Is It Too Late To Start An Art Career - Tips For Artists

[cmralph...]

I became a full-time artist at 62. It is never too late.

[homelessartist]

There was a woman on the news a few weeks ago. She'd just done her first art exhibition. She was 98! 🤩

[fusion]

I'm 45 didn't take any art classes after middle school. In July I started doing fluid acrylic painting. I struggled to even think of myself as an artist. I have friends who are educated as Artists and make their living with it. I finally worked up the courage to show a friend, in the art world, some pictures of my paintings. She wants one - I was so excited. But nothing touched me more than when she introduced me as an Artist to one of her clients.🙂

[dougsandelin]

yes, you have lost your mind, that's a necessary part of being an artist, we lose our mind to make space to create.

[dianaburns]

I'm just getting back to my art at age 70. I've sold a few pieces through shows. I'm now considering a website, if I can get past the technical challenges.

[patriciacarpenter]

I turned 70 this February and am determined to live the rest of my life as a working artist. I have listened to the nay sayers all my life and did not pursue my dream. At this stage, I no longer give a rat's a** what anyone thinks. I tell young people to not wait like I have. Go for it.

[calonstanni]

When I was 43 I quit work to take art classes...hoping to become even an ENTRY level graphic designer. I loved the classes but was so discouraged because several of the youngsters in class were so much better than I was and I figured that I would never be hired when competing against them . All of the input I received (research, counselors, local artists, etc) was that if I wasn't at the TOP of the artistic skill set, I would never "make it" as an artist. SO, I gave up, cried, and went back to work in a cubicle doing data entry. Here I am, 58, 14 years in my cubicle, imagining how much skill I could have gained, how much art I could have enjoyed making, and how incredibly hire-able I'd be if I hadn't given up. I have HUGE regrets. However, I'm now painting every day with the plan of having an "art career" when I retire in 4 years on my (iffy) social security income of $900/month. IT AINT OVER TILL IT"S OVER!

[karenkessin]

To quote the great Barbara Sher: "It's Only Too Late If You Don't Start Now." Or, as my grandmother said to my cousin who was lamenting that it was too late to go to med school, because she'd be fifty when she graduated, "God willing, you're going to be fifty anyway. The question is are you going to be a doctor when you get there?" It's never too late to dive into something you were meant to do.

[nicolacrookart]

When I started my art career at the age of 53 I had a feeling of panic that I'm running out of time, how do I get to where I need to be before I retire. And then the penny dropped!! Artists don't retire :) If I live to 102 like my Nan I have another 49 years of being an Artist:) BUT if I only have a day left, I died as an Artist and that will be a lasting epitaph of who I truly am. Success and happiness fellow artists no matter what your age :) xxx

[KoongYe]

Age is more like an excuse to quit than actual block.

[LizGridleyArtist]

I love how many customers come into theartshop i work at who are getting back into art -or- trying it for the first time in theirs 60s+ Art will always wait for you ♡ it doesn't expire

[cheergiver]

I was told growing up that it was too hard to make a living off art unless you’re a graphic designer (which I had little interest in.) so I went into the Air Force and learned “a real job.” Now I’m a 36 yo SAHM to 3 kids and pursuing that art career. I don’t regret my service or anything like that, but I wish I didn’t stop believing in myself and kept drawing through it all. Despite all of that, this is what I’m doing now, and I’m not going to stop.

[danielmarlatt]

in my case, I was corporate and stressed to the max, which in turn the stress caused 2 heart attacks, quad bypass surgery and many other health issues, went on disability with no income, nearly lost the house, managed to sell it and moved out into rural Ontario, started my own art gallery representing other artists and never looked back, and now at 60 I can create what I want when I want, living my dream.

[georgewallace]

Experience (maturity) gives you a story to tell. Art is storytelling. I didn't even start art college until I was 42. I had a blast.

[tjmixmasta]

I'm 28, and just started taking some fine arts classes in February of this year, for the first time since High School. A lot of the kids in the program are 4-10 years younger than me, and are all MUCH more talented at it than I am!! But I have to remind myself that we're all on our own paths, and that my artistic satisfaction should never be based on another person's success.

[rockfordmel]

You guys are speaking directly to me. I started my art as a business at age 49. What was I thinking 🤦🏻‍♀️

[candacespees]

I will be 66 in 10 days. 3.5 years ago I signed up for a college fused glass class because I knew the instructor (glass blower/fused glass artist). Many colleges offer free tuition to seniors(over 62).
All my life I was told that the many art classes I took were a waste of time. That I needed to do something responsible. 🤣 I finally took the glass class at 62(my instructor tried to get me to get into it 25 years ago and I didn't listen). I love it. For the last 3 summers I have been selling at artisan markets and craft shows here in northern Michigan. I'm not going to lie, it's hard. I do shows or events at least once a week from late June until the end of October, and also a half dozen events in November and December. I pay the son of a fellow artist (petoskey stone jewelry, she's 64) to help me set up when we do shows together. But I do many alone.
But I tell people is that Colonel Sanders started KFC at 65 and my mother lived until she was 4 months shy of 100. So, I figure I have at least 30 to 40 years yet. 😁

[dianaparkhouse]

What Klee said, about how when she was younger she wasn't actually ready for the serious crazy hyper focus drive you need to have to push an art career forward.
I wasn't ready either, until I was. And that's probably how it is for so many people. You're not actually capable, until one day you look up from your desk and realise that you're actually in the middle of doing it.

[richardkeller]

At almost 66 I started playing with watercolors, and watching YouTube. I enjoy painting for myself and have even sold a few things.

[tammytjfordart]

There is definitely a cultural bias in this country when it comes to education, career, career changes, etc. Although age is only a number, maturity plays a monumental role in when/how/why we choose to do something and then choose to stick with it. My personal opinion is that if we focus time during development (parenting, school, etc) on the clearly obvious passions and personal gifts we all possess, we would foster change in society. I, too, am one of those who knew from very young (early teens) that I wanted to be an artist, gosh dang it if I wasn't conditioned otherwise. Learning and practicing skills through the years definitely helped but the joy you get from deciding to follow that passion is AHHHMAZING!!! Thanks to you both for your videos to inspire and motivate my art career, it helps to know others have forged a path ❤️😊