I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. — John Steinbeck
Embracing an alternative art career that nurtures your creativity while providing a stable income can offer a viable path forward—often more sustainable than depending solely on selling enough art to sustain your lifestyle and creative practice. It also allows artists to develop valuable skills, expand their creative networks, and explore new avenues of artistic expression that can complement their personal work.
The Artistic Dilemma
Many visual artists are faced with a critical decision: to pursue art full-time and rely solely on selling their work, or to find alternative income streams while continuing to create. This choice is deeply personal and shaped by individual circumstances, goals, and definitions of success. For many artists, embracing an alternative art career can provide stability and creative fulfillment in today’s evolving creative landscape.
This consideration becomes even more relevant in a world where AI tools and other technological advances rapidly transform creative fields. Additionally, the broader shift toward portfolio careers—where professionals maintain multiple income streams rather than a single job—has created a more accepting environment for the kind of career structures many artists have long maintained by necessity. While these changes create new opportunities, they also present challenges that make thoughtful career planning increasingly valuable for many artists.
Success Stories: Alternative Paths to Artistic Fulfillment
Throughout art history, some celebrated artists began in alternative art careers that provided stability before transitioning to full-time art practice:
Thomas Kinkade, known as “The Painter of Light,” started by creating background art for the 1983 animated film “Fire and Ice” before developing his distinctive light-infused landscapes. His animation background influenced his masterful use of atmospheric effects in later paintings.
Ed Ruscha, now celebrated in major museums worldwide, initially studied commercial art and wanted to be a cartoonist. His commercial training is evident in his distinctive use of typography and bold compositions that would define his fine art career.
Robert Bateman, one of the most accomplished wildlife artists, taught high school art well into his 40s before transitioning to a full-time art career. His teaching experience enriched his observational skills and technical precision.
Notably, these well-known artists are outliers compared to countless others who pursue their creative vision and skills out of the spotlight and comprise the vast majority of artists. For every famous name, thousands of talented individuals balance teaching, design work, or other art-related careers while creating meaningful work outside the traditional gallery system, often leveraging the growing importance of online art sales.
Contemporary artists continue to thrive with portfolio approaches today:
Emily Thomas, a contemporary printmaker and bookbinding artist, exemplifies the portfolio career approach by balancing her artistic practice with teaching at Edinburgh Contemporary Arts. Her diverse skills in both fine art and craft techniques allow her to maintain multiple income streams while continuing to develop her unique artistic vision.
Barbara Kruger, a renowned contemporary artist, developed her iconic feminist artwork while maintaining multiple careers throughout her life – working as a graphic designer, writing columns for Artforum, and teaching at U.C. Berkeley. Her experience in graphic design directly informed her distinctive artistic style, demonstrating how alternative careers can enhance artistic development.
John T. Unger, a sculptor known for his hand-cut firebowls, chose to bypass formal art school education for hands-on learning while working in other fields. This approach allowed him to avoid student loans and focus solely on developing the art that resonated with him, ultimately building a sustainable international business selling his sculptural works.
Karolina Grudniewska, who worked as an English teacher and florist before becoming a self-taught ceramist, demonstrates how transferable skills from multiple careers can enhance artistic development. Her functional ceramic pieces are now sold through her successful Etsy store KaroArt as well as local stores and craft shows, allowing her to maintain a full-time income from her creative practice.
These artists exemplify how alternative art careers can become stepping stones rather than detours, providing valuable skills, stability, and creative cross-pollination. While not the only path to success, this approach represents one viable way to build a sustainable artistic life.
Beyond the “Day Job” Mentality
Alternative art careers aren’t just “day jobs” distracting from your “real” work. They can legitimately serve as extensions of your creative identity.
- Nurturing your creativity through different applications and perspectives
- Expanding your skill set in ways that benefit your art
- Connecting you with communities of like-minded creatives
- Providing stability that allows for greater experimentation
- Creating synergy between your professional expertise and artistic vision
- Developing adaptability to technological changes, including AI
Having multiple creative skill sets isn’t just about financial security—it can provide creative resilience for those who choose this approach. You can choose to be an artist, but you don’t make a living selling art. That might be the most liberating personal decision you make. You choose the adventure of doing many jobs and side hustles that you’re pretty talented at, and you enjoy the spice of variety. But you’re clear that your jobs support your artistic career, and you can be comfortably pleased with that result. The definition of “What is a job?” is under scrutiny and debate nowadays.
The Freedom Paradox
Market pressures and financial instability constrain some artists who pursue full-time art-making in search of freedom. Meanwhile, those with alternative art careers sometimes discover a different kind of freedom—creating without the pressure of sales determining their artistic choices. This freedom allows for more experimentation, risk-taking, and personal development, leading to more authentic, personally meaningful work.
In many ways, artists have been pioneers of what is now called the ‘portfolio career’ approach. This approach involves balancing multiple income streams to support their creative practice. Research suggests that artists with these diverse career structures often report higher satisfaction with their work-life balance, as they can engage with their art on their terms while maintaining financial stability. The key is intentionality rather than simply taking random jobs out of necessity.
