All artists out there….I encourage you to charge for your work. I encourage you to not feel shy, break down barriers and inhibitions and charge money for your work. I always do. If you don’t people will not value your time and effort. They will not value your paintings. They will throw them around somewhere without bubble wrap and without hard cover ! If you want to see your work being respected and loved, let the client buy it!
Hi ! I am Neeta, an artist and set up The Art Cottage in Mumbai, so that I could create beautiful aesthetics for people. My business plan which is making good gradual progress is to employ students in the fine arts field who are not getting a job elsewhere. I also like to create opportunity for people with special needs, learning differences and low confidence. I want to encourage them to create and teach their skills ! I want them to have The Art Cottage on their portfolio to show they did some work where they added value before they go into the world to get more jobs or start their own work. My thoughts are simple but I invest in my company for salaries , overheads and raw materials. I strive to make a profit just like every entrepreneur wants to. I do community service separately through my initiative called Edooism and my community service is for people who need it.
True !! Shamelessly I am admitting that If I didn’t have a dad or husband ( in that order from birth till after marriage) I would be eating raw leaves, everything would be only leaves, and painting on leaves in the forests !! 😼Everything is free there even oxygen and shelter. 🤗
Then it’s a dominos effect … we then some artists end up asking people to do free work for them ( like trying to get our hands on free canvas … that wholesaler angry that we haggle with him for paints and dyes and other material ) 😸 coz we don’t have anything to pay. have u read my blog about artists like me who have had to haggle with clients at times and some people absolutely free work despite of them being much more well off? Unfortunately an artists laborious hard work is always seen as “ fun work” …. there is a quite a bit of healthy stress with every painting order even though a passion. I will share my blog with u. Everyone must be paid even if it’s less. Free work is not valued for v long. And who said payment is kind is what everyone’s looking for? We r looking for more money to invest in more art supplies. Paint costs money ! Time and effort can be kind of compensated with love but not Winston newton, graduate, Daler Browney, camel , Cryla , Fevicryl paints for which someone else has invested in me ! 😸😸
The arts crafts and design are essential ! Science has proven that tactile and visual sensory experiences are required for development. Starting from schools, colleges to profession, business social service, art plays a huge role. Music, theatre, art are usually looked at as soft skills. The minute we make a paradigm shift in our thought process, that art is a profession for many, we will start valuing the work of a professional.
I have news for you ! Artists invest someone’s money in their raw materials. Either their own from some other hard work or art sales itself, or sometimes their spouses’ money, or their parents’ money. It is an investment of capital just like any other profession. Why do people expect free paintings from artists ? Its hard work and time and ideas ! They deserve to be paid.
I have been told a few times by friends who travel, live in beautiful homes, visit good restaurants, wear good clothes “When are you gifting me a painting for my home or my office ? I just stare at them totally aghast ! When a friend has an exhibition, or any sort of work, I will go with my wallet :)) If you respect someone’s work, they must respect yours too.
It is wholly at the discretion of the artist whether they would like to give you something for free. I urge people please don’t make artist’s feel guilty for not being able to give you a free painting for decorating your walls 🙂 Teach your children to respect and value art. There are many artists who need the money as they need to reinvest in their raw materials for the next creative design 🙂 😀
If you have walls, and if you want to decorate them, then break down the WALL OF THE ART WORLD TRADITIONAL BELIEFS, WHERE ART MUST REMAIN A HOBBY IF YOU ARE NOT A MICHELANGELO ! We artists do not want to wait to die after which we will receive a reward 😄 !
– NEETA @ The Art Cottage
Disclaimer – I have had amazing clients who have paid me with respect for my work. I know many artists that do not charge as they feel shy but they want to charge !
Comentarios