Being an artist can be difficult at times. Especially if you are young, have not yet become famous and live in a small town. In this blog, I will share some of the difficulties I have faced as an artist in my professional career. In particular, my supervisor at the art gymnasium complains that, by and large, no one needs contemporary art. There are plenty of galleries in megacities, but too few in small towns, so young artists cannot present their work. Despite the fact that a city can be home to many artists who are ready to work actively and fruitfully.

"It's almost impossible to make art as a form of income," my supervisor quotes. - People who have some alternative income are engaged in it. Because it is almost impossible for a young artist to sell his work. It is also almost impossible for him to exhibit his work. That's where all the problems come from, because the artist seems to move away from a conversation with the viewer to a certain attempt to make his art commercial. Which very rarely has a happy ending. He loses himself rather than continues to earn money. This is where the gloomy atmosphere in the artistic environment comes from. Because reality is pressing, the inability to realise oneself - all this does not benefit artists in any way."

In general, everyone understands and feels that it is difficult for creative people to show their talent and earn money at the same time. That's why I decided to expand on this topic in my blog, to give advice to young artists, to share my experience so that other people understand the causes and consequences.   

At the same time, it can be directly stated that in a small town there are wealthy people who can invest in you. The question here is how many people want to support art, buy a painting or sculpture, or invest in an art project.

It is worth noting that there is a huge lack of information support. Galleries and individual artists often don't have a full-fledged website with their own portfolio, and there is no archive that would allow them to quickly get information about the cultural field of a particular city. There is a problem with media support and a problem with finances.

There are very few people who buy works of art. There's a crazy problem with the whole sphere of art. We don't actually have art critics, we don't have enough journalists who would write about cultural events at an adequate level. They would not just make a photo report "here's an exhibition opening", but would analyse it in depth. There are very few art critics, maybe three curators in the whole city. The absence of this environment does not stimulate the development of the artistic sphere. And one of the biggest problems is the lack of exhibition venues. 

I remember those difficult times when it was hard to find work for an artist, there was a lack of demand, there was no marketing and advertising strategy like there is now... There's one huge advantage that is worth noting: thanks to the proliferation of various online platforms for freelancers, creative people can find an offer for a small project as a part-time job or an offer for a huge project or a vacancy in a company in one click... A year ago, I was on the verge of running out of money, I didn't have enough money to rent an apartment, even for groceries, and at one point I accidentally stumbled upon depositphotos, saw that the platform provides an opportunity to put up for sale your photos, images for illustration for commercial and editorial purposes. It was a lifesaver for me, as it later became my main income and motivated me to work harder and create something unique. 

Such services are a great opportunity for young aspiring artists to showcase their talent, spread it on online platforms and social networks, build up a client base, and most importantly, make money from it. At the same time, you can work on other projects at the same time. Here's a link if you're interested, the interface and search engine are very user-friendly, you can click on the herb theme, for example, or any other topic on the website. 
I hope this information was useful to you, share your thoughts in the comments. If such opportunities had existed 15 years ago, I would have achieved my goals much faster, so don't waste your time, act and look for different ways to earn decent money.