Top Tips on How to Become a Rich and Successful Artist

At some stage in their career, most artist’s hope that their work will move beyond art and  become commodities. This is the juncture when the investment community takes an interest in your output not because they like what you do but because it rises in value each year. At this point the artist no longer struggles to sell their work but can rely on a steady stream of sales right to the end and beyond of their working lives. Sadly some never make it. I’ve seen very accomplished artists pass away and their widows are left trying to make a few quid out of the legacy of unsold artwork. There is nothing wrong with the art, but the artist never bothered to raise their profile, therefore passing away relatively unknown. George Soper a case in part, was unheard of during his life until his wonderful watercolours of working horses were stumbled upon after his death and made public in a book by Paul Heiney. Hercules Brabazon Brabazon was also unknown but for different reasons, his personal wealth made it unnecessary for him to publish his work. Some artists teach on cruises and unfortunately end up marrying rich widows, which overnight takes away the drive to be a great artist.

For those that do make it, great wealth and fame awaits as can be seen by the likes of Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin. This change in status can also lead to dishonesty and the ridiculous. Artists with low skill bases like Lowrey and Pollock are ripe for forgers as their style are easy to reproduce. Many museums around the world contain more examples of art than some artists could possibly have produced in their lifetime. Dali, known amongst his friends as Aviva Dollars is alleged to have sold blank sheets of paper with just his signature on to dealers. So there you have it, at the end of the day, provided that you don’t stray too far from what your customers expect from you, it’s only your signature that is worth anything. This is why I always tell my students to concentrate on getting their signature right way before they concentrate on their painting skills. There’s nothing worse than being a few years down the road displaying accomplished work supported by the signature of a five year old or worse still, initials! Artists who choose this path never see their work becoming commodities.

Depressingly, most artists are told by friends that once they’re dead their work will be worth oodles of money. People like Van Gogh are gleefully pointed out as examples of artists who never made it in life but were successful in death.

One way some artists find around this problem is to become very old or develop some sort of lingering life threatening illness. Once word of this gets about, exhibitions become overnight successes and sell outs. A classic example is Jim Cox. After a lifelong career as a coxswain, he took up painting in retirement. Most of his work is in a heavy, turgid oil painting style, yet he has slowly built up quite a following. Nowadays, whenever he develops a heavy cold, the phone never stops ringing with customers trying to buy his artwork. He’s still alive today and must be well into his nineties and his art prices are still going up and up and up….