I read an article recently which made a strong case for counting Artists as ‘Workers’, pointing out that ‘making art’ is a form of ‘work’, despite the fact that we artists enjoy what we do and would do it even if it never sold or whether anyone else ever liked it.
The premise put forth was that the work we do, as artists, does not receive the proper respect it deserves by today’s society, and we artists are not viewed as ‘skilled professionals’ in the same way that lawyers or even teachers are perceived. The feeling seems to have evolved that ‘art and money do not mix’ - artists should not expect to be appropriately compensated for our work, simply because what we do is seen as a ‘labour of love’.
When we look back to earlier times, from the Medieval period into Renaissance times, the position of artists was quite different from what we experience today. Most art was commissioned by wealthy patrons, and the artist painted what the patron wanted, using the materials which the patron requested. This had the advantage that the artist knew ahead of time that they would be paid, but the trade-off was that they painted only what other people wanted to see.
Over the centuries this ‘arrangement’ has morphed into what we have today. Artists, for the most part, have the freedom to choose their own subject matter and materials, and are free to experiment as much as they wish. The trade-off nowadays, however, is that we never know whether what we produce will ever sell, or if we will ever earn enough from our paintings to even pay for our materials. This is a complete reversal of what our Medieval counterparts experienced.
Even our Income Tax rules make special allowances for artists, by allowing us to end the year with zero closing inventory and start from scratch again the next year. We don’t have to carry over ‘unused’ materials inventory from one year to the next, as other businesses do. In short, it’s “accepted” that artists are ‘not expected to make a profit’. It’s like a self-perpetuating assumption.
The reality is that artists work just as hard at what we do as any other ‘profession’. It seems we have been ‘conditioned’ to accept that our work does not have the same value as the output of other skilled professionals like chefs, home builders, landscapers, or clothing designers. All of those individuals can realistically expect to receive a return on their time and efforts which enables them to earn a decent living.
I’ve been an artist since I could hold a pencil, and my early experience was that my inborn ability was seen as a novelty of sorts - ‘isn’t that cute – she can draw.’ I ‘absorbed’ the assumption that making art was not something I could ever pursue in a serious way. Instead, I was expected to fit into one of the ‘big three’ occupations acceptable for my gender at the time - nurse, secretary, or teacher. I became a nurse. I never stopped making art, but it was seen as a ‘sideline’, a ‘hobby’.
Young women nowadays have more freedom in setting life goals, and many choose to follow their artistic dreams, but they are still faced with the same reality that it is difficult, if not impossible, to truly earn a living solely from artwork. Most have support from families, or spouses, or even secondary jobs, in order to pursue their ‘true calling’.
I have belonged to several different artist groups, and one of the most common topics of discussion centers around how to price your work. There are various approaches to doing this, yet no approach truly reflects the ‘true value’ of what we do. We end up pricing our work according to ‘what the market will bear’. Which many times barely covers the cost of our materials, let alone compensate for the hours spent on creating the finished product.
So in effect, we artists allow others to decide what our work is worth. If you hire a company to build a house for you, you expect to pay them a fair wage for the work they do. ‘But’, you may say, ‘Houses are a ‘necessity’, while art is not’. Jewellery is not a ‘necessity’ either, yet people don’t walk into a jewellery store and expect the clerk to charge them less than what that diamond ring is actually worth.
Artists are skilled. Artists produce work. Artists have studied for most of their lives, in many cases – largely through experimentation, learning from others, close observation, and plain hard work to master whatever it is they do well. So, artists ‘should’ be able to set a price for our work which reflects its true value.
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And now, here’s an update on the Artist Trading Cards I mentioned last week.
Not designed as an ‘income earner’, but just as satisfying as any other work I’ve ever done, here’s the current status of the first sheet of 6 mini paintings. As I mentioned before, each individual painting is 2.5” high and 3.5” wide, the same size as regular sports trading cards.
The compositions are all sketched in using a cool grey pencil, and the skies have been laid in and mostly finished.
Next step will be to work on all the backgrounds, and then gradually complete all elements of each miniature painting.
This is a sort of ‘assembly-line’ work, which is not something I usually do, but the small size of these little gems lends itself particularly well to that approach. Also, having chosen images which are related helps as well.
Next time we’ll have another look, and you’ll be able to watch them evolve into finished works.
Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and I’ll be back with another blog post in 2 weeks time – on January 3.
Stay safe and enjoy Art.
Sharon
