Commercial Artist

Key skills/talents

Again we're probably telling you stuff you already know, but becoming an artist involves a combination of passion, skill development, networking, and perseverance. Here's some tips to get you started:

 

• Develop Your Skills: Whether you're interested in painting, sculpting, photography, digital art, or any other medium, focus on honing your craft. Take classes, workshops, or even pursue a degree in fine arts if possible. Practise regularly and experiment with different techniques and styles to find your niche.

• Build a Portfolio: Create a portfolio showcasing your best work. Include a variety of pieces that demonstrate your skills and artistic vision. Your portfolio will be essential when applying for exhibitions, grants, residencies, or when seeking representation by galleries or agents.

• Network: Connect with other artists, art organisations, galleries, and art enthusiasts. Attend art events, exhibitions, and workshops to meet people in the industry. Building a strong network can lead to opportunities for collaborations, exhibitions, and exposure for your work.

• Exhibit Your Work: Look for opportunities to showcase your art in galleries, art fairs, community centres, cafes, or online platforms. Participating in exhibitions not only allows you to display your work but also helps you gain recognition and feedback from viewers and fellow artists.

• Promote Yourself: Utilise social media platforms, create a website, or join online art communities to promote your work to a wider audience. Share your process, behind-the-scenes insights, and upcoming events to engage with your followers and attract potential buyers or clients.

• Seek Funding and Grants: Explore funding opportunities and grants available for artists in the UK. Organisations such as Arts Council England, the British Council, and various charitable trusts offer funding and support for artists at different stages of their careers: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk

• Consider Artist Residencies: Apply for artist residencies, both within the UK and internationally, to immerse yourself in new environments, collaborate with other artists, and focus on your artistic practice without distractions: https://www.artshub.co.uk/opportunity-classification/residencies

• Continuous Learning and Adaptation: The art world is constantly evolving, so it's essential to stay updated with current trends, techniques, and technologies. Attend workshops, lectures, and courses to continue learning and evolving as an artist.

• Persistence and Resilience: Building a career as an artist often requires perseverance and resilience. Be prepared to face rejection, setbacks, and challenges along the way. Stay focused on your goals and keep pushing forward despite obstacles.

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Legal and Business Considerations: Familiarise yourself with the legal and business aspects of being an artist, such as copyright laws, contracts, pricing your work, and managing finances. Consider seeking advice from professionals or joining artist associations for guidance in these areas: https://artquest.org.uk/artlaw-article/art-law-introduction

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​Qualifications required

For a college course, and after taking Art as a GCSE (assuming you did or are about to), you have the option to either pursue A-Level or AS-Level Art & Design, which most colleges across the UK offer, but an example is: https://ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-and-a-level/art-and-design-h200-h600-from-2015

 

Alternatively, you can pursue either a Level 4 Higher National Certificate Art and Design, i.e: https://www.coventrycollege.ac.uk/courses/level-4-hnc-in-art-design, and then go on to a Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Art and Design or Art Practice, i.e: https://swc.ac.uk/courses/pearson-btec-level-5-higher-national-diploma-in-art-and-design-art-practice

 

Degree-wise, Universities across the UK offer various ‘art and design’ courses. This link from UCAS gives loads of great information: https://www.ucas.com/explore/subjects/art#study-options

 

If you are looking for an apprenticeship way into your chosen area of art, then the UK government’s apprenticeships website details what type of availability there is & where: https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/apprentices/browse-by-interests/creative-design

 

And, of course, to excel in your chosen art form, a high level of skill and talent is necessary, so as we have said above, you must be physically pursuing and developing your art skills at all times, as Ruth does… She is constantly drawing, sketching and painting.

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Rules and regs

Within the UK (and indeed across the world), there are specific trading & copyright laws for artists, because as you might imagine, the copying of art happens ALL THE TIME. From literal copies, to the copying of styles and techniques; mostly innocently and through inspiration. However, there is both a fine line, and a pretty distinctive one, between taking inspiration from another artist, to outright copying them for commercial reward.

 

Art UK gives a lot of information regarding this on their website: https://artuk.org/about/copyright-explained. 

 

Art Business Info details regulations surrounding trading standards too: https://www.artbusinessinfo.com/trading-standards-for-artists.html

These regulations, along with those set out by the UK government for Small Business owners: https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business should help to guide you with any questions and queries.

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Remuneration framework

We are not even going to attempt to answer this, because it is UTTERLY variable.

 

An artist selling their work, or indeed working in a related job could earn £20k, or they could earn £200k. It really comes down to how driven/motivated by money you are, and therefore, how that leads the art career you pursue.

 

Again, this UCAS link can help with career options and routes: https://www.ucas.com/explore/subjects/art#careers-where-it-can-take-you-

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How to get started

We’ve pretty much covered this in the information above, so it really comes down to deciding which artistic route, or form of expression you would like to take; deciding how much money/income motivates you - particularly in the early days - and then pursuing courses/qualifications in this field, in order to hone your skills and talents to the best possible standard. This is necessary no matter what route you take, because to be taken seriously as an artist, or as a creative, you have to be good at what you do.

 

Like Ruth, you may end up ‘going round the houses’ slightly, before landing on a specific art form/expression, or before making the leap to heavily pursue a more purist art career (not least because you might not have the finances to do so), and our advice would simply be to not panic and go on that journey. You will get there and your path is ultimately, the right one for you, in the end.

 

And of course, as we’ve said (repeated below), there are ways to apply for funding, should you want to take the leap…

 

Seek Funding and Grants: Explore funding opportunities and grants available for artists in the UK. Organisations such as Arts Council England, the British Council, and various charitable trusts offer funding and support for artists at different stages of their careers: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk

 

Our other bit of advice would be (which we do say a lot), social-social-social! No matter what route/style you are pursuing, you need to showcase your skills and your work, and you need to build a strong reputation. Which means social media; Instagram and TikTok especially. It may not come naturally to you, and for lots of artists it doesn’t, so perhaps find a friend or family member that can help you in the early days - someone that can ‘put you out there’, if you don’t feel able/comfortable doing so.

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Associations or official bodies to register with

As you can imagine, there are different organisations depending on your chosen ‘art form / media’. A good place to start when looking for information and/or support,  is The Arts Council: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk

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Job site links

https://www.artsjobs.org.uk & https://www.artsjobs.org.uk both specialise in jobs within the arts, as well as providing information on specific job events/conferences.

Art UK also has a job listing pages: https://artuk.org/about/jobs

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Progression pathway​

This is fully down to you and where you want to take this, and perhaps more so than any other career that we’ve featured (so far), there is no clear progression route here. But reputation and building a reputation - and potentially, a fan base - is key.

 

Know what motivates you and be brave!

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Additional links/FYIs

When looking for inspiration, and/or routes and roles, it might be worth reaching out to local galleries, museums and theatres, as they may be able to provide information and support, i.e…

 

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk

https://www.tate.org.uk

 

A very simple google search will pop a plethora of national and regional galleries you can visit.