services are worthy of respect and payment. Being an artist is a profession that requires training and hard work. We may make it look fun, easy, and non-time consuming. That’s not the reality. To produce anything in the arts takes time, research, skill and thousands of hours of practice. Yes, anyone can pick up a paint brush and learn to paint a canvas. It’s the business savvy, the knowledge, research, and the time spent creating the actual work that earns a price tag. It’s the ability to “wear many hats”, and be good at art and everything else that it takes to be a successful business person. Yes, art is a business – even though we may not dress up pretty for work. The thing is - the successful artists that I know are smart, innovative, dedicated, hard-working people. We love being artists because of the rewards and satisfaction that comes with being creative. But like any other professional, we don’t like being taken advantage of - especially by family and friends. Plus, as articles like 13 Reasons you shouldn’t work for free (even if Oprah calls) and For money or passion? … point out – working for free is just bad business. So make an artist happy. Help them become successful business people. Pay for the drawings, paintings, illustrations, photos, cartoons, writing, and services you crave and receive. We’ll do our best to keep your world filled with aesthetically pleasing “objects d’art”.
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