Dear Economy,

We are not intimidated. We are doing lots of great promotions and still getting lots of great jobs. We are hopeful. We are not naive. We know things can change but we need to tell artists and art directors that life goes on. Not all sectors of the economy will be hit.

Yesterday we got a huge job for a major cool retailer for Sarajo to do 50 – 100 illlustrations for a photo shoot for an ad campaign. You’ll see this in early January 2009. Can’t say until then. Here’s a piece of Sarajo’s that helped her get the job:

Today a major credit card company has assigned Matte to do art for a possible cool project. A major tire company has approached us this week for a collateral with an eco/watercolor theme.

Also this week: among other things, artwork by Diane is being presented to Pier 1 for a wine journal, four horoscope illustrations were commissioned for Carolyn by a London magazine, and it’s only Thursday.

Dear Readers,

This thoughtful comment came in yesterday to my blog on the economy. BTW,we got our biggest response to any blog item. I want to share Robin’s comments first and then I’ll respond below.
———-
ROBIN DESILVIO writes:
Thanks Lilla. That was an upbeat look at our economy.

But honestly, do any of these artists make their living purely from illustration assignments? I find that most FT artists do so-so, but often have spouses or second careers that help offset living expenses. (ie. Stay at home moms or people who don’t really need the income) Even a successful illustrator ends up paying a rep between 35-50% of their earnings.

I would be curious to know if it is truly possible to survive as an illustrator–especially in this economy. True about talent, but how much can a talented artist truly expect to make? A single artist…not a two income household. Illustrators are hit with self employment taxes, their own health insurance, business expenses, etc. Your candor would be so appreciated.
———
Lilla responds:

Dear Robin,

Nice to meet you. I appreciate your candid concerns. I love your questions and many years ago I wondered these same things.

I have a wonderful vantage point as an agent in that I have seen artists’ careers intimately for many years. How much they make, how long a career lasts, and so forth. Here are some observations in brief:

1. Really strong artists with great promotion make $30K – $80K as a general ballpark in this economy. I have had artists make more on occasion: 100K. Don’t forget, this is not 40 hours a week (it’s less), so it’s really good money for the hours. It is definitely erratic, however, and I feel that everyone who has a less-stable job like illustration should have a partner who has a stable job especially for health insurance. That’s just the reality. Don’t shoot the messenger. Sound radical? Aren’t we all supposed to be independent and support ourselves? Yes, ideally. Conversely, everyone with a stable job should have a partner with an exciting, creative job! So there. (-:
As an agent, I have a broader base of income. But if you are an individual, you need to expand your base. I’ll talk about that more another time.

2. Freelance illustration is great for an at-home parent. Freedom, great work, shorter hours, flexibility.

3. Being an artist/illustrator is great for folks that are entrepreneurial. That means you continue to find venues for your work and you don’t crumble over small setbacks.

4. I supported myself entirely as a freelance illustrator for 10 years before I became an agent, so yes, you can do it. A large percentage of my artists make good livings from illustration alone.

There is no cut-and-dried answer. Each person is a different case. We do live in a culture that encourages people to go for it. In reality, freelance is not for everybody. I did it because I wanted it more than anything in the world and was willing to do whatever it took to make a living entirely as an artist.

I hope you find that helpful.

Lilla

Dear Readers,

I want to talk to you about the economy. I’ve been through three recessions as an artist, and I’ve always done well. I want to let you know that great art will always get work. Great work and great promotion will get you jobs.

This financial crisis will pass. There are many people that are a lot more invested in making it work than we are.

What doesn’t do well in a bad economy? Poor work, poor service, and people just sort of bored and tired of their own work.

In our economy, it’s a new paradigm. It’s not JUST a good economy or a bad economy. It’s a multi-faceted economy. If we, at Lilla Rogers Studio, for example, can get work from all over the world, then the rules of the game are different. It is my prediction that certain sectors of the economy will do poorly and certain sectors will do well. And everything in between. We are not destined for a one-size-fits-all recession.

How will artists fare? Since artists are trend-leading and entrepreneurial, the really good ones will make markets for themselves.

The election looks promising, and that, too, will infuse the entrepreneurs and artists with energy, which, in turn, will fuel the economy forward.

Also, leave me any questions in your comments and I will try to answer them. I care about our community and don’t want to see any unnecessary fear.

Warm regards,
Lilla

Good Things

I get to draw and make things and paint and design and do all the same things I’ve loved doing since I was a child.
I can work from home or a studio. I can start and stop work when I choose each day.
I can have a weekend in the middle of the week if it suits me better.
At the ideas stage of a project I can take my sketchbook to a cafe and make plans there. I can work in my garden. I can go and visit my family and take my work with me. When I’m doing the drawing or “knitting work” (repetitve straight forward bits on the computer) I can listen to the radio or story tapes (this week I’m listening to “Far from the Madding Crowd” by Thomas Hardy – something I’d never get around to sitting down and reading). If you have a job that involves writing, administration, maths etc you don’t have this opportunity to fill this free space in your brain!
I get to run my own business. I get to make my own decisions. There is always the possibility of earning more – no capped salary for the year.

Not so Good Things

It can be lonely if you work alone from home. It can also effect your self esteem – you can wonder if you are doing things the right way or the best way – which happens less if you are working along side other people. When you have lots of work on – ideas of drawing in the garden or cafes or trips during the week – go and you can end up just working and working and working for weeks. Because there is never any guarantee that there will be more work after this job – or that it will come soon. It makes planning your future harder.
Running your own business, make your own decisions as well as being rewarding and empowering can also be taxing – sometimes I feel like I’m juggling may roles – illustrator, marketing person, administrator, artworker, director – when really all I want to do is be the Illustrator!
There is always the possibilty to earn more but sometimes you don’t – you can have some good years then a not so good year. What your earn isn’t linked to how long you have worked or how how hard you have worked – this can seem really tough.
However …..I feel the good out ways the bad. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do and I don’t know what else I’d be very good at! I get excited about each new project and love planning my own work for when there is free time and when I’m working it feels so involving in a way that I don’t get with any other sort of work I’ve done.

We’re so thrilled to present to you our new site with lots of great new features, like the shop page and this blog. Come visit us regularly for thoughts on art, crafts, licensing, life as an artist, brand-new art, agency news, and all things art.

We have wonderful buttons & pins created by our artists. Stop by our booths (Booths 510, 511, & 610) at the Surtex show this Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (May 18th-May 20th). We’re upstairs in the back on the left. This is a lovely area with lots of natural light, big and open, and doors to a balcony with a view of the Hudson. It’s a great place to relax with us and look at the art.

We’re going to Surtex in NYC at Javitz Center May 18 – 20 to show over 1,000 new images to the licensing community. We hope to sell and license lots of work like last year. We’ll be meeting with great folks from Chronicle, teNeues, Land of Nod, Colorbok, Galison, and others. It’s a thrill for us to present our artists’ work to some of the great tastemakers of our time. So, of course, we need to have fab tool belts to hold all our stuff as we work our booths. I’ve sewn one for each of the Lilla Rogers Studio staff who will be in attendance; that’s Ashley, Susan, Julia, and me. See how I have art buttons on here? We’ll be giving these away. That’s Mike Lowery’s pirate pin.