When your mortgage doesn’t depend on selling your next painting, you may feel freer to experiment, take risks, and develop at your own pace. This paradoxical freedom might lead to more authentic, personally meaningful work, and sometimes even more commercially viable art in the long run. This approach isn’t for everyone but represents a viable option for artists seeking creative fulfillment and financial stability, offering a sense of liberation and inspiration.
Intentional Career Design
Planning yields better results for artists who choose alternative careers than random job selection. Begin by developing insight about:
- What’s genuinely possible in your circumstances
- What you truly want from both art and livelihood
- What capabilities do you possess or can you develop
- What you’re willing and able to commit to
This self-awareness helps create a path to financial stability and empowers you to design a life you genuinely enjoy. In today’s rapidly changing creative landscape, this intentional approach to career design can benefit artists regardless of their path, giving them a sense of control and confidence.
Navigating Change in Creative Industries
The creative industries are experiencing significant transformation, including the rapid advancement of AI and other technologies. At the same time, the rise of the gig economy and the prevalence of side hustles have reshaped how many people approach their careers. This shift toward portfolio careers—where individuals maintain multiple income streams rather than a single job—aligns well with the realities many artists already face.
I read the timeless business classic “Who Moved My Cheese?” It helped me through a time of chaos and change in my career. I experienced an internet-caused disruption of a centuries-old profitable business model in the art and picture framing trade magazine niche. Decor magazine was 135 years old when it shuttered in 2003—it was an institution in the industry. I loved the industry and worked as a top marketing executive there for 20 years. It was a profound loss to me and many others, including artists, retailers, wholesalers, fine art publishers, printers, and countless small businesses.
The book uses a simple parable to reveal profound truths about dealing with change so that you can enjoy less stress and more success in your work and life. It helped me cope with anger, denial, and uncertainty, and I recommend it today. Like the characters in the “Who Moved My Cheese?” parable, I had to learn to navigate change. Today, visual artists face choices about responding to shifting creative paradigms. There’s value in recognizing when established patterns change and responding flexibly rather than with frustration.
This post does not imply the abandonment of artistic principles, the blind pursuit of trends, or the endorsement of AI-generated art. Instead, it suggests thoughtfully evaluating the changing landscape and making intentional choices about how to proceed, whether through traditional paths, alternative careers, or creative combinations.
Your Creative Authority
As artists navigate the evolving creative landscape, they maintain their expertise and unique vision. Artists aren’t surrendering creative authority when working with new tools and technologies, including AI, but they’re extending it. You maintain the position to reject what doesn’t work, guide the process, and ensure the final output fulfills your unique creative vision. Such confidence in your creative authority can guide your decisions and actions, regardless of your tools or career path, empowering you to be responsible for your artistic journey.
Successful artists often approach their traditional or cutting-edge tools with authority and discernment. When working with AI tools, remember that you are not asking the AI to be creative—you are commanding it to be creative. Artists preserve the essential human element that gives art meaning by maintaining a position as the creative director who sets parameters and makes refinements. This approach can work well regardless of which career path you choose.
Embracing Technology or Honoring Tradition
Understanding new technologies may offer advantages for some artists. In contrast, others find that focusing on traditional techniques provides a more rewarding career path with distinct benefits. In an increasingly digital world, artists who master traditional techniques sometimes discover passionate audiences who deeply value handmade, tangible art.
Some collectors specifically seek artists who maintain traditional practices, seeing their work as a valuable counterbalance to our screen-dominated culture. Whether an artist embraces new technologies, honors traditional approaches, or finds a balance between the two, what matters most is that their choice aligns with their artistic vision and personal values.
The Sustainability Argument
Creating art is a lifelong journey, not a sprint. Many artists we admire for their longevity developed sustainable approaches to their careers. For some, this meant balancing commercial work, teaching, design, or other art-adjacent roles while continuing to develop their vision.
Consider the careers of Charles and Ray Eames, who balanced furniture design with film, photography, and exhibition design, or Josef Albers, whose teaching career at the Bauhaus and later Yale complemented rather than detracted from his iconic abstract work. These examples illustrate one viable approach to artistic sustainability.
Conclusion: One Viable Path Among Many
Alternative art careers represent one approach for artists seeking creative fulfillment and financial sustainability. By thoughtfully designing a career at the intersection of artistic abilities, market realities, and personal circumstances, many artists create an ecosystem where creativity can flourish consistently over decades.
The portfolio career concept, once considered an unconventional path primarily taken by artists and creative professionals, has become a recognized and respected career development model across many industries. This shift in perception helps validate the approach many artists have instinctively taken for generations: managing multiple income streams while maintaining their creative practice.
Pursuing alternative art careers isn’t about compromising artistic vision. For some artists, it’s about creating conditions where that vision can develop fully without the constant pressure of market demands determining creative choices. The freedom that comes from stability sometimes produces more authentic, meaningful work.
Remember that each artist’s journey is uniquely their own. There’s no single correct path to artistic fulfillment. Some thrive as full-time studio artists, others find their niche in alternative careers, and many create hybrid approaches. By thoughtfully considering all options, including alternative art careers, artists can make informed choices that align with their goals and creative vision.
What alternative art careers have you considered or pursued? How have they influenced your artistic development? Share your experiences in the comments below.
If you’re interested in exploring alternative art career options further, don’t miss my comprehensive guide to Art-Related Career Alternatives for Visual Artists and common Questions About Art-Related Careers.
