Support Independent Visual Artists
Images of completed artworks, which could be argued are our final product, lie exposed for anyone to enjoy, use as their "inspiration", for free, yet we as artists and a society accept that as OK.
For many independent artists the figure stands at 0 sales/month; for others, the figures do not look a lot better. Zero income, yet you’ve worked almost every workday, and thousands have viewed your art. How would you feel if that was your reality, Reader? Can you even imagine the full scale of the unkindness (to say the least) and injustice suffered as a result of it?
"Get a job", they say, as if they don't understand that the person who employs opens up their "wallet" and gives to the employee, who will give the employer something in return for that money. People who are self-employed need those around them to do the same for them. One difference is that those who give to them pay a smaller amount for less in return. It is a good thing that everyone, not just some people, has an opportunity to give to help another earn a living.
In addition, the freedom to choose your own legally acceptable career is a fundamental human right protected by the Constitution of most countries and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
So naturally I've been looking for solutions to this problem. In the first place, it is to talk about it to help create awareness of this issue that affects artists of all levels. Then, obviously, it is to monetize our work to subscribers and limit the amount of work we release for public viewing.
However, most platforms will charge you before allowing you to monetize your content. Others give no option to restrict your content to subscribers or even to monetize it.
Most platforms, but fortunately not all.
So, dear Reader, I urge you to consider this issue carefully. If you are able to give, won't you decide to regularly and financially support at least one full-time independent visual artist from now on?
Full-time means that that's their only job; they're not side-hustlers or hobbyists. Independent means they work for themselves and are not employed as an artist by someone else.
More ways to support independent visual artists:
- Starting this holiday season, won't you include at least one greeting card and one gift bought from a full-time independent visual artist in at least one gift package for your family, friends, or colleagues? I can assure you that it would make not only a world of difference but also a difference in the world.
- Make a donation to an artist if you are not going to buy their products. In most cases, just seeing our art would have been beneficial to you.
- Add our products to your wish list (my Making A Difference page has a link to my wish list if you need inspiration).
- Follow, like, share, comment on our posts.
Remember that a visual artist receives only a portion of the listed price of their products hosted and printed by service providers. Everyone involved needs to get paid.
We all know of artists who lived hundreds of years ago whose stories were no different than described in this post, yet other people generations later have profited greatly from their work. May history judge us to be different in a good way than those who had gone before us.