Can Modern Artists Make a Living?

This report was born of a query sent to 30 friends on April 30, 2015. I asked whether they knew anyone making a living at making art. The response was wintry.

Virtually no one knew of anyone who fit that description, yet nearly all expressed curiosity about reading my findings. This 34-page e-book details what I’ve discovered since that time.

A Factory or a Hustler?

To eke out a living, most artists have turned themselves into “factories” or “hustlers.” But being a factory or a hustler is at odds with the reason why artists wanted to become artists in the first place. Might there be some other way to live artistically?

4 Models for Making a Living

In this short e-book, I don’t concern myself with the personal failures of particular artists, the burden of history, the rise of the precariat class, the perils of neoliberalism, or with waves upon waves of economic recession. Rather, I investigate what is possible for artists living today.

Counterintuitively, I show that there are four models that artists can use to live artistically:

• They can become excellent Warriors, Merchants, and Priests.
• They can forget about scaling and learn to love elitism.
• They can become masters who offer their wares at a premium.
• They can redefine the very nature of “being an artist.”

10-Page Excerpt

You’re welcome to read the first 10 pages: How an Artist Can Hack a Living (Excerpt)

$5 Artist E-book

To receive your copy of the e-book, you can offer $5 via PayPal.

Write “Artists Hacking” in the Notes box on PayPal. Expect to receive your copy the same or the following day. I hope this document opens your mind and expands your view of reality, enabling you to live artistically.