Is it ok to make money as an artist?

Written By Giselle Denis

Recently someone publicly shamed me for making living at selling my art. So let’s talk about it!

If a vegetable grower starts producing more produce than he can keep and chooses to sell it to happy customers who are excited to buy his fresh produce, isn’t that is a good thing. He is doing something he loves, and sharing his hard work with others. Should the just give it all away? Is he wrong in trying to then make a go at making a living at something he enjoys doing?

It seems silly to tell a table maker that he charges too much money for his $2000 table. If someone told him, that is too much. Then how much is ok? Is $200 ok to sell it for? No? Then is $20 ok to sell it for? No? Then is $2 ok to sell it for?

To shame someone for selling anything at any price, it seems to me, that this comment is more about the person making the comment and they have a certain belief system about money that is unhealthy.

So the next time someone tells you that you are charging too much for you $10 homemade loaf of sourdough bread, or too much for your $40 handmade earrings, or your $500 dress or your $5000 painting, ask them, how much is ok to charge for it and what would they pay? That person probably wasn’t going to buy from you anyways. And maybe they will go to the next place that is charging less. Don’t worry about it.

People who see the value that you placed on your product will happily pay you for your hard work, love and attention that you put into making the thing you are selling.

Not everyone will appreciate the work you put into making it. Probably because they haven’t tried making it.

And just because you enjoy doing something, does not mean you should do it for free. You can decide who you give something to as a gift, but after awhile, if you are turning something you love into a business, you have to put a value on it and people will see that value and invest in your business.

Art and business are allowed to co-exist. So keep on doing what you love. Put value on it, because no one else is going to do it for you. And do it with confidence and others will recognize that value.

Giselle Denis

Giselle Denis is an Alberta-based Canadian artist whose expressive landscapes celebrate the beauty and spirit of the natural world while inspiring hope. A recipient of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta Award of Excellence in the Arts, she creates paintings that capture not only the beauty of a place, but also the feeling of being immersed in it.

In addition to her studio practice, Giselle is an internationally recognized performance painter who has created live paintings before audiences across Canada and around the world. Highlights of her international career include a residency at the Raffles Hotel in Dubai, painting for the Canadian Embassy, the Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi, and representing Explore Edmonton in Québec City.

Her public artworks include Mother Nature, a 40-by-26-foot mural celebrating Alberta's forests and wildflowers in downtown Edmonton, just one block from Rogers Place, as well as two large-scale paintings at Strathcona Community Hospital.

For more than a decade, Giselle has combined her passion for art with philanthropy, helping charitable organizations raise more than $1 million through the sale of her original paintings. Her work has achieved record-breaking auction results, including the sale of a single painting for $50,000.

Giselle's contributions to the arts have also been recognized with the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal. Her work can be found in private, corporate, and public collections throughout Canada. She is proud to be represented by Avens Gallery.

Giselle often says she works out life through painting. Every brushstroke is a way of making sense of life itself. Through her work, she hopes to inspire others to slow down, reconnect with nature, and discover beauty, hope, and wonder in the world around them.

https://www.giselledenis.com
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