The Starving Artist Myth

And How Today's Technology Has Expanded Opportunities for Artists

Some people think that being an artist means never making money. In today’s world; money can be abundant for an artist like you.

One key to financial freedom is setting up multiple streams of income. And most importantly, having steady, passive income.

Here are some streams for you to consider setting up:

1. Prints

A beautiful painting might find a home the moment you post it — but with the right content on social media, you could sell a few prints of that painting every month. Thereby, allowing you to paint something once and always profit from it. As opposed to recreating the same image and getting more content over and over.

It is worth noting that FASO offers art prints on demand. This means you can always be selling your work without ever having to do anything other than have your website up and running.


2. Pre-recorded Classes

If you setup pre-recorded classes on your FASO site, it has the potential to be a great source of passive income. You could use social media to promote a class and if that post goes viral overnight — customers all over the world can purchase that class. Thereby, making you money while you sleep.

3. Online, Real Time Classes

You can charge more of a premium for your time. And offer more expensive, 1-1 classes or discounted rates for a group setting.


4. In Person Classes:

This is where you should up-sell your skill set the most. Having the opportunity to be with you in real life, should be the most expensive thing available. Never, ever, sell this short.


5. A Paid Newsletter

All of the time you have spent reading and mastering your craft is also valuable. If you get a lot of requests for people to have access to your knowledge in written format, consider a pay-to-play newsletter. This would allow you to share your knowledge in bulk, through another medium.

6. Consider a B2C Model:

You should never sit around and wait for a gallery to help sell your work. If you have small, powerful sketches laying around — sell those directly at a lower cost through your newsletter. Selling studies through a newsletter protects what you post on social media — so you will never look desperate. But it also empowers your fans to support you by buying something directly — at a lower cost than a larger, more intricate piece.


7. A Print Subscription Model

Consider a print subscription model with your paintings. Collectors can pay x amount going month to month or x amount to save money with a print subscription for the year with your artwork. This alternative is a great option for potential collectors who visit your studio and say “All of these paintings are great — I’m not sure which one to choose from”.


8. Merchandise

You are a brand. And if your brand is badass, people will wear it. Of course, what that can look like differs from artist to artist — but I have purchased socks and coffee mugs from artists who I am a fan of.


9. E-books

A lot of artists sleep on how valuable the wealth of knowledge they have is. Take a few months writing all that down and composing it — an e-book can be a fantastic source of revenue for artists who specialize in a specific field.

10. NFTs

While this one is a bit more technical, NFTs are a growing area and unlock income opportunities from all images of all those works you’ve sold in the past. We have a detailed podcast episode and future article on this topic coming.

There have never been more opportunities for artists to make money from their art, welcome to the Sovereign Artist Era.

Stay tuned,

Cosimo Ca$h